Administrator Guide

F
failover
Automatically switching to a redundant or standby device, system, or data path upon the failure or abnormal termination of the
currently active device, system, or data path.
fault domain
A set of components that share a single point of failure. For metro node, the concept that every component of a highly available
system is separated, so that if a fault occurs in one domain, it will not result in failure in other domains to which it is connected.
fault tolerance
Ability of a system to keep working in the event of hardware or software failure, usually achieved by duplicating key system
components.
Fibre Channel (FC)
A protocol for transmitting data between computer devices. Longer distance requires the use of optical fiber. However, FC also
works using coaxial cable and ordinary telephone twisted pair media. Fibre channel offers point-to-point, switched, and loop
interfaces. Used within a SAN to carry SCSI traffic.
Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP)
Combines Fibre Channel and Internet protocol features to connect SANs in geographically distributed systems.
field replaceable unit (FRU)
A unit or component of a system that can be replaced on site as opposed to returning the system to the manufacturer for
repair.
firmware
Software that is loaded on and runs from the flash ROM on the metro node directors.
front end port
Metro node director port connected to host initiators (acts as a target).
G
geographically distributed system
A system that is physically distributed across two or more geographically separated sites. The degree of distribution can vary
widely, from different locations on a campus or in a city to different continents.
gigabit (Gb or Gbit)
1,073,741,824 (2^30) bits. Often rounded to 10^9.
gigabit Ethernet
The version of Ethernet that supports data transfer rates of 1 gigabit per second.
gigabyte (GB)
1,073,741,824 (2^30) bytes. Often rounded to 10^9.
global file system (GFS)
A shared-storage cluster or distributed file system.
H
hold provisioning
An attribute of a registered array that allows you to set the array as unavailable for further provisioning of new storage.
Glossary
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