ISO/IEC 14776-331:2002

The SCSI command set is designed to provide efficient peer-to-peer operation of input/output devices (disks, tapes, printers, etc.) by an operating system. The SCSI command set assumes a command-response protocol. Action on SCSI commands shall not be deemed completed until a response is received. The response shall include a status that indicates the final disposition of the command. The SCSI command set provides multiple operating systems concurrent control over one or more input/output devices. However, the multiple operating systems must properly coordinate their actions or data corruption will result. This standard specifies functional requirements for SCSI-3 Stream commands (SSC). SSC permits SCSI streaming devices such as tape and printer devices to attach to computers and provides the definitions for their use. This standard specifies the external behavior of a device server that defines itself as either a Sequential-access device or a Printer device; together, these device types are known as Stream Devices. The SSC standard conforms to SCSI-3 Architectural Model (ISO/IEC 14776-411:1999) standard.