Does anybody know how SCSI Ethernet adapters were able to signal the OS that a new packet had arrived and needed to be processed?
With storage devices and scanners the host issues a command first and the SCSI device responds. But Ethernet is different in that packets arrive asynchronously, and not in response to a host command.
Network adapters can use hardware interrupts to handle incoming packets. How did SCSI Ethernet adapters do it? Was polling the only option?
#retrocomputing #scsi
mbbrutman
npub185…5nxe0
2025-11-02 06:31:21 UTC
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npub1854updejak4u5qyfg6kl73z4vwugax28a6dsaupdkhsqzkwyt22sl5nxe0Seen on
wss://relay.momostr.pinkPublished at
2025-11-02 06:31:21 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "Does anybody know how SCSI Ethernet adapters were able to signal the OS that a new packet had arrived and needed to be processed?\n\nWith storage devices and scanners the host issues a command first and the SCSI device responds. But Ethernet is different in that packets arrive asynchronously, and not in response to a host command.\n\nNetwork adapters can use hardware interrupts to handle incoming packets. How did SCSI Ethernet adapters do it? Was polling the only option?\n\n#retrocomputing #scsi",
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