Data Center Industry Terms
F
- FAT
- File Access Table. More commonly referred to as FAT16 following the advent of FAT32. Uses 16-bit addressing. DOS and Windows 3.x machines commonly use FAT16.
- Fat Client
- A client/server application that performs most of the processing itself rather than at a server
- Fault Current
- The current that flows as a result of a short-circuit condition.
- FCB
- File Control Block. FCB introduced in the first version of MS-DOS. Because FCBs predate a hierarchical directory structure they can only be used with files in the current directory. Superseded for most purposes by file handles.
- FDD
- 1. Floppy Disk Drive.
2. Feature Driven Process.
- FDDI
- Fibre Distributed Data Interface. One type of LAN technology.
- FIPS
- Federal Information Processing Standard. A set of standards and guidelines developed by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for US government agency use.
- Fire stat
- A device located in the air conditioner that warns of a fire and initiates unit shutdown when return air temperatures exceed a pre-set threshold.
- Firewall
- A program (or set of programs) which prevents unauthorised access to a network or to an individual computer.
- Flash
- A term used to describe the change in state of refrigerant from a liquid to a vapor inside the expansion valve and evaporator coil of a computer room air conditioning unit.
- Flooded cell (Battery)
- A cell design that incorporates an excess amount of electrolyte.
- Flooded Distribution
- An air distribution or return methodology in which the computer room cooling system and IT equipment eject or draw in bulk air from the room without any special ductwork between them.
- Floor stand
- A device used to raise the height of the computer room air conditioner or air handler to match the height of the raised floor and manage the flow of air exiting the unit.
- Floor tile
- Part of a finished and raised floor system, the floor tile is a removable component that is commonly found in a 2ft x2ft (.609m X .609m) dimension. Floor tiles are made of hollow metal with a finish floor surface. Some floor tiles are filled with concrete or wood. Some floor tiles are designed for air distribution into the space.
- Fluid Cooler
- A device consisting of coils and fans to transfer heat energy from a flowing glycol stream to the outside atmosphere.
- Fluid Regulating Valve
- A device, often controlled by an electric motor, to regulate the flow of water or glycol through the coil and / or heat exchanger in a computer room air conditioner or air handler.
- Flywheel
- A flywheel is a heavy rimmed rotating mass used to keep a shaft of a machine turning at a steady speed creating mechanical energy. This mechanical energy is then converted to electrical energy.
- FQON
- Fully Qualified Object Name. The four parts of an object's name - its server, its instance, its owner and its name.
- Free cooling
- A practice where the outside atmosphere is used to directly cool the IT room or data center. There are two common types of free cooling. Airside free cooling introduces cold outside air directly into the IT room or data center when atmospheric conditions allow. Waterside free cooling uses an additional cooling coil containing cold glycol circulating directly from the fluid cooler when atmospheric conditions allow. There are building codes for areas in the Pacific Northwest that mandate free cooling for all data centers.
- Freon
- A generic term applied to several types of refrigerants commonly found in an air conditioning system.
- FTP
- File Transfer Protocol. Used for transferring files across networks.
- Fuel Cells
- Fuel cells operate like a car battery and make electricity by combining hydrogen ions with oxygen atoms.
- Full Duplex
- Data can be sent and received simultaneously and at the same speed
- Fully Ducted System
- An air distribution or return methodology in which air is directly ducted into or out of the loads.
