13-10-2010, 05:36 PM
iSCSI
ABSTRACT
In a world where Internet Protocol (IP) dominates local and wide area networks, the data storage requirements grow unabated; it seems inevitable that these two forces converge. The Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI) protocol unites storage and IP networking. iSCSI enables the transport of block-level storage traffic over IP networks. It builds on two widely used technologies – SCSI commands for storage traffic over IP networks. It builds on two widely used technologies – SCSI commands for storage and IP protocols for networking. iSCSI is an end-to-end protocol for transporting storage I/O block data over an IP network. The protocol is used on servers (initiators), storage devices (targets), and protocol transfer gateway devices. iSCSI uses standard Ethernet switches and routers to move the data from server to storage. It also enables IP and Ethernet infrastructure to be used for expanding access to SAN storage and extending SAN storage and extending SAN connectivity across any distance. This paper presents general overview of iSCSI, outlining its introduction, details of the protocol, its features, user benefits, and several typical deployment scenarios and applications.