User's Manual

Glossary 229

Abbreviation for power supply.

PS/2

Abbreviation for Personal System/2.

PXE

Abbreviation for Pre-boot eXecution Environment.

QFP

Acronym for quad flat pack.

RAC

Acronym for remote access controller. Dell OpenManage Server Administrator

supports all RACs. These include the DRAC II, DRAC III, DRAC III/XT, ERA,

and ERA/O.

RAID

Acronym for redundant array of independent drives.

RAM

Acronym for random-access memory. The computer's primary temporary storage

area for program instructions and data. Each location in RAM is identified by a

number called a

memory address

. Any information stored in RAM is lost when you

turn off your computer.

RAMBUS

Acronym for Rambus

DRAM, a type of memory (DRAM) developed by Rambus,

Inc.

RAMDAC

Acronym for random-access memory digital-to-analog converter.

Raw

Unprocessed. The term refers to data that is passed along to an I/O device without

being interpreted. In contrast,

cooked

refers to data that is processed before being

passed to the I/O device.

Raw often refers to uncompressed text that is not stored in any proprietary format.

The term comes from UNIX, which supports cooked and raw modes for data

output to a terminal.