mo@messy.bellcore.com (Michael O'Dell) (08/18/90)
SCSI spans a much larger performance space than all it's competitors. By building a basic double-wide double-fast SCSI-II controller, and then using only one cable at regular speed, you get an interface which can provide a CHEAP interconnect at modest speeds for small numbers of disks, printers, scanners, tapes, etc, all the way up to a theoretical 40 Megabytes/second (probably 30-35 is readily realizable) for the double-speed-double-wide interface for things like disk arrays, all under the imperfect-but-better-than-anything-else-around umbrella of the Common Command Set. And it doesn't take half an acre of custom VLSI to do it (a clear distinction from IPI-3). (Oh yes, the speeds assume that your bus and memory controller are hoss enough to handle it.) So, if you have only a finite amount of engineering time to build device interconnects for a family of computers, doing an adaptable SCSI-II double-wide double-fast controller leverages your engineering talent like nothing else you can build. This is why I predict that SCSI-II will squeeze IPI-3 right out of a niche. -Mike