Refers to a manner in which the SCSI cable is driven by SCSI devices. Single-ended (SE) SCSI drives one signal line against ground. Susceptibility to noise limits the maximum allowable cable lengths. SLOW SCSI (up to 5 Megatransfers/second) cabling may be up to 6 meters (19.7 feet) long; FAST SCSI (up to 10 Megatransfers/second) cabling up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) long; and Ultra SCSI (up to 20 Megatransfers/ second) cabling up to 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) long with more than 5 active IDs and up to 3 meters (9.84 feet) with fewer than 5 active IDs. Single-ended and differential SCSI (HVD or LVD) are not compatible on the same bus segment without an electronic device such as a SCSI converter to convert between single-ended and differential. With rare exception, no software (driver) modifications are necessary for conversion between single-ended and differential. There are several variations of terminators developed for use with single-ended SCSI (refer to Terminators) and Differential SCSI).

This definition is in context to SCSI. See more contextual defintions for Single-ended SCSI.