Glossary – Avago Technologies Cache Protection for RAID Controller Cards User Manual
Page 40
LSI Corporation
- 40 -
12Gb/s MegaRAID SAS RAID Controllers User Guide
April 2014
Glossary
Glossary
B
BIOS
Acronym for Basic Input/Output System. Software that provides basic read/write capability. Usually kept as firmware (ROM-based).
The system BIOS on the motherboard of a computer boots and controls the system. The BIOS on your host adapter acts as an
extension of the system BIOS.
C
configuration
Refers to the way a computer is set up, the combined hardware components (computer, monitor, keyboard, and peripheral devices)
that make up a computer system, or the software settings that allow the hardware components to communicate with each other.
D
device driver
A program that permits a microprocessor (through the operating system) to direct the operation of a peripheral device.
domain validation
A software procedure in which a host queries a device to determine its ability to communicate at the negotiated data rate.
drive group
A group of physical drives that combines the storage space on the drives into a single segment of storage space. A hot spare drive
does not actively participate in a drive group.
E
EEPROM
Acronym for Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory. It is a memory chip that typically stores configuration
information, as it provides stable storage for long periods without electricity and can be reprogrammed. See
.
external SAS device
A SAS device installed outside the computer cabinet. These devices are connected using specific types of shielded cables.
F
Fusion-MPT architecture
An acronym for Fusion-Message Passing Technology architecture. Fusion-MPT architecture consists of several main elements:
Fusion-MPT firmware, the Fibre Channel and SCSI hardware, and the operating system-level drivers that support these
architectures. Fusion-MPT architecture offers a single binary, operating system driver that supports both Fibre Channel and
SCSI devices.
H
host
The computer system in which a RAID controller is installed. It uses the RAID controller to transfer information to and from devices
attached to the SCSI bus.
host adapter board
A circuit board or integrated circuit that provides a device connection to the computer system.
hot spare
An idle, powered on, standby drive that is ready for immediate use in case of drive failure. A hot spare does not contain any user
data. A hot spare can be dedicated to a single redundant array or it can be part of the global hot-spare pool for all arrays managed
by the controller.
When a drive fails, the controller firmware automatically replaces and rebuilds the data from the failed drive to the hot spare. Data
can be rebuilt only from virtual drives with redundancy (RAID levels 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60; not RAID level 0), and the hot spare must
have sufficient capacity.