* The SCSI protocol defines how commands, status, and data blocks are exchanged

between initiators and targets.

* SCSI is a Block I/O protocol. The Initiator always sends the command, reads or
writes data blocks to the Target and receives a final Response

* SCSI protocol layer sits between the operating system and the peripheral
resources, it has different functional components

* SCSI architecture defines the relationship between initiators (hosts) and

targets (for example disks or tape) as a client/server exchange.

* The SCSI-3 application client resides in the host and

* represents the upper layer application, file system, and operating system I/O
requests. The
* SCSI-3 device server sits in the target device, responding to requests.

* SCSI uses a parallel architecture in which data is sent simultaneously over

multiple wires.
* SCSI is half-duplex - data travels in one direction at a time.
* On a parallel SCSI bus, a device must assume exclusive control over the bus in
order to communicate.
(SCSI is sometimes referred to as a �simplex� channel because only one device
can transmit at a time).
* The SCSI Initiator then selects the SCSI Target and sends a Command to initiate
a data transfer.
* At the end of the transfer, the device is de-selected and the bus is free.
* Parallel SCSI is limited to a maximum cable length of 25m.

The bus represents one of several potential SCSI interfaces installed in the host,
each supporting a separate string of disks.
The target represents a single disk controller on the string. And the LUN
designation allows for additional disks governed by a controller � for example, a
RAID device.

* SCSI was designed to support a few devices at most

* SCSI devices use hard addressing
* Each device has a series of jumpers that determine the device�s physical
address, or SCSI ID. The ID is software-configurable on some devices.
* Each device must have a unique SCSI ID. Before adding a device to the cable, the
administrator must know the ID of every other device connected to the cable and
choose a unique ID for this new device.
* The ID of each device determines its priority on the bus. For example, the SCSI
Initiator with ID 7 always has a higher priority than the SCSI Target with ID 6.
Because each device
must have exclusive use of the bus while it is transmitting, ID 6 must wait
until ID 7 has finished transmitting. Fixed priority makes it more difficult for
administrators to control performance and quality-of-service.

SCSI Operation
--------------
SCSI specifies three phases of operation
* Command � send the required command and parameters via a Command Descriptor
Block (CDB)
* Data � Transfer data in accordance with the command
* Response � Receive confirmation of command execution
Every communication between SCSI Initiator and SCSI Target is formed by sequences
of events called bus phases. Each phase has a purpose and is linked to other phases
to execute
SCSI commands and transfer data and messages back and forth.
The majority of the SCSI protocol is controlled by the SCSI Initiator. The SCSI
Target is usually passive and waits for a command.
Only the SCSI initiator can initiate a SCSI operation, by selecting a SCSI Target
and sending a CDB (Command Descriptor Block) to it.
If the CDB contains a Read command, the SCSI Target moves its heads into position
and retrieves the data from its disk sectors. This data is returned to the SCSI
Initiator.
If the CDB contains a Write Command, the SCSI Target prepares its buffers and
returns a Xfer- Rdy. When the SCSI Initiator receives Xfer-Rdy it can commence
writing data.
Finally, when the operation is complete, the SCSI Target returns a Response to
indicate a successful (or unsuccessful) data transfer.

-----
The Logical Block Address is an absolute address of where the first block should be
written (or read) on the disk.
LBA 00 is the first sector on the disk volume or LUN, LBA 01 is the second sector
and so on, until we reach the last sector of the disk volume or LUN.
When the CDB is sent to a block device (Disk), blocks are always 512 Bytes long.
The Transfer Length contains the number of 512 Byte blocks to be transferred.
When the CDB is sent to a streaming device (Tape), the block length is negotiated.
The Transfer Length contains the number of blocks to be transferred.
CDBs can be different sizes � 6Byte CDB, 10 Byte CDB, 12 Byte CDB, 16 Byte CDB etc.
to accommodate larger disk volumes, or transfer lengths. 10 Byte CDBs are common

Command Descriptor Block (CDB).

SCSI Commands
-------------
The following commands are of particular interest:
- REPORT LUNS How many LUNs do you have?
- INQUIRY What device are you?
- TEST UNIT READY Is the LUN available?
- REPORT CAPACITY What size is each LUN?

* Fibre Channel is a protocol used for efficiently transporting data between

devices connected to the same fabric.It is the network interconnect technology that
is most commonly used for SANs today
* Fibre Channel provides reliable and efficient data delivery with high throughput
and low latency.
* Fibre Channel is the transport technology most commonly used for SANs today.

Traditional storage technologies, such as SCSI, are designed for controlled, local
environments.
They support few devices and only short distances, but they deliver data quickly
and reliably.
Traditional data network technologies, such as Ethernet, are designed for chaotic,
distributed
environments. They support many devices and long distances, but delivery of data
can be
delayed (Latency)

FC combines the best of both worlds. It supports many devices and longer distances,
and it
provides reliable and efficient data delivery with high throughput and low latency.

Like SCSI, Fibre Channel is a Block I/O protocol, delivering data blocks (usually
512 Bytes
long) between devices in the same Fabric.

Fibre Channel Topologies

------------------------
Fibre Channel Protocol includes three basic SAN topologies.

Point-to-Point
--------------
* Exactly two FC ports connected together. Both devices have exclusive access to
the full link bandwidth

Arbitrated Loop
* Up to 126 FC ports connected together on a Private Loop (not connected
to a FC Switch)
* Up to 127 FC ports connected together on a Public Loop (connected via
a FL port on a FC Switch)
* All devices share the available bandwidth around the loop, therefore
a practical limit might only be 20 or so devices.

* A device that wishes to communicate with another device must do

the following operations.

1. Arbitrate to gain control of the Loop

2. Open the port it wishes to communicate with
3. Send or Receive Data frames
4. Close the port
5. Release the loop, ready for the next transfer.
� Usually only two devices communicate at a time, the other
FC ports in the loop are passive 24 Cisco Storage Design Fundamentals (CSDF) v3.0
Copyright � 2006, Cisco Systems, Inc.
� When the loop is broken or a device is added or removed,
the downstream FC port sends thousands of LIP primitive sequences to inform the
other loop devices that the loop has been broken.
� The LIP (Loop Initialization Procedure) is used to assign
(or re-assign) Arbitrated Loop Physical Addresses (ALPAs) to each FC Port on the
loop. This operation is disruptive
and frames may be lost during this phase. Nowadays, most
users would connected FCAL devices via a FC Hub to minimize disruption.
Switched Fabric

* The topology of choice for FC SANs. Each connected device has access to full
bandwidth on its link through the switch port it is connected to.
* The FC SAN can be expanded by adding more switches and increasing the number of
ports for connected devices.
* The FC 24 bit addressing scheme allows for potentially 16,500,000 devices to be
connected. A realistic number is a few thousand. This is because there can only be
a
maximum 239 switches in a single fabric and most switches today have a small
number of ports each.
* Each FC switch must provide �services� for management of the SAN. These
services include a Name Server, Domain Manager, FSPF Topology Database, Zoning
Server, Time Server etc.

Fibre Channel Switched Fabric Topology

--------------------------------------
The Switched Fabric topology incorporates one or more high-bandwidth FC switches,
to handle data traffic among host and storage devices.
* Each switch is assigned a unique ID called a Domain. There can be a maximum 239
switch domains in a fabric, however, McData impose a 32 Domain limit in their
designs.
* FC Switches are connected together via Inter-Switch Links (ISLs).
* Each device is exclusively connected to its FC port on the switch via a bi-
directional Full Duplex link.
* All connected devices share the same addressing space within the fabric and can
potentially communicate with each other.
* Frames flow from device to device via one or more FC Switches. As a frame moves
from switch to switch, this is called a hop. McData impose a 3 hop limit in their
designs.
Brocade impose a 7 hop limit and Cisco impose a 10 hop limit.