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Re: Protocol Action: iSCSI to Proposed Standard

2003-02-13 07:53:03
All the Internet documentation with which I am familiar, as well as the

I think we have a case of overlapping vocabulary from two different domains.

Per SCSI Architecture Model (SAM-2, SAM-3), iSCSI is very clearly
a "SCSI transport protocol" (as opposed to a SCSI application layer protocol).
Parallel SCSI, Fibre Channel etc. are all "SCSI transports" per SCSI 
conventions.
That is all the critiqued abstract is trying to describe.
--
Mallikarjun

Mallikarjun Chadalapaka
Networked Storage Architecture
Network Storage Solutions
Hewlett-Packard MS 5668 
Roseville CA 95747
cbm(_at_)rose(_dot_)hp(_dot_)com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Braden" <braden(_at_)ISI(_dot_)EDU>
To: <sob(_at_)harvard(_dot_)edu>; <mankin(_at_)psg(_dot_)com>
Cc: <ips(_at_)ece(_dot_)cmu(_dot_)edu>; <ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 3:48 PM
Subject: Re: Protocol Action: iSCSI to Proposed Standard



  *> 
  *> The IESG has approved publishing the following Internet-Draft
  *> as a Proposed Standard:
  *> 
  *> o iSCSI <draft-ietf-ips-iscsi-20.txt>
  *> 
  *> This document is the product of the IP Storage Working Group.
  *> 
  *> The IESG contact persons are Allison Mankin and Scott Bradner.
  *> 
  *>  
  *> Technical Summary
  *>  
  *>  The Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) is a family of
  *>  protocols for communicating with I/O devices, especially storage
  *>  devices. SCSI is a client-server architecture. The SCSI protocol
  *>  has been mapped over various transports, including Parallel SCSI,

Transports?

The Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines the noun "transport" as
"strong and often intensely pleasurable emotion".  ;-)

All the Internet documentation with which I am familiar, as well as the
OSI reference model, define a "transport layer", but I don't think you
are suggesting SCSI over IP, etc.

Can't we please resist terminology pollution?  In the IETF we call these
[data] link layers.

Bob Braden

  *>  IPI, IEEE-1394 (firewire) and Fibre Channel. These transports are
  *>  I/O specific and have limited distance capabilities. The iSCSI
  *>  protocol defined in draft-ietf-ips-iscsi describes a means of
  *>  transporting of the SCSI packets over TCP/IP, providing for an
  *>  interoperable solution which can take advantage of existing
  *>  Internet infrastructure, Internet management facilities and
  *>  address distance limitations. Mapping over TCP ensures that the
  *>  high volume storage transfers use congestion control.
  *> 
  *>