This standard describes a communication interface between a channel and I/O control units that utilize the Single-Byte Command Code Sets (SBCCS) as implemented in a wide range of data processing systems. It employs information formats and signaling protocols that provide a uniform means for communicating with various types of I/O control units, facilitating a high bandwidth, high performance, and long distance information exchange environment. The signaling protocols and information exchanges are defined at a layer (FC-4) to compatibly utilize the link services and other functions provided by the INCITS Fibre Channel Framing and Signaling (FC-FS-4) and the INCITS Fibre Channel Link Services (FC-LS-3) specifications. This FC-4 Upper Level Protocol is referred to as the Fibre Channel-Single-Byte-6 Command Code Sets Mapping Protocol (FC-SB-6).
This standard modifies the FC-SB-5 standard to specify enhancements and clarifications to the command-mode and transport-mode protocols to increase the efficiency and expand the capabilities of operations.