arbitrated loop:    1. A Fibre Channel interconnect topology in which each port is connected to the next, forming a loop. At any instant, only one port in a Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop can transmit data. Before transmitting data, a port in a Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop must participate with all other ports in the loop in an arbitration to gain the right to transmit data. The arbitration logic is distributed among all of a loop's ports. 2. The version of the Fibre Channel protocol used with the arbitrated loop physical topology. 3. A shared 100, 200, 400, 800 or 1600 (near future) megabyte-per-second Fibre Channel transport supporting up to a maximum of 126 devices and 1 attachment to a fabric. Ports with lower AL_PAs have higher priorities.

See also: FL_Port, NL_Port, private loop, private NL_Port, public loop, public NL_Port