SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices, particularly known for its use with storage devices such as hard disk drives. Here are some key points about SCSI:
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Introduction: SCSI was introduced in the 1980s and has seen widespread use on servers and high-end workstations. New SCSI standards have been published as recently as SAS-4 in 2017.
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Standards: The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, electrical, optical, and logical interfaces. They also define command sets for specific peripheral device types, making it highly pragmatic and addressing commercial requirements.
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Interfaces: SCSI is available in a variety of interfaces. The first was parallel SCSI, which uses a parallel bus design. Since 2005, parallel SCSI has been gradually replaced by Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), which uses a serial design but retains other aspects of the technology.
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Compatibility: Although not all devices support all levels of SCSI, SCSI standards are generally backward-compatible. In personal computing, SCSI interfaces have been largely replaced by Universal Serial Bus (USB), but in the enterprise, SCSI is still used in server farms for hard drive controllers.
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Benefits: SCSI was used to increase performance, deliver faster data transfer transmission, and provide larger expansion for devices such as CD-ROM drives.
In summary, SCSI is a set of standards that has historically been used for connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices, particularly storage devices, and has seen widespread use in servers and high-end workstations.
