Glossary


ACL

Access control list. A list that contains the users' or groups' access rights to each share.


adapter card

A SCSI card, network card, hot swap adapter card, serial adapter card, or VGA adapter that plugs into a filer expansion slot.


Address Resolution

The procedure for determining a Media Access Control (MAC) address corresponding to the address of a LAN or WAN destination.


administration host

The client you specify during filer setup for managing the filer. The setup program automatically configures the filer to accept telnet and rsh connections from this client, to give permission to this client for mounting the / and /home directories, and to use this client as the mailhost for sending autosupport email messages. At any time after you run the setup program, you can configure the filer to work with other clients in the same way as it does with the administration host.


appliance

A device that performs a well-defined function and is easy to install and operate.


ATM

Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a network technology that combines the features of cell-switching and multiplexing to offer reliable and efficient network services. ATM provides an interface between devices such as workstations and routers, and the network.


authentication

A security step performed by a domain controller for the filer's domain, or by the filer itself, using its /etc/passwd file.


autosupport

A filer daemon that triggers email messages from the customer site to Network Appliance or another specified email recipient when there is a potential filer problem.


big-endian

A binary data format for storage and transmission in which the most significant bit or byte comes first.


CIFS

Common Internet File System. A protocol for networking PCs.


client

A computer that shares files on a filer.


console

A terminal that is attached to a filer's serial port and is used to monitor and manage filer operation.


copy-on-write

The technique for creating snapshots without consuming excess disk space.


degraded mode

The operating mode of a filer when a disk is missing from the RAID array or the batteries on the NVRAM card are low.


disk id number

A number assigned by the filer to each disk when it probes the disks at boot time.


disk shelf

A shelf that contains disk drives and is attached to the filer.


Ethernet adapter

An Ethernet interface card.


expansion card

A SCSI card, NVRAM card, network card, hot swap card, or console card that plugs into a filer expansion slot.


expansion slot

The slots on the system board in which you insert expansion cards.


fddi adapter

A Fiber Distributed Data Interface (fddi) interface card.


fddi-fiber

An fddi adapter that supports a fiber-optic cable.


fddi-tp

An fddi adapter that supports a twisted-pair cable.


GID

Group identification number.


group

A group of users defined in the filer's /etc/group file.


hot spare disk

A disk installed in the filer that can be used to substitute for a failed disk. Before the disk failure, the hot spare disk is not part of the raid disk array.


hot swap

The process of adding, removing, or replacing a disk while the filer is running.


hot swap adapter

An expansion card that makes it possible to add or remove a hard disk with minimal interruption to file system activity.


inode

A data structure containing information about files on a filer and in a UNIX file system.


interrupt switch

A switch on some filer front panels used for debugging purposes.


LAN Emulation (LANE)

The architecture, protocols, and services that create an Emulated LAN using ATM as an underlying network topology. LAN Emulation enables ATM-connected end systems to communicate with other LAN-based systems.


magic directory

A directory that can be accessed by name but does not show up in a directory listing. The .snapshot directories, except for the one at the mount point or at the root of the share, are magic directories.


mail host

The client host responsible for sending automatic email to Network Appliance when certain filer events occur.


Maintenance mode

An option when booting a filer from a system boot disk. Maintenance mode provides special commands for troubleshooting hardware and configuration.


MIME

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. A specification that defines the mechanisms for specifying and describing the format of Internet message bodies. An http response containing the mime Content-Type header allows the http client to invoke the application that is appropriate for the data received.


NDMP

Network Data Management Protocol. A protocol that allows Network Appliance filers to communicate with backup applications, and provides capabilities for controlling the robotics of multiple tape backup devices.


network adapter

An Ethernet, fddi, or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (atm) adapter.


nvram cache

Nonvolatile ram in the filer, used for logging incoming write data and nfs requests. Improves system performance and prevents loss of data in case of a filer or power failure.


nvram card

Adapter card that contains the filer's nvram cache.


panic

A serious error condition causing the filer to halt. Similar to a software crash in the Windows system environment.


parity disk

Disk on which parity information is stored for the raid-4 disk drive array. Used to reconstruct data in failed disk blocks or on a failed disk.


PCI

Peripheral Component Interconnect. The bus architecture used in newer filer models.


pcnfsd

A filer daemon that permits pcs to mount filer file systems. The corresponding pc client software is called (pc)nfs.


PDC

Primary Domain Controller. The domain controller that has negotiated to be, or has been assigned as, the primary authentication server for the domain.


POST

Power-on self-tests. The tests run by the filer after the power is turned on.


PVC

Permanent Virtual Circuit. A link with a static route defined in advance, usually by manual setup.


qtree

A directory on which you can impose tree quotas, created by the quota qtree command. Formerly known as quota trees.


RAID

Redundant Array of Independent Disks. A technique that protects against disk failure by computing parity information based on the contents of all the disks in the array. The filer uses raid Level 4, which stores all parity information on a single disk.


raid disk scrubbing

The process in which the system reads each disk in the raid group and tries to fix media errors by rewriting the data to another disk area.


scsi adapter

An expansion card that supports the scsi disk drives and tape drives.


SCSI ID

The number of a disk drive on the scsi chain (0-6).


scsi address

The full address of a disk, consisting of the disk's scsi adapter number and the disk's scsi id; for example, 9a.1.


serial adapter

An expansion card for attaching a terminal as the console on some filer models.


serial console

An ascii or ansi terminal attached to a filer's serial port. Used to monitor and manage filer operations.


share

A directory or directory structure on the filer that has been made available to network users and can be mapped to a drive letter on a cifs client.


SID

Security identifier.


snapshot

An on-line, read-only copy of the entire file system that protects against accidental deletions or modifications of files without duplicating file contents. Snapshots enable users to restore files and enable you to back up the filer to tape while the filer is in use.


SVC

Switched Virtual Circuit. A connection established through signaling. The user defines the endpoints when the call is initiated.


system board

A printed circuit board that contains the filer's cpu, expansion bus slots, and system memory.


tree quota

A type of disk quota that restricts the disk usage of a directory created by the quota qtree command. Different from user and group quotas that restrict disk usage by files with a given UID or GID.


UID

User identification number.


Unicode

A 16-bit character set standard. It was designed and is maintained by the nonprofit consortium Unicode Inc.


VCI

Virtual Channel Identifier. A unique numerical tag defined by a 16-bit field in the ATM cell header that identifies a virtual channel over which the cell is to travel.


vga adapter

Expansion card for attaching a vga terminal as the console.


VPI

Virtual Path Identifier. An eight-bit field in the ATM cell header that indicates the virtual path over which the cell should be routed.


WAFL

Write Anywhere File Layout. The WAFLTM file system was designed for the Network Appliance filer to optimize write performance.


WINS

Windows Internet Name Service.


workgroup

A collection of computers running Windows nt or Windows for Workgroups that is grouped for browsing and sharing.


Copyright © 1999, Network Appliance, Inc. All rights reserved.

Part No. 210-02334
File: gloss.htm
Last updated: 02/24/99 12:17:39