The “In-Depth Serial Attached SCSI-2” course provides students with an updated comprehensive insight into the operation of the Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interface. The class examines, and explores in detail, the operation of SAS at all architectural levels. This seminar takes you on a journey from the beginnings of SAS into the detailed technical aspects of the architecture.

You will learn how SCSI functions in a SAS environment, which SCSI commands have changed and what has changed in those commands. If you are an implementer, this gives you the information you need to know in order to change or develop implementations to support SAS. In addition, the Management Application (MA) layer is covered so that you will be able to design and implement your own Management Application client. All of the Serial Management Protocol (SMP) functions are covered as are each of the SCSI-3 information units.

This course examines each layer of the SAS architecture. Whether you need to know about the Application Layer, the Transport Layer, the Port Layer, the Link Layer, the Phy Layer or the Physical Layer, it is all covered in this course. You will learn the essential information such as the operation of each of the different SAS protocols, the format and structure of each of the SAS information units, Out-of-Band (OOB) signaling, resets, speed negotiation, and how devices are interconnected in typical configurations and electrical design considerations like pre-emphasis and equalization.

This seminar is designed for the developer and engineer; the person who has to design, develop, architect, program, test, support, or troubleshoot SAS configurations or products.

Course Outline

Introduction to SAS  What is Serial Attached SCSI?  A Brief History of SCSI  Why Serial Attached SCSI?  The SAS and SCSI Architectures  SAS Names and Addresses  SAS Structure and Layers  SAS, the SCSI Bus, Fibre Channel & SATA SAS Connections & Protocols  Serial SCSI Protocol (SSP)  Serial Management Protocol (SMP)  SATA Tunneled Protocol (STP) SAS Configurations  Edge Expander Device Sets  Fanout Expander  Wide Port Configurations  SAS JBOD with Integrated Expanders SAS Service Delivery Subsystem  SAS Physical Links  8b10b Encoding  Dwords and Primitives  Frame Transmission  Out-of-Band Signaling (OOB)  SAS Resets  Device Identification  Connections  Pathways  Rate Matching SAS & SCSI Standards SCSI Application Layer  SCSI Architecture Model  SCSI Domain  SCSI-3 Primary Commands  SCSI Addressing and Names  SCSI Data Transfer Model  SCSI Execute Command Model  Task Management Functions  SCSI Application Layer Items Affected By SAS Serial SCSI Protocol (SSP) Transport Layer  SCSI Transport Protocol Services  SSP Information Units:   COMMAND Information Unit   TASK Information Unit   XFER_RDY Information Unit   DATA Information Unit   RESPONSE Information Unit  SSP Frame Format  SSP Frame Sequence Examples SSP Link Layer  SSP Flow Control  SSP Frame Acknowledgement  Closing an SSP Connection  SSP Link Layer Timers  SSP Done Timeout SSP Error Handling  SCSI Application Layer Error Handling  SSP Transport Layer Handling of Link Layer Errors  SSP Transport Layer Handling of Transport Layer Errors  SCSI Transport Protocol Event Notifications SSP Trace Examples Reading SAS State Machine Diagrams SSP Transport Layer State Machines SSP Link Layer State Machines	Serial Management Protocol (SMP)  SMP Read/Report Functions:   Report General   Report Manufacturer Information   Report Self-Configuration Status   Report Zone Permissions   Discover   Report PHY Error Log   Report PHY SATA   Report Route Information   Report PHY Event Information   Report PHY Broadcast Counts   Discover List   Report Expander Route Table  SMP Configure/Control Functions:   Configure General   Enable Disable Zoning   Zoned Broadcast   Zone Lock   Zone Activate   Zone Unlock   Configure Zone PHY Information   Configure Zone Permission Table   Configure Route Information   PHY Control   PHY Test   Configure PHY Event Information Serial Management Protocol (SMP) Services SMP Transport Layer & Frame Format SMP Link Layer Operation Discovery Process  Attached Device Awareness  Discovery Process Initiation  Level-Order Traversal  Discovery Process Example  Route Table Optimization  Expander Route Index Order SMP Transport Layer State Machines SMP Link Layer State Machines SATA Tunneled Protocol  STP Application & Transport Layers  SATA Frame Characteristics  SATA Flow Control  STP Connections  STP Affiliations  SATA Port Multipliers & Port Selectors  STP Differences Versus Native SATA SAS Port Layer  Port Layer Example Scenario  Port Layer Interfaces SAS Link Layer  What are Primitives?  Primitive Sequences & Descriptions  Primitive Usage Table  Primitive Encoding  Clock Skew & Scrambling  ALIGN/NOTIFY Insertion  Elasticity Buffer  Idle Physical Links  Scrambling Overview  Address Frame Characteristics  IDENTIFY & OPEN Address Frames  Identification & Hard Reset Sequence	Connections  Connection Setup  Processing During an Open Connection  Closing a Connection Expanders  Expander Structure  Expander Addressing  Expander Routing  Expander Types  Expander IDENTIFY Address Frame  Expander Internal Interface Model  Expander Connection Manager Arbitration  Contention For Path Resources & Deadlock Recovery  Deadlocks & Pathway Recovery  Expander Connection Router  Broadcast Primitive Processor Zoning  What is Zoning?  Zoning Configurations  Zone Groups & Zone Permission Table  Zoning Expander Route Table  Expander Zoning Enforcement  Zoning Control Bits  4-Phase Process to Update Zoning Rate Matching & Multiplexing  What is Rate Matching?  Pros and Cons of Rate Matching  Connection Rate vs. Physical Link Rate  What is Multiplexing?  Enabling Multiplexing  PHY Reset Sequence & Multiplexing  Multiplexing Considerations SAS PHY Layer  SAS Dword  Encoding  8b10b Error Detection  Out-of-Band (OOB) Signals  PHY Reset Sequences  SAS Speed Negotiation  Hot Plug Detection  SATA PHY Reset & Speed Negotiation  SATA Cables & Connectors  SAS Cables & Connectors  Hot-Plug Considerations  SAS/SATA Cables & Supported Links  SAS Physical Link  Differential Electrical Signaling  Timing Requirements & Clocking  Bit Error Rate (BER) Requirements  The Eye Diagram or Mask  Cable and Connector Losses  Countering Interconnect Losses  SAS vs. SATA Considerations  SAS Extended Distance Considerations  Transmitter & Receiver Specifications To view/download a PDF version of this course description, click the link below:  SAS2 Training Class Description
Who Should Attend: This in-depth technical class is targeted towards hardware and software engineers involved in the design, development, integration, deployment, test, and maintenance of Serial Attached SCSI storage devices, storage subsystems and servers that intend to utilize SAS. Prerequisites: The attendee should have experience on SCSI architectures and understand the SCSI command language. This means you know what CDB means, you understand parallel SCSI protocol, and how a SCSI system works. While this course has SCSI information within it, understanding SCSI makes the course much easier. If the student has an understanding of the Fibre Channel architecture, then this will also assist you in understanding SAS. While numerous references to both SCSI and Fibre Channel are made, it is not necessary to have an in-depth understanding of these interfaces. Course Length: 5 days Also available Introduction to SATA (1 day) Introduction to SAS (1 day) Understanding SATA (2 days) In-Depth SAS (3 days) In-Depth SATA (3 days) In-Depth SAS & SATA (4-5 days) Hands-On SAS Lab (1 day to follow In-Depth SAS) In-Depth SCSI-3 Architecture and Serial Attached SCSI (5 days)