User's Manual

Glossary 253
DMA
Abbreviation for direct memory access. A DMA channel allows certain types of
data transfer between RAM and a device to bypass the microprocessor.
DMI
Abbreviation for Desktop Management Interface. DMI enables the management
of your computer system's software and hardware. DMI collects information about
the system's components, such as the operating system, memory, peripherals,
expansion cards, and asset tag. Information about the system's components is
displayed as a MIF file.
DMTF
Abbreviation for Distributed Management Task Force, a consortium of companies
representing hardware and software providers, of which Dell is a member.
dpi
Abbreviation for dots per inch.
DPMS
Abbreviation for Display Power Management Signaling. A standard developed by
the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA
®
) that defines the hardware
signals sent by a video controller to activate power management states in a
monitor. A monitor is said to be DPMS-compliant when it is designed to enter a
power management state after receiving the appropriate signal from a computer's
video controller.
DRAC
Refers to a remote management capability. See RAC.
DRAM
Acronym for dynamic random-access memory. A computer's RAM is usually made
up entirely of DRAM chips. Because DRAM chips cannot store an electrical charge
indefinitely, your computer continually refreshes each DRAM chip in the computer.
drive-type number
Your computer can recognize a number of specific hard drives. Each is assigned
a drive-type number that is stored in NVRAM. The hard drive(s) specified in your
computer's System Setup program must match the actual drive(s) installed in the
computer. The System Setup program also allows you to specify physical
parameters (logical cylinders, logical heads, cylinder number, and logical sectors
per pack) for drives not included in the table of drive types stored in NVRAM.