资料来源 : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

SCSI adaptor
     
         (Or "host adaptor") A device that communicates
        between a computer and its {SCSI} {peripherals}.  The SCSI
        adaptor is usually assigned {SCSI ID} 7.  It is often a
        separate card that is connected to the computer's {bus}
        (e.g. {PCI}, {ISA}, {PCMCIA}) though increasinly, SCSI
        adaptors are built in to the {motherboard}.  Apart from being
        cheaper, busses like PCI are too slow to keep up with the
        newer SCSI standards like {Ultra SCSI} and {Ultra-Wide SCSI}.
     
        There are several varieties of SCSI (and their connectors) and
        an adaptor will not support them all.
     
        The performance of SCSI devices is limited by the speed of the
        SCSI adaptor and its connection to the computer.  An adaptor
        that plugs into a parallel port is unlikely to be as fast as
        one incorporated into a motherboard.  Fast adaptors use {DMA}
        or {bus mastering}.
     
        Some SCSI adaptors include a {BIOS} to allow PCs to {boot}
        from a SCSI hard disk, if their own BIOS supports it.
     
        {Adaptec} make the majority of SCSI {chipsets} and many of the
        best-selling adaptors.
     
        Note that it is not a "SCSI controller" - it does not control
        the devices, and "SCSI interface" is redundant - the "I" of
        "SCSI" stands for "interface".
     
        (1999-11-24)