RE: profiles - a way to simplify iSCSI

[Bernard Aboba <aboba@internaut.com>]

> However the draft addresses a wide spectrum of devices with different
> requirements (as do most of the SCSI drafts). Some can be met only with
> minimal requirement (most low-end and office raid-boxes) while others
> require higher performance/reliability/maintainability etc.
> 
> Profiles could clearly cluster the space and simplify implementation and
> testing.
> 

The differentiation you are looking for can be achieved without profiles.

It is possible to have different requirements for initiators and targets. 

It is possible to define requirements for those initiators/targets that
implement a certain feature. For example, IF you implement feature X, then
you also need to do W, Y, and Z. 

Finally, one can always differentiate between "unconditionally compliant"
(all MUST, MUST NOT, SHOULD, SHOULD NOTs), and "conditionally
compliant" (all MUST and MUST NOTs but not all SHOULD or
SHOULD NOTs) implementations.