Customer Reviews

The Book of Scsi: I/O for the New Millennium

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is wonderful to finally see an update to a classic computer book. Having read and absorbed every aspect of the first edition of "The Book of SCSI," I have been anxiously awaiting a second edition. SCSI is (in my opinion) the best computer interface out there. Unfortunately, it is a very misunderstood interface, even by seasoned pros in the field. SCSI did suffer from problems in its earliest iterations, thus tainting its reputation early on; however, it has subsequently evolved into a powerful standard. "The Book of SCSI" explains SCSI in detail, yet surprising simplicity. Upon reading this book, the reader will certainly have a full and authoritative understanding of SCSI. Furthermore, the book serves as an excellent reference on the differences between, and the evolution of, the different "flavors" of SCSI: SCSI-2, Ultra-SCSI, Ultra/Wide-SCSI, etc.

The book also has, by far, the finest explanation of RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Drives) that I have ever seen (and I have read many books on computer hardware). The only unfortunate aspect of a book of this nature is that with the time involved in publishing a book, the book is almost out dated by the time it hits the shelves. SCSI is currently in an explosive growth state with new standards coming out at least yearly. A companion website with information on the latest SCSI standards would be a very welcome addition to this book. Fortunately though, since SCSI is an evolutionary standard, having a firm grasp on SCSI fundamentals and early standards -- which this book will most certainly give you - it is relatively easy to learn the new standards.

In summary, "The Book of SCSI" is an outstanding technical book that is well written, easy to read, and full of detail and information. Whether you are a computer novice or seasoned professional, you will learn something from this book.

This is one of the best books on SCSI (scuzzy) I've read. "The Book of SCSI" belongs on the self of every technical library. Gary Field's book on SCSI has the potential to become what Charles Petzold's book is to Windows programming. Even though this book is technical enough to be considered by some as a standard reference on SCSI, it is an easy read. Advanced users of SCSI will appreciate the easily referenced technical details. Neophytes will appreciate the author's simple and clear explanation for everything and anything related to SCSI.

The book has the latest information on SCSI 3 (including Ultra2/LVD), RAID, SCSI test equipment, and device drivers.

The book also has a good mix of SCSI information on the different operating systems including DOS, Macintosh, NetWare, Unix, and four flavors of Windows. One thing missing from "The Book of SCSI", however, is any mention of Windows 2000 and ASPI for Win64. Is Mr. Field perhaps saving this information for "The Book of SCSI" - 3rd Edition?

As a consultant, my motto has always been, "learn fast or die." Fickle customers simply don't want to pay you to figure things out. As a result, when a project involves something I'm not intimately familiar with, I beg, borrow, or steal every book I can get my hands on. I compulsively try to learn everything I can to become an expert, or at least be able to speak authoritatively.

This time around, a SCSI project landed on my desk. So how did this book stack up against the others? Here is my opinion.

This book is, hands down, the best written introductory book on SCSI available. The authors take pains to clearly describe the evolution of SCSI, why you should use it, how to connect SCSI devices, and troubleshooting. They even describe why a cable has to be terminated, in detail. Administrators and technicians studying for the A+ exam will simply love this book.

Programmers, on the other hand, will come up wanting. The actual protocol isn't discussed, only ASPI. Examples are given in assembly (for DOS), and Delphi. ASPI is discussed for DOS, Win 3.1, NT, and OS2.

If you are looking for an introductory book that explains SCSI in basic, high-level terms, this is your book. On the other hand, if you are seeking a book to help you jump start your application development, look elsewhere.

Now in a fully updated and expanded second edition, Gary Field continues to provide reliable, competent, "reader friendly", information that can be accessed and applied by novice beginners and has much of considerably and practical value for experienced SCSI users. The Book Of SCSI: I/O For The New Millennium explains the basics of installing and using SCSI and how to work with SCSI IDs, LUNs, termination, parity checking, asynchronous and synchronous transfer, bus mastering, caching, Ultra2/LVS, RAID, SCSI 3, performance tuning for the SCSI subsystem, device drivers, and even surveys new directions in the SCSI and storage industry. Field's informative text is enhanced with drawings, diagrams, pinout tables, troubleshooting tips, an extensive glossary, a comprehensive index, and a CD-ROM. The Book Of SCSI is an essential, core reference and instruction title for any personal or professional reference library.

Very well written and detailed discussion of SCSI technology which should satisfy even the most demanding and detail-oriented of device engineers. Good discussions especially of the ASPI programming interface and one of the best explanations of RAID technology that I've ever read. This is one of only 3 books I've ever seen devoted to SCSI, and possibly the best. Fields also maintains the useful scsifaq.org website for the long-suffering SCSI voyager. Having been around the block quite a few times with SCSI and RAID technology over the years (I was responsible for the RAID/SCSI health of over 500 servers at a large Fortune 100 company for a time), I can say from personal experience that Fields and Ridge know whereof they speak. Altogether an excellent technical volume and resource that should be useful to anyone needing to know more about this oft-misunderstood technology.

This book covers the mundane to the extract. It starts with the basics, cable types,and names. It then goes into the lengths and what speeds and types the various iterations of the standards use. Compatability issues such as lvd, sca are covered. The book goes into great depth of why certain arcitecture should not be mixed and why changing bus types, speeds and connectors creates the errors or glitches blamed on everthing but the setup of the scsi bus. If you ever wanted to know the entire pin layout of a scsi cable or wanted to know how the scsi aspi works or better yet build your own driver this book covers it in such great detail that it now can be done. This book is not manufacture specific yet the few host adapter manufactures and their differences are covered. People looking for three chapters on troubleshooting will be disapointed, but then again this book is not about that. This book is about scsi,each and every lttle tidbit you would ever want to know. If you wanted to know anything or everthing about scsi this is the book for you.

This book would be better suited to somebody considering purchasing a SCSI disk than somebody who is interested in using SCSI for anything fancy or working on device drivers. I found it lacking in technical detail on how the devices communicate.