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1998, CD-R and CD-RW are poised to become mainstream data storage technologies. Low-priced drives and media, combined with user-friendly software and increased advertising in mainstream publications and even prime-time television by key manufacturers, have increased public demand for recordable CD. Another factor that is instrumental in boosting CD-R's overall appeal to some OEM customers, such as computer manufacturers, is the introduction of a new generation of ATAPI CD-R and CD-RW drives. Until recently, virtually all CD recorders were SCSI-based peripherals, and required a computer with a SCSI host adapter and related software. However, most PC computer systems today include IDE-ATAPI as a standard feature, while SCSI is an optional extra. The availability of ATAPI-based CD-R technology is of enormous interest to manufacturers of computer systems who plan to include CD-R or CD-RW in their systems.
Recently, discussion and debate abound regarding the differences between SCSI and ATAPI for CD-R and CD-RW on the Internet and elsewhere. As is often the case in these kinds of discussions, people tend to take sides, and inaccurate information sometimes becomes the fuel of heated debates. The fact of the matter is that both SCSI and ATAPI are valid technologies for CD-R and CD-RW, but there are differences between the two.
When making a decision to purchase a CD-R drive, users weigh several factors, including cost, data transfer rate, ability to connect multiple devices, and whether to choose an internal or external drive. Exploring the history, architecture, and differences between SCSI and ATAPI will help the user to make an informed decision. I
BRIEF HISTORY OF SCSI AND IDE-ATAPI
In earlier generations of Pcs, disk
drives generally had to their own computer through proprietary add-on cards. These cards/ drives generally had their own command set which was different from most other cards. In order to send commands to these cards, the operating systems would work with the system BIOS (also called CMOS) to dispatch the appropriate commands to the card in question. As new hard drives were released with different characteristics, it became impractical to update the BIOS, or to develop a new controller card, creating migrating and compatability problems.
SCSI and IDE are two approaches to solving these problems. SCSI and IDE are both able to take generic commands...