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SCSI Connector Guide
This info will help you determine which data interface cable to choose to put between your devices in a daisy chain or to put between the storage device/peripheral and the host adapter that is in your computer. Also this can help us all to communicate better when it comes to which connector you want on your device(s), cable(s) or adapter(s)/controller(s). As you can see some connectors go by several different names. Pictures are not to scale.

Connector Type or Name: IDC50
50 pin insulation displacement connector (IDC) used on cables (the female connector is used on cables) for internal cabling
and male connector is used on storage device or host adapters. SCSI-1, SCSI-2, Ultra SCSI, "Narrow", 8 bit devices, use this "low density 50-pin" connector. 

                               
    IDC50 Female Connector  (on cable sides)                          IDC50 Male Connector (on device or adapter side)


Connector Type or Name: CN50
Centronics 50-pin C50, CN50, Cent50, was at one time the most popular way to connect external SCSI devices mostly with 5MB SCSI-1 and 10MB SCSI-2  systems. The controller/adapter connectors and peripheral connections should be female while the cable ends should be male. According to Adaptec this is "low density 50-pin'.

                         
Centronics CN50 Male Connector (on cable sides)                  Centronics CN50 Female Connector (on device & adapter side)
 

Connector Type or Name: HD50  High Density 50-Pin
Called Mini D50, MicroDB50, MiniDB50, most 8-Bit SCSI FAST (up to 10MB/sec) host adapters use this "high density 50-pin" connector. 50-pin HD50 connector is 1 3/8" (36mm) wide vs. 1 7/8" (47mm) wide for a 68-pin HD68 connector. Used on SCSI-2 and SCSI-3 peripherals.

                                           
HD50 Male Connector (on cable sides)                                     HD50 Female Connector (on device or adapter side)


Connector Type or Name: HD68 High Density 68-Pin
Called MiniD68, HD68, MicroDB68, MiniDB68, 68-Pin Micro D,  are the most common SCSI connectors used today. Used with Ultra Wide SCSI-3, Ultra2 LVD SCSI, Wide Differential SCSI devices. This 68-pin connector is 47mm or 1 7/8 inches wide.

                                   
HD68 Male Connector (on cable sides)                                    HD68 Female Connector (on device or adapter side)

Connector Type or Name: VHDC1 Very High Density Condensed 68-Pin
Called .08, Ultra Micro DB68, Ultra High Density, is used with many RAID cards.

                                                      
VHDC1 Male Connector                                                           VHDC1 Female Connector

Connector Type or Name: SCA
Called SCA, SCA-2, (Single Connect Attachment), this 80-pin connector has extra pins used to provide
power for hot swap drives.


SCA Female Connector (on device side)

Connector Type or Name: DB25 Male SCSI-1
Used with the older Macs, Zip drives, and many scanners.
                                            
DB25 Male                                                                                DB25 Female

STA-Endorsed Terms & Terminology for SCSI

 

Notes: (1) The listed maximum bus lengths may be exceeded in Point-to-Point and engineered applications. (2) Use of the word "Narrow", preceding SCSI, Ultra SCSI, or Ultra2 SCSI is optional. (3) LVD was not defined in the original SCSI standards for this speed. If all devices on the bus support LVD, then 12-meters operation is possible at this speed. However, if any device on the bus is singled-ended only, then the entire bus switches to single-ended mode and the distances in the single-ended column apply. (4) Single-ended is not defined for speeds beyond Ultra. (5) HVD (Differential) is not defined for speeds beyond Ultra2. (6) After Ultra2 all new speeds are wide only.  SCSI Terms - STA overview of the different SCSI Standards and Cables.