Glossary 215ms — Millisecond(s).MS-DOS® — Microsoft Disk Operating System.NAS — Network Attached Storage. NAS is one of the concepts used forimplementing shared storage on a network. NAS systems have their own operatingsystems, integrated hardware, and software that are optimized to serve specificstorage needs.NIC — Network interface controller. A device that is installed or integrated in asystem to allow connection to a network.NMI — Nonmaskable interrupt. A device sends an NMI to signal the processor abouthardware errors.ns — Nanosecond(s).NTFS — The NT File System option in the Windows 2000 operating system.NVRAM — Nonvolatile random-access memory. Memory that does not lose itscontents when you turn off your system. NVRAM is used for maintaining the date,time, and system configuration information.parity — Redundant information that is associated with a block of data.partition — You can divide a hard drive into multiple physical sections calledpartitions with the fdisk command. Each partition can contain multiple logical drives.You must format each logical drive with the format command.PCI — Peripheral Component Interconnect. A standard for local-busimplementation.PDU — Power distribution unit. A power source with multiple power outlets thatprovides electrical power to servers and storage systems in a rack.peripheral — An internal or external device, such as a diskette drive or keyboard,connected to a system.PGA — Pin grid array. A type of processor socket that allows you to remove theprocessor chip.