ACSI, SCSI and IDE
ASCI
ACSI is an acronym for Atari Computer Systems Interface. This peripheral bus is very similiar to the industry standard SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) bus. This peripheral bus allows more than one device to be connected to the computer by way of standard signal lines.
The ACSI is an 8 bit bidirectional data bus that allows data to pass from a peripheral, such as your hard disk, to the host Atari ST computer. The transfer of data may also flow over the bus from the Atari ST to the peripheral. Data may be transfered at a maximum rate of 1.25 million bytes per second and may be transfered to or from any of eight possible control devices attached to the bus. These control devices are addressed as devices 0 to 7.
ACSI makes use of the DMA.
SCSI
SCSI makes use of the DMA.
IDE
DMA
DMA is an acronym for Direct Memory Access. When used in the context of a computer (such as the Atari ST) and its high performance peripherals (floppy and hard disks, laser printers, tape drives, CD ROMs, etc.). DMA refers to the direct transfer of data between the peripheral device and the computer's memory. This transfer is done without the direct intervention of the processor. The Atari ST provides an external DMA bus connection through the Atari Computer System Interface (ACSI) connector on the Atari ST computer.
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