Small Computer System Interface (SCSI, pronounced skuz-ee) is a set of parallel interface standards developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices(like printers, disk drives, scanners and other). It is a fast bus and supported by all major operating systems.
Small Computer System Interface (SCSI, pronounced skuz-ee) is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The official name of the SCSI standard is: ANSI X3.131.
The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI uses a low-voltage differential (LVD) bus, a method where data is transmitted by comparing the difference in voltage between a pair of wires. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it can connect a wide range of other devices, including scanners and CD drives.
Some important features:
- SCSI is capable of supporting eight devices, or sixteen devices with Wide SCSI.
- The latest version, 16-bit Ultra-640 (Fast-320) SCSI has a 640 MBps transfer speed.
- SCSI standards are generally backward-compatible.
Common SCSI components:
- Initiator - it issues requests for service by the SCSI device and receives responses.
- Target - A SCSI target is typically a physical storage device like a hard-disk or a storage array
- Service delivery subsystem - it allows communication to occur between the initiator and the target
The SCSI subsystem has a 3 level architecture with the "upper" level being closest to the user/kernel interface while the "lower" level is closest to the hardware.
For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCSI
