| MAN |
Metropolitan
Area Network. |
| Media
Access Time (MAT) |
The necessary
time to access the memory location for read/write operations. Also equivalent
to the reciprocal of Media Transfer Rate (MTR). |
| Mbps |
Megabits
per second. |
| MB |
See Megabyte. |
| MBps |
Megabytes
per second. |
| Megabyte
(MB) |
A unit
of measurement equal to 1,000 kilobytes, or 1,000,000 bytes. (See also kilobyte.) |
| Media
Transfer Rate (MTR) |
The number
of data transfers per second between the host controller and the storage
media. |
| MIA |
Media Interface
Adapter. |
| Microsecond
(µs) |
One millionth
of a second (.000001 sec.). |
| Millisecond
(ms) |
One thousandth
of a second (.001 sec.). |
| MF |
Multimode
Fiber. |
| MRAM |
Stands
for magnetic random access memory. Rather than relying on electrons, which
can be lost, like dynamic random access memory (DRAM), MRAM stores data
in the spin of electrons. It can store as much memory as DRAM and it can
access it instantly, which means no waiting for computers to boot up. |
| MTBF |
Mean Time
Between Failure-Reliability rating indicating the failure rate expected
of a product expressed in power on hours (POH). Since manufacturers differ
in the ways they determine the MTBF, comparisons of products should always
take into account the MTBF calculation method. |
| Parallel |
The simultaneous
transmission of data bits over multiple lines. |
| Parity |
A data-error-checking
procedure where the number of 1s must always be the same-either even or
odd- for each group of bits submitted without error. Parity information
is saved and compared with each subsequent calculations of whether the number
is odd or even. |
| Passive
copper |
A low-cost
copper Fibre Channel connection allowing distances up to 13 meters between
devices. |
| PCI |
Peripheral
Component Interconnect is a 32-bit local bus (data pathway) that is faster
than the ISA bus. Local buses are those that operate within a single system
(as opposed to a network bus, which connects multiple systems). |
| Peripheral |
A device
added to a system as an enhancement to the basic CPU, such as a disk drive,
tape drive or printer. |
| PIO
(Programmed Input/Output) |
PIO is
the original operating mode for most disk drives. PIO uses the CPU to manage
the transfer of data from the drive to the memory. |
| Point-to-Point |
A dedicated
Fibre Channel connection between two devices. |
| POST |
Power On
Self Test. |
| PSU |
Power Supply
Unit. |
