Direct Attached Storage and Introduction to SCSI

Module 2.1

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DAS and Introduction to SCSI

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to: Discuss the benefits and challenges of DAS

Discuss DAS management options

Discuss evolution of SCSI Describe SCSI 3 architecture Discuss SCSI addressing and communication model

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Lesson: Direct Attached Storage

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to: Discuss the benefits of DAS

Describe the elements of DAS

Discuss DAS management considerations Discuss DAS challenges

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Two types of DAS Internal Direct Connect External Direct Connect

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DAS Benefits
Ideal for local data provisioning Quick deployment for small environments

Simple to deploy
Reliability Low capital expense Low complexity

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DAS Connectivity Options

ATA (IDE) and SATA
Primarily for internal bus

SCSI
Parallel (primarily for internal bus) Serial (external bus)

FC
High speed network technology

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DAS Management
Internal
Host provides:
Disk partitioning (Volume management) File system layout

Direct Attached Storage managed individually through the server and the OS

External
Array based management Lower TCO for managing data and storage Infrastructure

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DAS Challenges
Scalability is limited
Number of connectivity ports to hosts Number of addressable disks Distance limitations

Downtime required for maintenance with internal DAS Limited ability to share resources
Array front-end port, storage space Resulting in islands of over and under utilized storage pools

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Lesson Summary
Key points covered in this lesson: Internal and External DAS

DAS Benefit
DAS Management Options DAS Limitations

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Lesson: Introduction to SCSI

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to: Describe SCSI-3 architecture

Discuss SCSI device models with different port configurations

Describe SCSI Addressing

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Evolution of Parallel SCSI

Developed by Shugart Associates & NCR named as SASI ANSI acknowledged SCSI as an industry standard SCSI versions
SCSI1
Defined cable length, signaling characteristics, commands, & transfer modes Used 8-bit narrow bus with maximum data transfer rate of 5 MB/s

SCSI2
Defined Common command Set (CCS) Improved performance, reliability, and added additional features

SCSI3
Latest version of SCSI, Comprised different but related standards, rather than one large document.
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SCSI3 Architecture
SCSI Architectural Model
SCSI-3 Command Protocol SCSI Primary Commands SCSI Specific Commands

Common Access Method

Transport Layer SCSI-3 Protocol Fibre Channel Protocol Serial Bus Protocol Generic Packetized Protocol

Physical Layer

SCSI-3 Parallel Interface

IEEE Serial Bus

Fibre Channel

SCSI command protocol

Primary commands common to all devices

Transport layer protocol

Standard rules for device communication and information sharing

Physical layer interconnect

Interface details such as electrical signaling methods and data transfer modes
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SCSI Device Model

SCSI communication involves: SCSI initiator device
Issues commands to SCSI target devices Example: SCSI host adaptor
SCSI Initiator Device Device Service Request Device Service Response Task Management Request Task Management Response

SCSI target device

Executes commands issued by initiators Examples: SCSI peripheral devices

Device requests contain Command Descriptor Block (CDB)

SCSI Target Device

Logical Unit Device Server Task Manager

Application Client

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SCSI Device Model (Cont.)

CDB structure
8 bit structure Contain operation code, command specific parameter and control parameter

SCSI Ports
SCSI device may contain initiator port, target port, target/initiator port Based on port combination device is classified For example
Target/initiator device contain target/initiator port and can switch orientations depending on the role it plays while participating in an I/O operation

To cater to service requests from multiple devices, a SCSI device may also have multiple ports
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SCSI Addressing
Initiator Target LUNs

Initiator ID

Target ID

LUN

Initiator ID - a number from 0 to 15 with the most common value being 7. Target ID - a number from 0 to 15 LUN - a number that specifies a device addressable through a target.
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SCSI Addressing Example

Target (Front-end port) Target t0
Port Port

LUN LUN LUN

d0 d1 d2 Storage Volumes

Port Port Port

Host

Initiator (HBA) Controller c0

Storage Array

Host Addressing: Storage Volume 1 - c0t0d0 Storage Volume 2 - c0t0d1 Storage Volume 3 - c0t0d2

Initiator ID Target ID

LUN

c0
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t0

d0
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Lesson Summary
Key points covered in this lesson: SCSI 3 Architecture

SCSI device model

SCSI addressing

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Module Summary
Key points covered in this module: DAS can be internal or external

Multiple hosts cannot share same storage ports

DAS is made up of a CPU, connectivity, and storage devices DAS connectivity uses block-level access protocols SCSI 3 architecture

Parallel SCSI addressing

SCSI Command model
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 Check Your Knowledge

What are the physical elements of DAS? Give an example of when DAS is a good solution.

Describe internal DAS connectivity.

Describe external DAS connectivity. List SCSI Device Models with Different Port Configurations. How many devices SCSI can support?

Which SCSI ID has highest priority?

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