Compatibility Guide
Glossary 97
local bus
On a system with local-bus expansion capability,
certain peripheral devices (such as the video adapter
circuitry) can be designed to run much faster than they
would with a traditional expansion bus. Some local-bus
designs allow peripherals to run at the same speed and
with the same width data path as the system's
microprocessor.
LPT
n
The device names for the first through third parallel
printer ports on your system are LPT1, LPT2, and LPT3.
LRA
Abbreviation for local response agent.
m
Abbreviation for meter(s).
mA
Abbreviation for milliampere(s).
mAh
Abbreviation for milliampere-hour(s).
managed system
A managed system is any system that is monitored and
managed using Server Administrator. Systems running
Server Administrator can be managed locally or
remotely through a supported Web browser. See
remote management system.
math coprocessor
See coprocessor.
Mb
Abbreviation for megabit.
MB
Abbreviation for megabyte(s). The term megabyte
means 1,048,576 bytes; however, when referring to hard
drive storage, the term is often rounded to mean
1,000,000 bytes.
MB/sec
Abbreviation for megabytes per second.
Mbps
Abbreviation for megabits per second.
MBR
Abbreviation for master boot record.
MCA
Abbreviation for Micro Channel Architecture, which is
designed for multiprocessing. MCA eliminates
potential conflicts that arise when installing new
peripheral devices. MCA is not compatible with either
EISA or XT bus architecture, so older cards cannot be
used with it.
memory
A system can contain several different forms of
memory, such as RAM, ROM, and video memory.
Frequently, the word memory is used as a synonym for
RAM; for example, an unqualified statement such as
"a system with 16 MB of memory" refers to a system
with 16 MB of RAM.
memory address
A specific location, usually expressed as a hexadecimal
number, in the system's RAM.
memory manager
A utility that controls the implementation of memory
in addition to conventional memory, such as extended
or expanded memory.
memory module
A small circuit board containing DRAM chips that
connects to the system board.
MHz
Abbreviation for megahertz.