                                INTRODUCTION

Hello, folks!

This text file is an attempt to answer the commonly asked questions 
I constantly see on IBMHW. The questions are very simple, but the 
task of responding to them is difficult, takes quite a while to 
compose and can really only touch the highlights of SCSI. I felt 
that a file posted in the library probably would give people a better
start to understand SCSI and some of the important parts that relate
to day-to-day installations and usage.

This is not a detailed explanation, as the SCSI specifications
contain the details and are very extensive, besides an average user
need not understand the technical aspects of SCSI to be able to
install and use SCSI devices. I recommend that you scan this text 
and then home in on the part that you have a particular interest in
for some details. Don't be daunted by all the information here, you 
don't need most of it to use SCSI. Most installations of actual SCSI
devices are virtually plug and play with the newer host adapters and
software packages. SCSI has indeed come a long way since the beginning
and is rapidly becoming the technology of choice for
performance-oriented systems and software.

If you're a novice to SCSI or PCs, give chapter 4 "SCSI and the real
life" a try - hopefully it has your answers to install a host adapter.

There should be a companion file to this one which will give you
the easy way to install SCSI devices - if i find time to write it, 
or if Skip Lutz does <g>. While it will revolve mostly around Adaptec
products, it is in no way an attempt to sell Adaptec products and no
Adaptec employee had any direct involvement in it's creation.
Adaptec seems to be the market leader in SCSI hardware and software,
and their products are more widely used and better known than most
other brands, so it seems logical that Skip - who wrote most of this
introduction - and me have experience mostly with Adaptec's boards.
There are also quite a few CIS members who are SCSI "gurus", due to
experience with various products on various forums, so you usually 
can get assistance wherever you are.

But do remember that, for the most part, SCSI is SCSI and what applies
to one supplier usually applies to them all.

This text is based on my own knowledge of SCSI. and I'm not in any way
omniscient, infallible or whatever <g>, I would like to get all sorts
of comments about what may be wrong, what's missing and so on...




Please take the SCSI-3 parts not too serious at the moment - I think
I didn't include real errors here, but unlike SCSI-1 and SCSI-2, the
SCSI-3 drafts consists of various parts that are interlocked to each
other and are still under development and "subject to change".
New SCSI change requests and protocol proposals come in nearly every
day. I'll keep an eye on it and update this over time. More SCSI-3
details will follow later, as I'll need some time to read through
these docs and - especially - understand them.

If you are interested in the official SCSI documents, NCR's SCSI BBS
on ++1 - 719-574-0424 has most of them. However, they are big and in
their naming scheme somewhat hard to find.
Paper copies of the official documents can be obtained by
Global Engineering - please see Appendix B for their address.

Also, it seems there has to be a (small) legal part:
This file is provided "AS-IS", with no warranty as to it's correctness.
Use at your own risk. The author(s) is/are not liable to any damage
that may occur from usage of this information.

I got a few questions on the possibility to use this file or excerpts
from it for various commercial and non-commercial purposes. Nothing in
this document is secret or proprietary, so, if you can use it, fine -
take it! I won't sue anyone for quoting me <g>.


Gerhard Islinger
CIS:      ID 100023,3537
Internet: 100023.3537@compuserve.com

