SCSI as a network interface

[Richard Riendeau]

For hooking together 4 or less nodes IN ADDITION to ethernet- it could 
allow for a much closer relationship between those nodes. I.E. Parallel 
virtual database.

Keeping it part of a network stack makes code also applicable to other high 
bandwidth connections such as ATM or GB Ethernet- instead of having to deal
with file base I/O.

If you think about the implementations of a socket versus a file handle and 
they are very similar.

-Rich Riendeau
Netquotient Consulting Group

-----Original Message-----
From:	Daniel Ridge [SMTP:newt@hq.nasa.gov]
Sent:	Tuesday, June 01, 1999 10:13 AM
To:	Bill Fredrickson
Cc:	extreme-linux@acl.lanl.gov; beowulf@beowulf.gsfc.nasa.gov
Subject:	Re: SCSI as a network interface


On Mon, 31 May 1999, Bill Fredrickson wrote:

> Perhaps I should have been a little more specific about my intentions.
> I'm looking for a fast, easy way to network a cluster [Beowulf style] of
> PC's each of which already  have SCSI controlers in them.

> I was hoping to avoid the adtional
> cost of NIC cards, switches, etc.

Three observations:

	You can't really broadcast on the SCSI bus.
	for normal ultra/wide SCSI, the max spec cable length is 1.5m.
	nice SCSI _cables_ can cost more per port than NICs.

Cheers,
	DSKR

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