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Instrument net - Instrumentation glossary Category: Electronics and Engineering > Instrumentation Date & country: 13/11/2007, UK Words: 392

MAN
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Metropolitan area network. A network that spans a metropolitan area.

Management contractor
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) Contractor or consultant employed by the investor to prepare the specifications for the general contractor to tender against and assist in bid evaluation. Management contractor is usually retained to ensure that the general contractor meets the quality specification identified in the tender documents.

Master Modules
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) The master is set over the 'slave' module, i.e. is able to control it. These are sometimes called 'parent' modules.

Material traceability
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) Documentation provided by the supplier to prove that the goods are manufactured from materials (metals) of the correct specification. There are different levels of severity, the least of which is a 'letter of conformity' issued by the seller.

MAU
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Medium attachment unit (IEEE 802.3) or multi-station access unit (IEEE 802.5). In IEEE 802.3, a device that performs IEEE 802.3 onto the network. A MAU is referred to as a transceiver in the Ethernet specification.

Mbps
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Megabits per second.

MCS
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Management Command System. A kind of HMI.

Media
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) The physical environment through which transmission signals pass. Common network media include twisted pair, coaxial, fibre optic cable, and the atmosphere.

MES
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Management Execution System. By monitoring labour resources, process history and machine usage & failures, a MES will help various features such as preventive maintenance, employee time & attendance, quantity maintenance and operator data.

Migration
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) When manufacturers produce new products they usually provide a migration path whereby their existing clients can upgrade their systems without total replacement. Rival manufacturers also provide migration paths away from the systems of others' in order to gain market share.

Mill traceability
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) A level of material traceability where the seller must supply documents issued by the foundry which detail the chemical analysis and material properties of the raw material. The documents must be cross referenced with the serial numbers of the finished goods.

MIS
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Management Information System

MMF
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Multi-mode fibre optic cable.

MMI
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Man-Machine Interface. Also known as Human Machine Interface (HMI).

Modem
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Modulator-demodulator. A device that converts digital signals into a form suitable for transmission over analogue communication facilities and vice versa.

MRPII
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Manufacturing Resource Planning 2.

MTU
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Master Telemetry Unit

MTU
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Maximum transmission unit. The maximum packet size, in bytes, that a particular interface will handle.

Multi-mode fibre
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Optical fibre supporting propagation of multiple frequencies of light.

Multiplexing
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Putting multiple signals on a single channel.

Multitasking
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) The ability of a computer to handle more than two programmes at the same time.

NAMAS
(STANDARDS GLOSSARY) EEC Listed Certification Bodies/Accreditation Service

Name server
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) A server provided on the network that resolves network names into network locations or addresses..

NC
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Numerical Controller

NDT
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) Non Destructive Test - General (technical) term to identify that the goods supplied should be subjected to individual or random tests. E.g. Pressure, x-ray, dye penetrant.

Netbios
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Network basic input/output system. A session layer interface for work stations networks from IBMand Microsoft

NetView®
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) IBM network management architecture and related applications.

NetWare
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) The world's most popular distributed file system that provides transparent remote file access and numerous other distributed network services.

Network
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) A collection of computers and other devices that are able to communicate with each other over some network medium.

Network address
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) A network layer address referring to a logical, rather than a physical, network device. Also called protocol address.

Network layer
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Layer three of the OSI reference model. Layer three is the layer at which routing occurs.

Network management
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Systems or actions that help maintain, characterise, or troubleshoot a network.

Neural Network
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) A neural network is a computer network designed to function in a similar way to natural neural structures such as a human brain.

NIC
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Network interface card. A circuit board that provides communication capabilities between a computer or computer system and a communication network. Also called adapter.

Node
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) An entity that can access a network. Also called device.

NOS
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Network operating system. Distributed file systems such as NetWare, Banyan® VINES NFS, LAN Manager, etc.

Null modem
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Small box or cable used to join computing devices directly, rather than over a network.

NVRAM
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Non-volatile RAM. Random access memory that retains its contents when a Unit is powered oft.

OCS
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Open Control System. This term is sometimes used to emphasise the lack of proprietary architecture. ABB include the term in their DCS brandname, Advant OCS.

OEM
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Original Equipment Manufacturer.

OEM
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) Original Equipment Manufacturer - These are typically suppliers of electrical/mechanical packages e.g. dosing pumps, compressors, separators, refrigerators, evaporators.

OFC
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Open Fieldbus Consortium.

OIML-IOLM.
(STANDARDS GLOSSARY) Organisation Internationale de Metrologie Legale (Oiml).

OIS
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Operator Interface Station. A kind of HMI.

OLE
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Object Linking and Embedding, Microsoft's greatest contribution to industrial control, allows operators to link the same object in several different applications.

OPC
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) OLE for process control.

Open architecture
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) An architecture according to which third-party developers can legally develop products and for which public domain specifications exist.

Open Systems
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Open systems are customarily defined as those systems that can be supplied by hardware components from multiple vendors, and whose software can be operated from different platforms. They are opposite to closed or proprietary systems.

OS
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) An OS is an abbreviation for an Operating System which is the basic computer system which makes all computers function.

OSI
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Open system interconnection. An international standardisation program created by ISO and CCITT to develop standards for data networking, that facilitates multiple vendor equipment interoperability.

OSI reference model
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) A network architectural model developed by ISO and CCITT, The model consists of seven layers, each of which specifies particular network functions such as addressing, flow control, error control, encapsulation, and reliable message transfer. The highest layer (the application layer) is closest to the user. The lowest layer (the physical layer) is closest to the media technology. The OSI reference model is used universally as a method for teaching and understanding network functionality.

Packet
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) A logical grouping of information that includes a header and (usually) user data.

Packet buffer
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Storage area to hold incoming data until the receiving device can process the data.

Packet switching
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Network on which nodes share bandwidth with each other by intermittently sending logical information units (packets).

PAMI
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) Positive Alloy Material Inspection (technical term) - Usually used on contracts where stainless steel is required. It is an additional material test to check that the correct material grade is used. Takes place before and after production/assembly of the goods supplied.

Parity check
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) A process for checking the integrity of a character. A parity check involves appending a bit that makes the total number of binary 1' digits in a character or work (excluding the parity bit) either odd (for 'odd parity') or even (for 'even parity').

PC
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Personal Computer

PDU
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Protocol data unit, Another work for packet as defined by the OSI.

Peer to peer computing
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Distributed processing network systems in which each network device runs both client and server portions of an application,

Performance bond
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) A bank guarantee of a specified value issued by the seller to guarantee that the seller will honour his contractual obligations. The buyer has the freedom to demand payment without the seller`s permission.

PFD
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Process Flow Diagram

Physical address
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) The link layer address of a network device. Also called hardware address.

Physical layer
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Layer one of the OSI reference model. The physical layer defines the electrical, mechanical, and physical interfaces to the network and aspects of the network medium.

PID
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) PID stands for proportional, integral, derivative. Proportional means changing a variable in proportion to its difference from the set-point. Integral rectifies any small difference in the variable and the set-point. Derivative reduces the other oscillations.

PIMS
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Process Information Management System

Ping
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Packet internet grouper. Refers to the IOMP echo message and its reply. Often used to test the reachablility of a network device.

Plant builder
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) In large industrial projects there are many modules or services that are supplied as a complete plant. Examples of these are turbine generators, air separation plant, reverse osmosis unit, effluent treatment plant. Very often they are subcontractors managed by the architect or directly by the investor.

PLC
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) A Programmable Logic Controller is a controller which stores instructions to command a device, such as a valve, to which it is connected to start up, operate and shut down.

PNET
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) The Danish fieldbus. The Profibus organisation is seeking to integrate this in the common Profibus PA protocol.

Port
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) An interface on an internetworking device.

PPP
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Point-to-Point Protocol. A successor to SLIP protocol that provides router-to-router and host-to-network connections over synchronous and asynchronous circuits.

Presentation layer
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Layer six of the OSI reference model. This layer is concerned with the syntax of the data exchanged between two application-layer entities.

Print server
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) A networked computer system that fields, manages, and executes print requests from other network devices.

Process Variable
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) An aspect of the processed product which changes during processing, e.g. temperature. Some variables can be measured, but in some processes some variables can only be judged by dead reckoning.

Profibus
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) The German fieldbus, not to be confused with the common European fieldbus Profibus PA.

Profibus PA
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) This is the name agreed on a common European Fieldbus for process automation, still disputed by mainly American companies. Its main pusher in the industry is Siemens.

Propagation delay
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) The time required for data to travel over a network from source to final destination.

Protocol
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) A set of rules to govern system-to-system use. For example, a protocol might specify communication method, transmission rate, data format or error check method.

Protocol
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) A formal description of a set of rules and conventions that govern how devices on a network exchange information.

Protocol converter
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Enables equipment with different data formats to communicate by translating the data transmission code of one device to the data transmission code of another device.

Protocol stack
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Related layers of protocol software that function together to implement a particular communications architecture.

Proxy
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) An entity that, in the interest of efficiency, essentially stands in for another entity.

Purchasing Contractor
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) The contractor is responsible for the purchasing activity only.

QP
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) Quality Plan - Document detailing how a supplier assures the quality of production.

Query
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Message used to inquire about the value of some variable or set of variables.

Queue
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) An ordered list of elements waiting to be processed,

Redundancy
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) This is the capacity to switch from primary equipment to standby equipment automatically without affecting the process under control.

Repeater
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) A device that regenerates and propagates electrical signals between two network segments.

Retention
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) Money held back by the buyer as a provision against defects appearing after the goods have been accepted but before the warranty period has expired.

RFC
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Request for comments. Documents used as the primary means for communicating information about the Internet. Some RFC's are designated as Internet standards.

RFQ
(PROJECT GLOSSARY) Request for quotation

RG-58
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Coaxial cable with 50-ohm impedance.

RG-62
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Coaxial cable with 93-ohm impedance (used by ARCnet).

Ring topology
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Topology in which the network consists of a series of repeaters connected to one another by unidirectional transmission lines to form a single closed loop. Each station on the network connects to the network at a repeater.

RIO Bus
(CONTROL SYSTEMS GLOSSARY) Remote Input/Output bus. This is a communication bus used to connect a field control unit with remote I/O points or nodes.

RIP
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Routing information protocol. An interior gateway protocol (IGP) supplied with Berkeley UNIX systems. RIP is the most common IGP in the Internet and uses hop count as a routing metric.

RJ-1 1
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Standard four conductor connectors for phone lines.

RJ-45
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) Standard eight conductor connectors for IEEE 802.3 networks that also can be used as phone lines.

RoSPA
(STANDARDS GLOSSARY) Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents

Route
(NETWORK GLOSSARY) A path through an internetwork.