Glossary

This glossary provides definitions for many of the terms you will see while using the AlphaServer Management Station (AMS) documentation. Although the majority of terms are related to the AMS, other terms related to platform management are included.

Click letter for quick access: [Special Characters] [Numbers] A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Special Characters

/

See root

1

2p drawer

A chassis with backplane that supports one dual processor module, five PCI/PCI-X slots, and one AGP slot.

8p drawer

A chassis with backplane that supports four dual processor modules.

A

available swap space

The amount of swap space not reserved by processes. In contrast, free swap space is everything except for the space actually in use. Available swap space is smaller than free swap space because it takes into account both the space that is in use and any reservations that processes may have made. Free swap space does not take reservations into account.

See also swap space

B

backplane manager

See MBM

base operating system

The operating system without any additional third-party or layered products installed. All software subsets that are located on the first CD-ROM comprise the base operating system.

boot time

The time when the operating system is initializing. In the case of a cold boot, the hardware also is initialized.

bootable

Having the ability to load and initialize the operating system.

Bourne shell

The command interpreter and interpreted programming language originally developed by Steve Bourne.

See also shell

C

character device

A data storage or transfer device that manipulates data in increments of a single character; for example, a terminal.

client

A computer system that uses resources provided by another computer system called a server.

CMM

CPU management module. A plug-in card on the dual processor module that provides local module power and initialization control.

console

A port number assigned to a platform or system that allows you to connect to and monitor the platform or system.

console mode

When the system is halted, the operating system is no longer running, and the console subsystem is started. This state is also known as console mode and is recognizable by the console mode prompt, which is represented by three right arrow characters (>>>). The console mode prompt is sometimes called triple arrows or chevron prompt.

corporate LAN

A conventional local area network (LAN), or wide area network (WAN), used for remote management by connecting to the multi-server LAN.

CPU module

See dual processor module

D

default

Any value that is set automatically by an application or process.

default partition

1. The partition used by a system as the default boot partition.

2. The physical portion of a disk that usually is assigned by the installation process to hold a specific file system.

See also partition

default partition table

The disk partitions that are defined in the /etc/disktab file or, in the absence of an entry in that file, the disk driver itself. The default partition table varies with disk type because it depends upon the size of the disk itself. The disklabel -p command is used to view a disk's default partition table.

See also partition table

device

1. The general name for any peripheral hardware connected to the processor that is capable of receiving, storing, or transmitting data. For example, card readers, line printers, and terminals are record-oriented devices. Magnetic tape devices and disks are examples of mass storage devices. Terminal line interfaces and interprocessor links are examples of communication devices.

2. The files in the /dev directory that are used to access physical devices are themselves sometimes called devices.

device name

The name or address used to access a physical disk. Device names are located in the /dev directory.

domain

1. Any single element of a domain name. Using host1.nyc.bigcorp.com as an example: nyc.bigcorp.com is the domain and host1 is the unique host name.

2. Any qualified portion of a domain name. Qualified means that the domain name is fully specified all the way to the root domain. Using host1.nyc.bigcorp.com as an example: nyc.bigcorp.com, bigcorp.com, and .com are qualified domains.

3. The domain, and all the subdomains beneath it, down to the leaf nodes of the domain space tree. Using nyc.bigcorp.com as an example: nyc.bigcorp.com is the name of the domain, and the domain encompasses all the hosts located in nyc (New York City).

dual processor module

A module containing two processor chips, memory modules, voltage regulator modules (VRMs), and a CPU management module (CMM).

See also CMM

E

external LAN

See corporate LAN

F

firmware

The software stored in silicon (for example, ROM or EPROM) on a system's CPU board. Firmware is also known as console code. Firmware is the first software that runs when a system is turned on, and it directly controls all hardware. Each hardware platform uses a different set of firmware. The firmware on a platform is the same regardless of the operating system installed on the platform. Thus, firmware is platform dependent, but is not operating system independent.

fully qualified host name

A host name containing one or more labels separated by a period that uniquely defines a computer. A label is a string which begins with a letter and contains letters, digits, and hyphens and ends with a letter or a digit. A label can have between 2 and 63 characters, inclusive. A fully qualified host name can have a maximum of 254 characters. For example, host1.nyc.bigcorp.com is a fully qualified host name.

See also domain

H

hard partition

A subset of a system's computing resources that cannot exchange information or resources with any other partition on the system. The boundaries are maintained by a switch in the system chip. Faults are not propagated across hard partition boundaries.

high performance I/O drawer

An enclosure that has 8 high-speed (133 MHz) PCI-X buses, with four I/O riser modules.

host

1. The primary or controlling computer in a communications network.

2. Any computer system attached to a network.

host name

The name given to a computer. Lowercase and uppercase letters (a-z and A-Z), numbers (0-9), periods, and dashes are permitted in host names. Valid host names contain from 2 to 63 characters with the first character being a letter.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language. The coding (markup) inserted in a file intended for display on a World Wide Web browser that tells the browser how to display the words on a web page. The markup is done with tags, which are command words enclosed in angle brackets. For example, the tag <P> creates a new paragraph; the tag <TABLE> begins the formatting of a table. Although the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) promotes the standardization of HTML, both Netscape and Microsoft browsers currently implement some features differently and provide nonstandard extensions.

HyperText Markup Language

See HTML

I

I/O drawer

See high performance I/O drawer and standard I/O drawer.

I/O expander module

A module in the 2P drawer used to provide backplane manager logic and controllers for CD-ROM, SCSI disks, LAN, keyboard, mouse, and modem.

I/O port

Logic that provides an interface from the system chip to the I/O chip on I/O riser modules.

See also I/O riser module

I/O riser module

Module containing the I/O chip that functions as the interconnect between the system chip and PCI, PCI-X, and AGP buses. The standard I/O drawer has one I/O riser module; the high-performance I/O drawer can have up to four I/O riser modules.

init

A command that initializes the system by creating and controlling processes. This command also polls the hardware so that it is known to the Full Installation process. The processes run by the init command at each run level are defined in the /etc/inittab file.

init process

The root process created by the system that performs system administration tasks, such as spawning login processes and handling the orderly shutdown from multiuser to single-user mode.

instance

An operating system running in a partition.

internal LAN

A local network that connects the microprocessors used to manage a single ES47, ES80, and GS1280 platform at the lowest level by plugging into the system hub.

internet address

A unique 32-bit number that identifies a host's connection to an internet network. An internet address consists of a network number and a host number.

Internet Protocol

See IP

IP

Internet Protocol. The network layer protocol for the Internet protocol suite that provides the basis for the connectionless, best-effort packet delivery service. IP includes the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) as an integral part. The Internet protocol suite is referred to as TCP/IP because IP is one of the two most fundamental protocols.

IP address

A 32-bit quantity used to represent a point of attachment in an Internet. Periods (.) delineate each portion of the address.

See also IP

K

kernel

The core part of the operating system that controls processes, system scheduling, memory management, input and output services, device management, network communications, and the organization of the file systems.

Korn shell

A command interpreter and interpreted programming language developed by David Korn. The Korn shell (ksh) is semantically an extended version of the Bourne shell, with constructs and commands to implement enhanced features, including job control and command history recall. The POSIX shell is a superset of the Korn shell.

See also shell

ksh

The command that invokes the Korn shell; the name of the executable file that is the shell.

See also Korn shell, shell

L

LAN

Local Area Network. A group of two or more computer systems (hosts) connected by a transmission medium, such as an Ethernet cable, token ring, or FDDI. Each host is connected to the transmission medium by a hardware interface. A LAN is a data communications network that spans a physically limited area, such as a single office building. It usually is owned by the organization it services and provides high-bandwidth communication over inexpensive media.

See also network

LED

Light Emitting Diode. Diodes that emit visible light when electricity is applied. They are similar to light bulbs, but use much less electricity and respond much faster.

local area network

See LAN

log in

To begin using a computer system, usually by entering a login name and password to gain access to and communicate with the operating system as an authorized user.

M

MBM

backplane manager. A module on the backplanes of both the 2P and 8P drawers that controls the CPU management modules (CMMs) and has logic to monitor and control environmental conditions in the drawer.

See also base operating system

mount

To attach a file system to an existing directory to make the file system available for use. File systems are mounted by the mount command.

See also unmount

mount point

A directory that is the name of a mounted file system.

multiprocessor

A system with two or more processors sharing common physical memory.

multi-server LAN

Used to manage one or more AlphaServers from the AlphaServer Management Station (AMS) using high-level tools including Server Platform Manager (SPM) and AlphaServer Management Utility (AMU). Connects to each server's router (NAT) box.

N

NAT box

See Network Address Translator box.

network

Two or more computing systems that are linked for the purpose of exchanging information and sharing resources.

Network Address Translator box

The Network Address Translator box. Found on ES47, ES80, and GS1280 platforms, the NAT box is not part of the internal LAN. It is programmed to have a unique address on the multi-server LAN, and translate requests to this address to specific components within the internal LAN via the LAN management hub.

NFS

Network File System. A service that allows a system (the server) to make file systems available across a network for mounting by other systems (clients). When a client mounts an NFS file system, the client's users see the file system as if it were local to the client.

NFS mounted

Refers to a file system that is mounted over a network by NFS rather than being physically connected (local) to the system on which it is mounted.

See also NFS

P

partition

The physical portions of a disk that are named a through h. Disks are divided into sections that are then assigned to hold various file systems. By convention, the / ( root ) file system is always located on the first partition, named a. The /usr file system is on a different partition, often the g partition. The c partition usually represents the entire disk. Each partition may differ in size and can overlap other partitions. Two overlapping partitions cannot be used at the same time. Disks can have up to eight partitions. Partitions are sometimes known as slices.

partition table

The component of a disk label that specifies how a physical disk is divided or partitioned.

password

A string of characters that in conjunction with other information, such as the login name, uniquely confirms a user's identity to the system. Passwords should contain a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters and must be a minimum of six to a maximum of 16 characters in length.

path

An ordered list of the directories in which the shell searches for the executable files named by commands that are not entered with a pathname and are not shell built-in commands.

pathname

The name of a file, concatenated onto a list of the directories through which access to that file is achieved; hence, the complete name of the file. Absolute pathnames begin at the root directory and are written with an initial slash (for example, /usr/users/rolf/myfile.txt). Relative pathnames begin at the user's working directory and are written without the initial slash (for example, rolf/myfile.txt).

PBM

PCI backplane manager. Monitors and controls the activity and environment in the I/O drawers.

PCI backplane manager

See PBM

private LAN

See multi-server LAN

R

reboot

To bring the system down to console mode and restart the operating system.

reference page

One of a collection of files containing documentation on all commands, system calls, library routines, and so forth. Reference pages are often called manual pages or man pages.

regular expression

A pattern of one or more characters used to find text information and formed according to a set of rules that define how the characters are to be interpreted. For example, a period is interpreted as a valid match for any character in the input. The regular expression a.c matches any string containing the letter a and the letter c separated by a single intervening character, such as abc, a?c, a9c, and so on.

root

1. The login name for the superuser (system administrator).

See also superuser

2. The name applied to the topmost directory in the UNIX system's tree-like file structure; hence, the beginning of an absolute pathname. The root directory is represented in pathnames by an initial slash (/); a reference to the root directory itself consists of a single slash.

See also superuser, pathname

root directory

See root

root file system

The topmost file system under which all other file systems are mounted. The root file system contains the operating system files that get the rest of the system running.

root login

See root

S

script

1. A nonbinary program that is interpreted and executed by a specified shell.

2. In the sed editor, a list of editing commands to be applied to the input file.

server

A computer system that provides software or services to one or more other computers called clients.

See also client

setld

A command that is used to install, manage, and remove software subsets on a system that is already running the operating system.

sh

The command that invokes the Bourne shell.

shell

A program that interprets commands entered by the user, invoking programs and calling for system resources as needed.

See also Korn shell

single-user mode

An operating system mode that prohibits user logins, stops system services and daemons (for networking and graphical windowing environments), stops any running processes, and unmounts file systems.

soft partition

A subset of a hard partition's computing resources. There are no hardware boundaries between soft partitions. Hardware faults are propagated throughout the mesh of soft partitions.

SRM console

Firmware on the backplane manager module that provides a command-line interface for operator control of the system or of a partition. The SRM console is responsible for booting the operating system and passing system configuration data, discovered during power-up, to it.

standard I/O drawer

An enclosure, with eleven PCI/PCI-X slots and one AGP slot, that contains a single I/O riser module. An optional standard I/O module may be present to control an optional CD-ROM drive and SCSI storage drives.

su

A command that substitutes another user's login for that of the user who invoked the command, logging in the invoking user under the substituted login. The invoking user must know the login password for the user whose login is being substituted. If no other user's login is specified, the command substitutes the root login.

superuser

A user possessing privileges to override the normal restrictions on file access, process control, and so forth. A user who possesses these privileges becomes a superuser by issuing the su command, or by logging into the system as the user root.

swap space

Disk space used to hold modified memory from an idle or low priority process in order to reclaim the physical memory that the process is using.

symbolic link

A file that contains the pathname of another file or directory and acts as a pointer to that file or directory. The symbolic link can occur within the same file system or across file systems; also called a soft link or sym link.

SysMan Menu

A menu of system management tasks organized in a tree-like hierarchy with branches of general functionality and leaves for actual tasks. Selecting a leaf opens a dialog for performing the task. Depending on the user's display device, the SysMan Menu provides either a graphical or text-based interface. The SysMan Menu is invoked from the command line by entering /usr/sbin/sysman or from the CDE Application Manager if your system is running the CDE desktop.

system

A subdivision of a platform that runs an operating system.

U

unmount

The process that announces to the system that a file system previously mounted on a specified directory is to be removed. Only the person who mounted the particular file system or a superuser can unmount it. A file system is unmounted with the umount command.

See also mount

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

The address of a file or other resource accessible on the Internet. The type of file or resource depends on the Internet application protocol. For example, using the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the file can be an HTML page, an image file, or a program such as a CGI application or Java applet. Such an address would look like this: http://www.hp.com, which is the URL for the HP corporate web site.

V

version

The number assigned to a particular release of the base operating system or to layered software products.

See also base operating system