An optical fiber that has been doped with a rare earth element. Certain wavelengths excite the rare earth element, which in turn amplifies other wavelengths.
Initiator-Target Nexus (I_T Nexus)
A SCSI term referring to the relationship between an Initiator port and a Target port.
in-order delivery
(1) The receipt of frames at the destination node in the same order that they were transmitted by the source node. (2) The delivery of data to a specific protocol layer within the destination node in the same order that it was transmitted by the same protocol layer within the source node.
Input/Output (I/O)
A generic term referring to the acts of reading blocks from and writing blocks to a storage device, providing information to and drawing information from a computer, or transmitting frames onto and receiving frames from a network.
Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS)
A common metric for gauging the storage throughput requirements of an application.
Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE)
The common term for ATA-1.
Integrated Services architecture (IntServ)
A stateful QoS model used in IP networks as defined in IETF RFC 1633.
Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP)
Any of the routing protocols commonly used within an Autonomous System.
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
The global authority that assigns numbers such as parameters, ports, and protocols for use on the global Internet.
Internet Attached Storage (IAS)
See network attached storage (NAS).
Inter-Switch Link (ISL)
A network link that connects two switches.
interworking
The process of mixing disparate network technologies together in a manner that facilitates interaction.
IP-SAN
Acronym for Internet Protocol (IP) storage area network (SAN). A SAN built on IP for the purpose of transporting SCSI-3 traffic.
