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SCSI gives computers and storage devices a shared set of commands for requesting and carrying out operations. It is not just an old cable: SCSI names a family of standards, and its command set can travel over different buses and protocols. The historical parallel SCSI bus has largely fallen out of use, but SCSI commands remain in use across other storage connections.
What is the purpose of SCSI?
SCSI’s purpose is to let a host—such as a computer or storage controller—and a peripheral device communicate using agreed-upon commands and behavior. The standards describe device models, interfaces, functions, and operations so that conforming implementations can interoperate.
For example, a host can issue a structured command to request an operation from a storage device. The SCSI command set gives both sides a shared vocabulary for that request. The applicable device standard defines the expected behavior, while the transport carries the command and any associated data between them.
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Is SCSI a bus, a protocol, or a command set?
The term is used in more than one related way. Keeping the command definitions separate from the connection that carries them makes the technology easier to understand:
- SCSI command set: Defines operations a host can request and how devices are expected to respond.
- Transport or bus: Provides a way to carry commands and data between host and device.
- Parallel SCSI bus: The historical physical interface associated with older SCSI equipment. The Linux kernel’s SCSI Interfaces Guide says parallel SCSI has largely fallen out of use, while the command set is used over many buses and protocols.
Consequently, seeing SCSI in a device or software description does not necessarily mean it uses a parallel SCSI cable or connector.
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How can SCSI commands use different connections?
A transport moves command information and any related data across a particular connection. The Linux kernel guide names USB, SATA, SAS, Fibre Channel, FireWire, ATAPI, and iSCSI as buses or contexts through which SCSI commands may be used. This does not mean every device on those connections exposes every SCSI feature. Support depends on the device, transport, and implementation.
This division is useful when diagnosing compatibility. A shared command vocabulary can help conforming systems interoperate, but it does not make connectors interchangeable or guarantee that any host can communicate with any drive. The interface, transport, controller, and device capabilities still matter.
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How is SCSI different from SAS?
SCSI and SAS are related, but they are not synonyms. SCSI supplies command definitions; SAS is a serial physical interconnect and transport family that can carry SCSI commands. The cited INCITS 417-2006 (SAS-1.1) catalog entry describes protocols for SCSI commands, ATA commands, and interface management. That catalog entry is an older SAS edition, not a statement of the latest SAS revision.
In practical terms, a reference to SCSI may concern what a device is asked to do, while a reference to SAS may concern the serial connection and protocols used to communicate with it.
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What SCSI standards do—and do not—guarantee
SCSI standards create common expectations for commands and device behavior. ISO’s listing for SPC-4 describes interoperability across device types and distinguishes mandatory commands from optional ones. An earlier ISO listing for SCSI Primary Commands – 2 (SPC-2) describes SCSI’s peer-to-peer I/O bus and multi-device interoperability purpose.
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Nor does “SCSI” by itself specify a single speed. The family spans different transports and implementations, so a general throughput figure or performance advantage cannot be inferred from the name alone.
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