Users Guide

144 Glossary
PC Card is a "plug and play" device, which is configured
automatically by the Card Services software.
PCI
Abbreviation for Peripheral Component Interconnect.
The predominant 32-bit or 64-bit local-bus standard
developed by Intel Corporation.
PCMCIA
Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association. An international trade association that has
developed standards for devices, such as modems and
external hard drives, that can be plugged into
portable computers.
PERC
Acronym for PowerEdge Expandable RAID controller.
peripheral device
An internal or external device—such as a printer, a disk
drive, or a keyboard—connected to a system.
PGA
Abbreviation for pin grid array, a type of
microprocessor socket that allows you to remove the
microprocessor chip.
physical memory array
The physical memory array is the entire physical
memory of a system. Variables for physical memory
array include maximum size, total number of memory
slots on the motherboard, and total number of
slots in use.
physical memory array mapped
The physical memory array mapped refers to the way
physical memory is divided.
For example, one mapped area may have 640 KB and
the other mapped area may have between 1 MB
and 127 MB.
PIC
Acronym for programmable interrupt controller.
PIP
Acronym for peripheral interchange program.
pixel
A single point on a video display. Pixels are arranged in
rows and columns to create an image. A video
resolution, such as 640 x 480, is expressed as the
number of pixels across by the number of pixels up
and down.
PKCS #7
Abbreviation for Public Key Cryptography Standard
#7. PKCS #7 is an RSA Data Security, Inc., standard
for encapsulating signed data such as a certificate
chain.
PKIS
Abbreviation for Novell Public Key Infrastructure
Services.
PLCC
Abbreviation for plastic leaded chip carrier.
Plug and Play
An industry-standard specification that makes it easier
to add hardware devices to personal computers. Plug
and Play provides automatic installation and
configuration, compatibility with existing hardware,
and dynamic support of mobile
computing environments.
PME
Abbreviation for Power Management Event. A PME is
a pin on a peripheral component interconnect that
allows a PCI device to assert a wake event.
POST
Acronym for power-on self-test. Before the operating
system loads when you turn on your system, the POST
tests various system components such as RAM, the disk
drives, and the keyboard.