| RAID controller news |
Adaptec Ships Flash Cache
Backup for RAID Controllers
Editor:- June 24, 2009 - Adaptec today
announced the availability of
flash
backup options for its SATA/SAS
RAID controllers.
Adaptec's
Zero-Maintenance Cache Protection protects data stored in controller cache for
up to 10 years with no installation, monitoring, maintenance, disposal or
replacement costs unlike lithium batteries.
Editor's comments:-
the industry's 1st flash cache backup module for RAID controllers was
announced in February
2009 by Viking
Modular Solutions.
RAISE Joins RAID lexicon
Editor:- April 15, 2009 -
this week SandForce
has added a new word to the rich
RAID lexicon with their
new word - RAISE (which stands for - Redundant Array of Independent
Silicon Elements).
RAISE is the label for the RAID-like protection
scheme which their
SSD controller uses
inside 1.8"
and 2.5" flash
SSDs.
Although the word is new, the concept is not.
Manufacturers
such as Texas Memory
Systems, Violin Memory
and Fusion-io have
used similar schemes inside their
rackmount SSDs
and PCIe SSDs for some
time.
LSI Acquires 3ware RAID Adapter Line
Editor:- April
6, 2009 - LSI
today
announced
that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets and certain
associated intellectual property of the 3ware
RAID adapter business
of AMCC for
approximately $20 million in cash.
Editor's comments:- There are
nearly 500 storage
acquisitions and mergers listed on StorageSearch.com.
Here are some others, previously acquired by LSI.
- Agere Systems (merger) - storage controllers / adapters
- AMI's RAID business
- Infineon's HDD Chip Business
- Mylex - RAID adapters
- IntraServer Technology - SCSI & Ethernet HBAs
- SiliconStor - SATA chips
- StoreAge - SAN systems
LSI Announces SSD Aware RAID Features
Editor:- March
10, 2009 - LSI
has announced better support for
flash SSDs in the
latest update to its
MegaRAID
SAS adapters.
LSI calls this feature SSD Guard - which can
anticipate some types of flash SSD failures in
RAID 0 configurations
and starts rebuilding data on a spare unit.
Viking Launches SSD Backup Module for RAID Cache
Foothill Ranch.
Calif. - February 18, 2009 - Viking Modular Solutions announced
ArxCis-NV - a flash SSD based backup for cache memory in RAID controllers.
"Current
technology of backing DRAM modules with batteries provides protection for
approximately 72 hours and also brings a host of battery related issues to IT
managers. ArxCis-NV products help eliminate these issues..." said Adrian
Proctor, VP of Marketing for Viking Modular Solutions.
The ArxCis-NV is a
JEDEC edge compatible
registered DRAM module with ECC which can write to its associated embedded
SSD at 80MB/s triggered by a drop in rail power. The module hold-up power
(typically 10 to 15 seconds, depending upon DRAM density) is supplied by
Supercapacitors, which only require 10 seconds to fully charge. ...Viking profile
Infortrend Reduces RAID Performance Hit from Failed Data Links
SAN
JOSE, Calif. - December 2, 2008 - Infortrend today announced a new
technology - "Dynamic Logical Drive Assignment" which boosts R/W
performance in dual-controller RAID subsystems when a data path has failed.
Typically, failed data links lead to performance degradation because the storage
controller has to re-direct the I/Os targeting the logical drive whose primary
data path is broken. Infortrend now supplies all its EonStor dual-controller
arrays with the "Dynamic LD Assignment" technology to improve
performance by eliminating the re-rerouting overhead. Once the failure is
identified and corrected, optimal system performance can be immediately
restored. The "Dynamic LD Assignment" now comes with all EonStor
Fibre-,
SAS-, and
iSCSI-host
redundant-controller models using Firmware ver.3.64J or later.
...Infortrend
profile, RAID systems
Dot Hill Increments RAID IP
Carlsbad, Calif. - October
22, 2008 - Dot Hill Systems Corp today announced that the US Patent
and Trademark Office has granted the company 3 new RAID related patents.
U.S. patent 7,340,555, "RAID System for
Performing Efficient Mirrored Posted-Write Operations" - This relates
to Dot Hill's SimulCache data caching architecture which leverages redundant
RAID controllers, thus
eliminating the performance degradation associated with conventional cache
mirroring. The implementation of a high-speed dedicated PCIe bus streamlines
write performance, resulting in superior overall system responsiveness to drive
faster application throughput in database-related deployments.
U.S. patent 7,380,115, "Transferring Data using
Direct Memory Access" - This relates to a method of improving
controller performance by consolidating RAID functions into hardware and adding
advanced memory controller technology.
U.S. patent 7,380,055, "Apparatus and Method in
a Cached RAID Controller Utilizing a Solid State Backup Device for Improving
Data Availability Time" - This relates to Dot Hill EcoStor, an
environmentally friendly "green," battery-free alternative that
leverages a combination of super capacitors and compact
flash technology for
non-volatile cache memory. With up to a 10-year life span, EcoStor practically
eliminates service calls for battery replacement, new battery inventory
management, and the issues of battery disposal, as well as the periodic
replacement downtime associated with batteries. Additionally, it offers an
improved customer experience upon installation or power restore as it does not
require lengthy battery charging time. The array operates in high-performance
write-back cache mode within minutes of installation, versus hours with
batteries.
"OEMs look to Dot Hill for innovative 'out-of-the
box' solutions that solve their customers' storage challenges and provide a
competitive advantage to our OEM partners," said Jim Kuentzel, senior vp of
Engineering for Dot Hill. "These latest additions to our ever-expanding
patent portfolio are a testament to the expertise of our seasoned engineering
team."
...Dot Hill profile,
RAID systems
ATTO Launches 16 Port SAS RAID PCIe HBA
Amherst, NY - July
14, 2008 - ATTO Technology, Inc. today introduced the ExpressSAS R30F.
The R30F provides 16 internal ports of
SAS/SATA II connectivity in
a half-height PCIe form factor.
Ed Tierney, director of marketing at
ATTO Technology said "By providing blazing-fast throughput, ATTO
ExpressSAS products are the ideal solution for transactional database
applications, e-mail servers and large server farms, in addition to demanding
video environments." ...ATTO
profile, RAID
controllers, PCIe
SSDs |
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Using
SSDs to Boost Legacy RAID and Database Performance - article by Texas Memory
Systems
Adding a solid state disk to inter-operate with an existing
RAID storage system can be like sprinkling fairy dust which makes everything go
faster. That's often cheaper and more effective than upgrading servers and
licenses or replacing existing storage. ...read the article,
Solid state disks | |
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10
Ten Tips for a Successful RAID Implementation
article by Infortrend
In the 20 years since I first worked on
RAID I've read and
published countless articles about this subject.
So what can a new
RAID article tell you?
Plenty of practical stuff - from a modern
perspective. ...read
the article
, ...Infortrend
profile | |
| . |
 |
the
Benefits of SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) for External Subsystems - article by
Adaptec
This introduction to Serial Attached SCSI gives you
an idea of the performance, compatibilities, applications and roadmap for this
new directly attached disk connection standard. With throughput capability
faster than 2Gbps Fibre-channel systems and faster than ultra320 SCSI - the new
SAS products not only provide an upward migration path for parallel SCSI
applications but also open the door to a new class of high performance high
reliability enterprise systems.
...read the article,
...Adaptec profile,
Serial Attached SCSI | |
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The
RAIDn Algorithm - How Does it Compare? - article by Tandberg Data
If
you think you know RAID because you use RAID level 5 and all that ancient
technology from the 1980s then think again.
The newer RAID algorithms
today provide better data survival when you get multiple disk failures and
provide a higher percentage of usable storage. ...read the article,
...Tandberg Data profile,
RAID systems,
RAID controller cards | | |
