glossary category

The total number of bits per second transferred to or from the media access control (MAC). For example, 100BASE-T has a bit rate of one hundred million bits per second (108 b/s)

The ratio of the number of bits received in error to the total number of bits received

This technology was popular for digital applications until the CMOS semiconductor technology was developed. CMOS drew considerably less power in standby mode, and so it replaced many of the bipolar applications around the early 1990s

Basic input/output system. The BIOS gives the computer a built-in set of software instructions to run additional system software during computer boot-up

To be specific, binary refers to a numeric representation that is comprised of (frequently very long) sequences of only two values, usually 0 and 1. Deep down at their very core, most computers really only understand 0 and 1 (or in other words, some little bit of information is either "off" or "on"). Thus, the term binary is frequently used to describe anything already translated to the form that is closest to what the system understands natively

Bit error ratio tester

Every benchmark code of SPEChpc96 has a technical advisor who is knowledgeable about the code and the scientific/engineering problem, possibly with the help of experts outside the SPEC organization

A reference point. Originally, a mark on a workbench used to compare the lengths of pieces so as to determine whether one was longer or shorter than desired. For computers, a benchmark is a test, or set of tests, designed to compare the performance of one computer system against the performance of others. A benchmark is not necessarily a capacity planning tool. That is, benchmarks may not be useful in attempting to guess the correct size of a system required for a particular use.

* A frame containing electronic equipment
* A space in a rack into which a piece of electronic equipment of a certain size can be physically mounted and connected to power and other input/output devices

A unit of signaling speed expressed as the number of times per second the signal can change the electrical state of the transmission line or other medium. Depending on the encoding strategies, a signal event may represent a single bit, more, or less than one bit. Contrast with bit rate, bits per second (from IEEE 610.7-1995 [B38])