UDMA

/ˈʌl-trə diː-ɛm-eɪ/

n. “An advanced version of Direct Memory Access (DMA) for faster data transfer between storage devices and system memory.”

Direct Memory Access

/diː-ɛm-eɪ/

n. “A method for transferring data between devices and memory without involving the CPU for each byte.”

DMA, short for Direct Memory Access, is a data transfer technique that allows peripheral devices, such as HDDs, SSDs, or network cards, to read from or write to system memory directly, bypassing the CPU for individual data moves. This reduces CPU overhead, allowing the processor to focus on other tasks while large blocks of data are transferred efficiently.

PIO

/piː-aɪ-oʊ/

n. “A method for transferring data between the CPU and a storage device using programmed instructions rather than direct memory access.”

Explicit Congestion Notification

/iː-siː-ɛn/

n. “A mechanism in TCP/IP networks for signaling congestion without dropping packets.”

ECN, short for Explicit Congestion Notification, is a feature of modern IP networks that allows routers and endpoints to signal network congestion to senders proactively. Instead of relying solely on packet loss to indicate congestion, ECN marks packets to alert the sender to slow down, improving network efficiency and reducing latency.