iSCSI refers to Internet Small Computers System and is an extension of the proven SCSI standard for connecting computer data storage devices. The difference between the two conventions is that iSCSI makes use of Internet Protocol (IP) to carry data over increased distances. This transfer method allows for information to be shared from machine to machine using Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN), or the Internet. Thus, any group of connected computers, or network, has the potential to be a Storage Area Network (SAN). This process of sharing and storing information with iSCSI involves sequential steps that happen extremely quickly behind the scenes. To begin the iSCSI work, a user or application requests data. The computer translates the request into SCSI commands. The request is then encapsulated, compressed and made ready for sending, and sometimes it is also encrypted, made more secure by garbling the request on purpose. Then, the information request is put into an IP packet and sent out over the network, usually over an Ethernet connection. At that point, the request packet is received by a computer or storage device, like a hard drive. The receiving device ungarbles the message, takes it out of the IP packet, and finds and retrieves the data. SCSI commands are bi-directional, working both ways, and the data is returned via the same steps, although in reverse.
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