LSI Launches New Generation of High-Performance RAID Controller Cards Based on 6Gb/s SAS Technology
MILPITAS, Calif., July 28, 2009 – LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) today launched in the channel a new generation of high-performance MegaRAID® SATA+SAS RAID controller cards based on 6Gb/s SAS technology. With innovative new 6Gb/s SAS product features and support for SATA, SAS and solid-state drives (SSDs), the MegaRAID 9200 series controllers provide small- to mid-sized enterprises with superior levels of RAID performance and scalability for internal and external storage.
The MegaRAID 9200 series controllers, featuring the LSISAS2108 6Gb/s SAS RAID-on-Chip (ROC), double the data transfer rates of their 3Gb/s predecessors to deliver industry-leading performance with up to 2.88 GB/s in sequential reads and 1.87 GB/s in sequential writes. The superior read/write performance makes them ideally suited for a broad range of application workloads, from data center applications such as email and database servers to more compute-intensive applications such as streaming video, OLTP and data archival.
The 9200 series controllers provide channel customers with a low-cost upgrade that is designed to easily integrate with existing 3Gb/s SATA and SAS infrastructure to offer dramatically improved performance and scalability.
"LSI’s strong channel partnerships are a key strategic advantage in the marketplace and central to the company’s business strategy," said Phil Bullinger, executive vice president and general manager, Engenio Storage Group, LSI. "As the world’s No. 1 provider of RAID controllers in the channel, our commitment to channel partners starts at the top, reaches throughout the company and is backed by the industry’s most complete selection of SATA and SAS RAID controllers and host bus adapters. With today’s launch, we’re providing our partners with a powerful performance advantage and focused innovations that address their customers’ evolving storage requirements in an ultra-competitive industry."
New features and flexible drive support
New 6Gb/s SAS product features include support for self-discovery/self-configuring expanders and longer cables, simplifying the deployment of larger and more complex storage topologies. The new controllers also bring standardized zoning which improves storage efficiencies by allowing multiple servers to share storage devices.
The 9200 series controllers also deliver the flexibility to support both high-performance SAS hard drives and cost-effective, high-capacity SATA drives, as well as energy-efficient SSDs. Industry-first support for self-encrypting drives (SEDs) is also provided for enhanced data security utilizing LSI SafeStore(TM) Encryption Services.
LSI SafeStore Encryption Services, together with SEDs, secure a drive’s data from unauthorized access or modification resulting from theft, loss or repurposing of drives. Local key management in the controller is designed to protect data from security breaches with minimal cost and complexity.
Pricing and availability(1)
Internal ports:
* MegaRAID SAS 9260-4i (4-port): US$389
* MegaRAID SAS 9260-8i (8-port): US$599
* MegaRAID SAS 9260DE-8i (8-port)(2): US$729
External ports:
* MegaRAID SAS 9280-8e (8-port): US$859
* MegaRAID SAS 9280DE-8e (8-port)(2): US$945
The 9200 series controllers feature 512 MB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM and an x8 PCI Express 2.0 host interface. They are bundled with MegaRAID Storage ManagerTM, a Java-based software management tool designed to simplify the creation, monitoring and maintenance of storage configurations.
LSI offers an extensive portfolio of SATA and SAS solutions, including MegaRAID controllers, HBAs (host bus adapters), ROMB (RAID on motherboard) and integrated RAID products. The products are supplied through the LSI worldwide network of distributors, integrators and VARs. The MegaRAID SAS 9260-8i controller is immediately available. Expected availability for all models in the 9200 series is the third quarter of 2009.
一如當初估計，價格與現時的SAS 1.0 Raid Card相若，亦能如期在今年第三至第四季推出，MegaRAID SAS 9260-8i 詳細規格如下：
Features
* Eight internal SATA+SAS ports
* Two mini-SAS SFF-8087 x4 connectors
* 6Gb/s throughput per port
* LSISAS2108 RAID-on-Chip (ROC) 800MHz PowerPC
* Low-profile MD2 form factor (6.6” X 2.536”)
* x8 PCI Express 2.0 host interface
* 512MB DDRII cache (800MHz)
* Optional battery backup unit (direct attach)
* Connect up to 32 SATA and/or SAS devices
* RAID levels 0, 1, 5 and 6
* RAID spans 10, 50 and 60
* Auto-resume on rebuild
* Auto-resume on reconstruction
* Online Capacity Expansion (OCE)
* Online RAID Level Migration (RLM)
* SafeStore Encryption Services Instant secure erase
* SSD support with SSD Guard
* Global and dedicated hot spare with revertible hot spare support
o Automatic rebuild
o Enclosure affinity
o Emergency SATA hot spare for SAS arrays
* Single controller multipathing (failover)
* I/O load balancing
* Comprehensive RAID management suite
Benefits
* Superior performance
o Maximum reads: 2,875MB/s
o Maximum writes: 1,850MB/s
* PCI Express 2.0 provides faster signaling for high-bandwidth applications
* Support for 3Gb/s and 6Gb/s SATA and SAS hard drives for maximum inside-the-box flexibility
* SafeStore Encryption Services for more secure data protection
* Low-profile MD2 form factor for space-limited 1U and 2U environments
