Host Architectures
iSCSI Host Implementations
TCP Offload Engines
Host
OS Kernel
SCSI Protocol
iSCSI Initiator
TOE
TCP
IP
IP Network
Physical
signalling
TOEs implement TCP processing on specialized hardware accelerators:
TCP processing can be done in firmware or application-specific
integrated circuits (ASICs).
Some vendors have already released ASIC-based adapters.
Some vendors are planning “interim” releases that use RISC
processors such as Intel's XScale.
TCP/IP stacks are a mature technology and can be implemented in
firmware relatively easily and inexpensively.
The host will still perform the SCSI and iSCSI processing.