F

factory JumpStart

A Solaris installation method that installs Solaris on a computer based on a profile determined by the computer's model and hard disk size.

fault tolerance

Indicates that if one component were to fail, the computer would still operate normally. Typically used to refer to hard disks and RAID volumes. If one hard disk were to fail and fault tolerance was enabled, the computer could still operate normally.

Federated Naming Service (FNS)

An umbrella naming service that is designed to sit on top of existing naming services. If your network has several naming services, FNS will provide a common interface between them all.

file system

A logical grouping of files and directories on a hard disk, or the specific method used to store and read information from a hard disk.

finish script

An optional Bourne shell script that runs after a custom JumpStart installation finishes. A finish script can perform such tasks as backing up file systems and changing the superuser password.

forking

When one process causes another process to start. Also called spawning.

Forth Monitor

The user interface for the OpenBoot PROM. The Forth Monitor presents a user with an ok prompt.

free hog

A temporary slice that exists only during the partitioning process. The free hog represents the remaining free space available (the space that does not have an existing slice) on the hard disk.

front file system

Used in CacheFS, the front file system contains the cached copies of original data located on the back file system. The front file system is located on the local computer.

full backup

A backup of all the data in a specific location, such as on a file system or on an entire computer.

full resynchronization

In a mirrored volume, when a new submirror is added to the volume, it must have all of the information on the volume written to it. This process is called a full resynchronization.