Installation guide

Glossary
G-7
Multitasking: The ability to perform several tasks
simultaneously. Multitasking allows you to run
multiple applications at the same time and
exchange information among them. See Task.
Multithreading: The ability of a processor core to
execute more than one independent instruction
thread simultaneously. As the core comprises two
complete context registers, it is able to switch
rapidly from one instruction thread to another.
N
NFS: Network File System. A proprietary distributed
file system that is widely used by TCP/IP vendors.
Note: NFS allows different computer systems to
share files, and uses user datagram protocol (UDP)
for data transfer.
NMI: Non-Maskable Interrupt.
NUMA: Non Uniform Memory Access. A method of
configuring a cluster of microprocessors in a
multiprocessing system so that they can share
memory locally, improving performance and the
ability of the system to be expanded.
nsh: nsh stands for new shell. See Shell and EFI
Shell.
NVRAM: Non Volatile Random Access Memory. A
type of RAM that retains its contents even when the
computer is powered off. See RAM and SRAM.
O
OF: Open Firmware. Firmware controlling a
computer prior to the Operating System.
Operating System: See OS.
OS: Operating System. The software which
manages computer resources and provides the
operating environment for application programs.
P
PAL: Processor Abstraction Layer: processor
firmware that abstracts processor implementation
differences. See also SAL.
PAM: Platform Administration & Maintenance.
PAM software: Platform Administration &
Maintenance software. One part (PAP application
and the PamSite WEB site) runs on the PAP unit. The
other part (MAESTRO) is embedded on the PMB
board.
PAM Tree pane: One of the three areas of the PAM
web page. Server hardware presence and
functional status are displayed in the PAM Tree
pane. See Status pane and Control pane.
PAP unit: Platform Administration Processor unit. The
PC hosting all server administration software.
PAP application: Platform Administration Processor
application. Part of PAM software, PAP application
is a Windows COM+ application running on PAP
unit.
Parallel Port: Connector allowing the transfer of
data between the computer and a parallel device.
PARM request: the PARM application is designed to
handle Requests issued by the CSE (Customer
Service Engineer)
Partition: Division of storage space on a hard disk
into separate areas so that the operating system
treats them as separate disk drives.
Password: A security feature that prevents an
unauthorized user from operating the system.
PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect. Bus
architecture supporting high-performance
peripherals.
PD: Physical Disk. A Storeway FDA 1300/2300
physical disk is not visible to the OS. See LD.
PDU: Power Distribution Unit. Power bus used for
the connection of peripheral system components.
Permanence: Property of a history file that
determines whether or not the history file can be
modified or deleted from the PAM user interface.
Permanence is either Static (cannot be modified) or
Dynamic (can be modified).
P-HPB: PCI Hot Plug Board. This board provides an
interlock switch on each IO Box PCI slot for
hot-swapping PCI boards. See HPB.
PIC: Platform Instrumentation Control.
ping: A basic Internet program that lets you verify
that a particular IP address exists and can accept
requests. The verb "to ping" means the act of using
the ping utility or command.
PIROM: Processor Information ROM. Processor
Information ROM (PIROM) contains information
about the specific processor in which it resides. This
information includes robust addressing headers to
allow for flexible programming and forward
compatibility, core and L2 cache electrical
specifications, processor part and S-spec numbers,
and a 64-bit processor number.