Network Chico Computer
terms glossary
Some definitions from the Sharpened Glossary
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=R=
RAID: "Redundant
Array of Independent Disks" RAID is a method of storing
data on multiple hard disks. When disks are arranged in a RAID
configuration the computer sees them all as one large disk. However
they operate much more efficiently than a single hard drive.
Since the data is spread out over multiple disks the reading
and writing operations can take place on multiple disks at once.
This can speed up hard drive access time significantly. Multiple
hard drives may not improve hard disk performance as much as
multiple processors may enhance the CPU performance but it is
based on a similar logic. The benefits of RAID come from a technique
called "striping" which splits up the stored data among
the available drives. The "stripes" of data are usually
a couple of megabytes large and are interleaved between the drives.
The striping system also increases the mean time between failure
(MTBF) when reading data. This allows more data to be read accurately
in a short period of time. The benefits of the RAID system are
especially noticeable when storing large amounts of data. Many
web hosting and Internet Service Providers use RAID to store
data for their clients.
RAM: "Random Access
Memory" RAM is pronounced like the male sheep. RAM is made
up of small memory chips that are connected to the motherboard
of your computer. Every time you open a program it gets loaded
from the hard drive into the RAM. This is because reading data
from the RAM is much faster than reading data from the hard drive.
Running programs from the RAM of the computer allows them to
function without any lag time. The more RAM your computer has
the more data can be loaded from the hard drive into the RAM
which can help speed up your computer. Adding RAM can be more
beneficial to your computer's performance than upgrading the
CPU.
RDRAM: "Rambus Dynamic
Random Access Memory" It is a type of RAM made by Rambus
and is the fastest type of computer memory available. Typical
SDRAM can transfer data at speeds up to 133 MHz while standard
RDRAM can crank it up over 1 GHz. Though some motherboards can
use RDRAM as system memory it is so fast most boards cannot fully
benefit from the speed. Because of this RDRAM is typically used
for video memory on graphics accelerator cards, for cache memory
(located on the CPU), and for system memory in high-performance
workstations and servers. An improvement to RDRAM called Direct
Rambus (DRDRAM) allows for even faster data transfer rates. DRDRAM
uses a 16-bit bus rather than the 8-bit bus DRAM uses which means
it can handle 8 operations at once and can transfer data at a
speeds of 1.6 GHz.
Registry: This is a database
used by Microsoft Windows to store configuration information
about the software installed on a computer. This information
includes things like the desktop background, program settings,
and file extension associations.
The Windows registry consists of the following six parts:
HKEY_User - contains the user information for each user of
the system
HKEY_Current_User - has all the preferences for the current user
HKEY_Current_Configuration - stores settings for the display
and printers
HKEY_Classes_Root - includes file associations and OLE information
HKEY_Local_Machine - has the settings for the hardware, operating
system, and installed applications
HKEY_Dyn_Data - includes performance data
When you install a program it will usually write some data
to the computer's registry. If you want to manually edit the
registry for some reason you can use the "regedit.exe"
program which comes with the Windows operating system. However
you should not edit the registry if you don't know what you're
doing because it could disable your computer. In XP you
can use Start > Run > regedit
An entry for registry
also appears in the security
terms glossary.
Resolution: This term
can describe either how many pixels a monitor can display or
how fine a printer can print.
1. Monitors. A small monitor may have a resolution or 640
x 480, which means there are 640 pixels horizontally across the
screen and 480 pixels vertically. Some other common monitor resolutions
are 800 x 600, 1,024 x 768, and 1,280 x 1,024. The higher the
resolution the more that can be displayed on the screen.
2. Printers. Printer resolution measures how fine a printer
can print. This measurement is known as dots per inch, or "dpi."
The greater the dpi the better the image clarity. Scanner resolution
is also measured in dpi.
RGB: "Red-Green-Blue"
It refers to the three hues of light (red, green, and blue) that
can mix together to form any color. When the highest intensity
of each color is mixed together white light is created. When
each hue is set to zero intensity the result is black. TVs and
computer monitors use RGB to create the colorful images you see
on the screen. In print, however, the 4 colors cyan, yellow,
magenta, and black (CYMK) are used to create color images.
RISC: "Reduced Instruction
Set Computing"RISC is pronounced "risk." It is
arguably the fastest and most efficient microprocessor technology
available today. The RISC architecture is an improvement upon
the CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing) architecture used
in the original Intel Pentium chips. In 1974 John Cocke of IBM
Research was working on making a faster version of the CISC chip
and came up with a design that significantly reduced the number
of instructions need for performing computations. The new design
was not only faster than the CISC architecture but the chips
were also smaller and less expensive to manufacture. Motorola's
PowerPC chips (such as the G5 in Power Macs) are the most widely
used RISC-based chips. Intel has slowly been integrating RISC
technology into its chips but they still are mostly CISC-based.
ROM: "Read-Only Memory."
Do not confuse this term with RAM or a hard drive as many people
already do. ROM is memory containing hardwired instructions that
the computer uses when it boots up before the system software
loads. In PCs the instructions are read from a small program
in the ROM called the BIOS (Basic Input/Output
System).
Root: This computer term
is commonly used in reference to a computer's directory structure.
The root directory is the top-level directory of a file system.
For example on a Windows-based PC "C:\" would be the
root directory of the C drive. On a web server the root directory
is usually designated by just a forward slash ("/ ").
So, on a Unix system, you would type "cd /" (change
directory to root) to go to the root directory. Root is also
the name of the user who has complete administrative privileges
on a Unix or Linux server. While most users can only access their
own directory (i.e. "/www/users/~chico/") the root
user can access any folder from the root directory down. This
allows the root user to make system changes such as modifying
the permissions of other users.
Router: This is a hardware
device that routes data (hence the name) from a local area network
(LAN) to another network connection. A router acts like a coin
sorting machine allowing only authorized machines to connect
to other computer systems. Most routers also keep log files about
the local network activity and many have integrated firewalls.
RTF: "Rich Text Format"
This is a file format standardized by Microsoft for creating
formatted text files. Unlike a basic text file an RTF file can
include information such as text style, size, and color. The
nice thing about the RTF format is that it is a universal format
meaning it can be read by nearly all word processors.
Runtime: When a program
is running, or executing, it is said to be in runtime. The term
is mostly used by software developers to specify when errors
in a program occur. A "runtime error" is an error that
happens while the program is executing. For example if a program
told you that 2 + 2 was 5000 that would be a runtime error. A
memory leak where the program sucks up excessive amounts of system
memory is also a runtime error. The other major type of program
error is a compile-time error where the application will not
even compile into an executable program. Examples of compile-time
errors are syntax errors in the program code and file linking
errors.
Network Chico Computer
terms glossary
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