A reference for Designing Servers and Peripherals for the Microsoft® Windows nt® Server Operating System Intel Corporation and Microsoft Corporation Publication Date: October 10, 1997

Glossary

See also the Hardware Glossary available on http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/glossary.htm.
Acronyms and Abbreviations

ABR   available bit rate

ACE   access control entry

ACPI   Advanced Configuration and Power Interface

ADA   Americans with Disabilities Act

ADSL   Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line

ANSI   American National Standards Institute

API   application programming interface

APIC   Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller

ARC   advanced RISC computing

ASCII   American Standard Code for Information Interchange

ASIC   application-specific integrated circuit

AT   IBM registered trademark for PC/AT

ATA   AT Attachment

ATAPI   ATA Packet Interface

ATM   asynchronous transfer mode

BAR   base address register

BDA   BIOS Data Area

BIOS   basic I/O system

bps   bits per second

CBR   constant bit rate

CHAP   challenge handshake authentication protocol

CID   CompatibleID

CIM   Common Information Model

CISC   complex instructions set computers

CMOS   complementary metal-oxide semiconductor

COM   1. Component Object Model; 2. legacy serial port.

CSS   copy scramble system

DAC   digital-to-analog converter

DCE   Data Communications Equipment

DDK   device driver kit

DHCP   Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

DLL   dynamic link library

DMA   direct memory access

DMI   Desktop Management Interface

DMTF   Desktop Management Task Force

DSVD   digital simultaneous voice/data

ECC   error correction code

ECP   extended capabilities port

EDT   European Deaf Telephone

EIDE   Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics

EISA   extended ISA

EPP   enhanced parallel port

ESCD   Extended System Configuration Data

ETSI   European Telecommunications Standards Institute

FCD   floppy disk controller

FC-PH   Fibre Channel Physical, Revision 4.3

FIFO   first in/first out

FSK   Frequency Shift Keyed

GB   gigabyte

GSM   global system for mobile communications

HAL   hardware abstraction layer

HCL   Hardware Compatibility List

HCT   Hardware Compatibility Tests

HDLC   high-level data link control

HID   Human Interface Device

HMMP   HyperMedia Management Protocol

HSM   hierarchical storage management

Hz   Hertz

IDE   Integrated Device Electronics

IEEE   Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IETF   Internet Engineering Task Force

IHV   independent hardware vendor

I/O   input/output

IOCTL   I/O control

IP   Internet Protocol

IPX/SPX   Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange protocol

IRP   I/O request packet

IRQ   interrupt request

ISA   Industry Standard Architecture

ISDN   Integrated Service Digital Network

I₂O   Intelligent I/O

ITU   International Telecommunications Union

LAN   local area network

LBA   logical block addressing

LED   light-emitting diode

LPT   line printer

LSI   large-scale integration

L2   Level 2

LUN   logical unit number

MAC   Media Access Control

MB   megabyte

Mb/s   megabits per second

MSCS   Microsoft Cluster Server

MDK   Modem Developers Kit

MEI   Matsushita Electronics Incorporated

ms   millisecond

MSDN   Microsoft Developer Network

NCSC   National Computer Security Center

NDIS   Network Driver Interface Specification

NetBEUI   NetBIOS Extended User Interface

NIUF   National ISDN User’s Forum

NMI   Nonmaskable Interrupt

NTMS   Windows NT Media Services

OAM   operation and maintenance

OEM   original equipment manufacturer

OpenHCI   Open Host Controller Interface

OSI   Open System Interface

PCI   Peripheral Component Interconnect

PCI 2.1   PCI Local Bus Specification, Revision 2.1

PCM   pulse coded modulation

PIO   programmed I/O

PLDA   Private Loop Direct Attach

POST   power-on self-test

PPP   point-to-point protocol

PS/2   Personal System/2

PTT   Post, Telephone, and Telegraph

QIC   Quarter-Inch Cartridge

QOS   Quality of Service

RADSL   rate adaptive digital subscriber line

RAID   retrieval and information database

RAM   random access memory

RFC   Request for Comments

RISC   reduced instruction set computing

ROM   read-only memory

rt   real time

SCSI   small computer system interface

SDK   software developers kit

SFF   Small Form Factor

SIG   Special Interest Group

SMART   Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology

SMP   symmetric multiprocessing

SNMP   Simple Network Management Protocol

SOHO   small office/home office

SPID   service profile identifier

STS/EN   Status and Enable bits (ACPI)

SVGA   Super VGA

TAPI   Telephony Application Program Interface

TB   terabyte

TCO   total cost of ownership

TCP/IP   Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol

TDD   Telephone Device for the Deaf

TFTP   Trivial File Transfer Protocol

UART   Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter

UBR   unspecified bit rate

UDF   universal disk format

UHCI   Universal Host Controller Interface

Unimodem   universal modem driver

UPS   uninterruptible power supply

USB   Universal Serial Bus

VAR   value-added retailer

VBR   variable bit rate

VC   virtual channel

VCI   virtual channel identifier

VDM   virtual device manager

VGA   video graphics array

VPI   virtual path identifier

WBEM   Web-based Enterprise Management

WDL   Windows Driver Library

WDM   Win32 Driver Model

WfM   Wired for Management

WHQL   Windows Hardware Quality Laboratory

WMI   Windows Management Instrumentation

Hardware Glossary

A

ACPI  Advanced Configuration and Power Inter­face. A specification that defines a new interface to the system board that enables the operating system to implement operating system–directed power management and system configuration. Following the ACPI allows system manufacturers to build systems consistent with the OnNow design initiative for instantly available PCs.

ACPI hardware  Computer hardware with the features necessary to support operating system power management and with the interfaces to those features described using the Description Tables as specified in Advanced Configuration and Power Interface Specification.

add-on devices  Devices that are traditionally added to the base system to increase functionality, such as audio, networking, graphics, SCSI con­troller, and so on. Add-on devices fall into two categories: devices built onto the system board and devices on expansion cards added to the system through a system board connector such as PCI.

ADSL  Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. A method for moving data over regular phone lines. An ADSL circuit is much faster than a regular phone connection, and the wires coming into the subscriber’s premises are the same (copper) wires used for regular phone service.

API  Application programming interface. A set of routines that an applications program uses to request and carry out lower-level services performed by a computer operating system.

architecture  A general term referring to the structure of all or part of a computer system. Also covers the design of system software, such as the operating system, as well as referring to the combination of hardware and basic software that links machines on a computer network.

ATA  AT Attachment. An integrated bus usually used between host processors and disk drives. Used interchangeably with IDE.

ATAPI  ATA Packet Interface. A hardware and software specification that documents the interface between a host computer and CD‑ROM drives using the ATA bus.

ATM  Asynchronous transfer mode. A transmission protocol that segments user traffic into small, fixed-size units called cells, which are transmitted to their destination, where they are reassembled into the original traffic. During transmission, cells from different users may be intermixed asynchronously to maximize utilization of network resources.

B

bandwidth  Usually used in reference to the amount of data per unit of time that must move from one point to another, such as from CD‑ROM to processor.

BIOS  Basic I/O system. A set of routines that works closely with the hardware to support the transfer of information between elements of the system, such as memory, disks, and the monitor. Although critical to performance, the BIOS is usually invisible to the end user; however, programmers can access it.

bps  Bits per second. The number of bits transferred per second in a data communications system. A measure of speed.

bus enumerator  In a Plug and Play system, a bus device driver that detects devices located on a specific bus and loads information about devices into the hardware tree.

C

cache  A special memory subsystem in which frequently used data values are duplicated for quick access.

CD-ROM  Compact disc read-only memory. A 4.75‑inch laser-encoded optical memory storage medium (developed by NV Philips and Sony Corporation) with the same constant linear velocity (CLV) spiral format as compact audio discs and some video discs. CD‑ROM discs can hold about 550 MB of data.

CI  Component Instrumentation. A specification for DMI related to the service layer.

class  For hardware, the manner in which devices and buses are grouped for purposes of installing and managing device drivers and allocating resources.

class driver  A driver that provides system-required, hardware-independent support for a given class of physical devices. Such a driver communicates with a corresponding hardware-dependent port driver, using a set of system-defined device control requests, possibly with additional driver-defined device control requests. Under WDM, the class driver is responsible for multiprocessor and interrupt synchronization.

COM  1. Component Object Model; the core of OLE. Defines how OLE objects and their clients interact within processes or across process boundaries. 2. Legacy serial port.

CPU  Central processing unit. A computational and control unit of a computer; the device that interprets and executes instructions. By definition, the CPU is the chip that functions as the “brain” of the computer.

D

data rate  The speed of a data transfer process, normally expressed in bits per second or bytes per second.

DDC  Display data channel. The Plug and Play baseline for monitors. The communications channel between a monitor and the display adapter to which it is connected. This channel provides a method for the monitor to convey its identity to the display adapter.

device  Any circuit that performs a specific function, such as a parallel port.

device ID  A unique ASCII string for a device created by enumerators to identify a hardware device and used to cross-reference data about the device stored in the registry. Distinguishes each logical device and bus from all others on the system.

disk I/O controller  Also HDC. A special-purpose chip and circuitry that directs and controls reading from and writing to a computer’s disk drive.

DLL  Dynamic link library. API routines that User‑mode applications access through ordinary procedure calls. The code for the API routine is not included in the user’s executable image. Instead, the operating system automatically points the executable image to the DLL procedures at run time.

DMA  Direct memory access. A method of moving data from a device to memory (or vice versa) without the help of the microprocessor. The system board uses a DMA controller to handle a fixed number of channels, each of which can be used by only one device at a time.

DMI  Desktop Management Interface. A framework created by the DMTF. DMTF specifications define industry-standard interfaces for instrumentation providers and management applications.

driver  Kernel-mode code used either to control or emulate a hardware device.

driver stack  Device objects that forward IRPs to other device objects. Stacking always occurs from the bottom up and is torn down from the top.

DVD  Optical disk storage that encompasses audio, video, and computer data.

E

ECP  Extended capabilities port. An asynchronous, 8‑bit–wide parallel channel defined by IEEE 1284–1944 that provides PC-to-peripheral and peripheral-to-PC data transfers.

EISA  Extended Industry Standard Architecture. A 32‑bit expansion bus designed as a superset of the ISA bus. Designed to expand the speed and data width of the legacy expansion bus while still supporting older ISA cards.

enumerator  A Plug and Play device driver that detects devices below its own device node, creates unique device IDs, and reports to Configuration Manager during startup. For example, a SCSI adapter provides a SCSI enumerator that detects devices on the SCSI bus.

expansion bus  A group of control lines that provide a buffered interface to devices located either on the system board or on cards that are plugged into expansion connectors. Common expansion buses included on the system board are USB, PC Card, and PCI.

expansion card  A card that connects to an expansion bus and contains one or more devices.

expansion ROM See option ROM.

F

FDC  Floppy disk controller. A chip and associated circuitry that directs and controls reading from and writing to a computer’s disk drive.

FIFO  First in/first out. A method for processing a queue in which items are removed in the same order they were added.

filters  1. Components that provide the basic building blocks for processing data. 2. Under the WDM Stream architecture, also known as a functional device or multimedia processing driver. Each filter’s capability is described in part by a number of connection points called pins. Each pin can consume, produce, or both consume and produce a data stream such as digital audio. Specialized tasks can be solved by connecting filters by way of their pins into a topology—for example, to play filtered and mixed audio. 3. Under WDM, a filter is implemented as a kernel-mode entity that is a device object usually implemented by a kernel driver. 4. Under ActiveMovie, a filter is a User-mode entity that is an instance of a COM object, usually implemented by a DLL.

full duplex  In terms of data flow, indicates
bi-directional data flow.