Installation guide

G-12 PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide
Root Mode
This is an operational mode that establishes the StarFabric-enabled device as
the uppermost bridge in a StarFabric Switch Fabric. The Root bridge is
attached to the primary physical PCI bus. It establishes the transparent bridge
interface between the physical PCI bus and the switch fabric and all down-
stream bridges or nodes. The Root node initiates fabric resets and enumerates
all the StarFabric-enabled devices in the topology.
StarFabric
A next-generation switched interconnect technology that provides a univer-
sal, scalable, and highly-reliable switch fabric for data, voice, and video
communications networks.
StarFabric-Enabled Device
Any device supporting hardware interfaces capable of supporting the Star-
Fabric protocol in a Switch Fabric.
StarProtocol (SP)
The switched-serial protocol used to transmit data across the Switch Fabric.
Secondary Bus
Refers to PCI buses that attach to the switch fabric through a Leaf bridge
connected to the switch fabric or a Root bridge attached to the primary, phys-
ical PCI bus.
Serial
A manner of passing data sequentially. To transfer 8 bits of data on a serial
cable requires sending each bit one after the other. For example, RS232 is a
common serial interface. See also Parallel.
Serial Link(s)
Refers to interface ports or connectors that transmit data one bit at a time.
The opposite of a serial link is a parallel port or link that transfers several bits
concurrently.