SCSI communication is initiated by the initiator and received and processed by the target. When the host and the storage device communicate, the…

The statement is incorrect because it misidentifies the roles of the host and the storage device in a SCSI communication model. While the first part of the statement correctly defines that communication is started by an initiator and processed by a target, the second part incorrectly assigns the initiator role to the storage device. In a standard host-to-storage interaction, the host (e.g., an application server) is the entity that requires data access and therefore initiates I/O commands (e.g., read, write). The storage device receives these commands, processes them, and returns data or status, thereby acting as the target of the commands.

This is a "True or False" question. The statement is false because the host, not the storage device, assumes the role of the initiator. The storage device is the target.

1. Huawei HCIA-Storage V5.0 Training Material. In the module covering SAN (Storage Area Network) fundamentals

the roles are explicitly defined. The application server (host) that initiates I/O requests is termed the "Initiator

" while the storage system that responds to these requests is termed the "Target." (Refer to: HCIA-Storage V5.0 Training Material

Chapter 2: SAN Technology and Application

Section on "FC SAN Architecture").

2. T10 Technical Committee

"SCSI Architecture Model - 6 (SAM-6)"

Project T10/BSR INCITS 549. This is the official standard defining SCSI architecture.

Section 3.1.88 initiator: "A SCSI device that requests a SCSI I/O process to be performed by another SCSI device (a target)."

Section 3.1.161 target: "A SCSI device that performs a SCSI I/O process requested by another SCSI device (an initiator)."

This standard confirms that the device requesting the operation (the host) is the initiator

and the device performing it (the storage system) is the target.

3. Patterson

D. A.

& Hennessy

J. L. (2017). Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface (5th ed.). In discussions on I/O and storage systems

the host CPU is consistently described as the entity that issues commands to the I/O controller of a storage device. This command-issuing role is functionally equivalent to the SCSI initiator. (Refer to: Chapter 5: Large and Fast: Exploiting Memory Hierarchy

Section 5.4: A Common Framework for Memory Hierarchies).