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iSCSI is a protocol that allows remote access to media over a TCP/IP line. It enables remote access to SCSI devices without losing much speed and has commercial uses. iSCSI has limitations, but advancements in technology may improve it in the future.
Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) is a protocol that allows remote access to various media. This by itself does not suggest that iSCSI is any different from other protocols. However, the iSCSI protocol allows remote access over a standard Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) line, the same type used to access the Internet. The uses of iSCSI are primarily commercial in nature.
iSCSI also allows the user to remotely access SCSI devices without losing much speed over a physical SCSI connection. However, it sends the same commands over the network that SCSI software uses. This is true with both local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) applications. Surprisingly, a particular test of the iSCSI protocol allowed a user in Haifa, Israel to access a hard drive in Seattle, Washington.
iSCSI could be useful, for example, if someone needed a file stored on a hard drive at home. If the person is on a business trip and no one is home to place the file on a file transfer protocol (FTP) server, the user would not be able to log in until someone arrives at the home computer to place the file on the server. If the file were stored on a SCSI hard drive, however, the user would be able to offload the data from their home computer to their company computer.
There are alternatives to iSCSI. Traditional storage area networks (SANs) can do much of what iSCSI does with a potentially greater degree of efficiency. Most SAN protocols, however, are not very cost-effective choices, as the additional hardware often costs more than burning the data to a floppy and mailing it to the hotel. This makes other SAN protocols not the best choice for financially limited organizations.
iSCSI is not without its flaws. Its nature limits it to computers running an iSCSI initiator, which enables the protocol’s functions. A slow TCP/IP connection would result in a slow iSCSI connection, as they are basically connected to each other. This can be dramatically offset by the advent of the Gigabit Ethernet modem. This allows for a high data transfer rate, but it’s also not very economically viable.
The uses of iSCSI are many, as are the disadvantages. Some of these may be reversed in the future due to technological advancements, perhaps even in iSCSI itself. After all, it’s just a beta version of the protocol currently on the market.
