Adaptec Inc. releases a new family of entry-level Unified Serial RAID controllers. The Series 2 controllers eliminate the limitations of software RAID-based hardware solutions commonly found in entry-level systems, delivering a wide range of advantages for inexpensive SATA and SAS disk and tape drive systems. The new controllers offer complete compatibility with more than 300 SATA/SAS devices, including midplanes, disk drives, and tape drives. Series 2 controllers are also "plug and play" compatible with Linux drivers 2.4.2 or later.
The new low-profile Series 2 RAID controllers, built on the same Adaptec industry-leading dual core RAID-on-Chip architecture used in its successful Series 5 RAID controllers, provide significant performance enhancement and scalability to low-cost data storage systems. The Series 2 family consists of three products: the Adaptec RAID 2405 Kit (US$250) with four internal ports, the Adaptec 2405 Single (US$225) with four internal ports, and the Adaptec 2045 Single (US$250). Adaptec Series 2 kits include a fanout cable.
This includes offering the superior performance of advanced hardware RAID 0, 1 and 10 independent of the server and its operating system; a dramatic increase in data storage system configurability through the controllers' innovative internal and external port architecture; greater support of Open Source drivers; and no vulnerability to viruses. With these controllers, Adaptec provides system integrators, value-added resellers, OEMs, and enterprise data centers with the ability to meet a wide range of data storage I/O (input/output) requirements using entry-level systems.
Adaptec Unified Serial™ Architecture lets you create an entire tiered storage solution with cost-effective, high-capacity Serial ATA (SATA) disk drives, or high-performance Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) drives, or BOTH, in a single storage system. In this solution, insert any Adaptec Unified Serial™ RAID controller into the server, and attach expansion arrays containing SATA drives, SAS drives, or both. Start with as much capacity as you need now, and easily grow the system up to 128 storage devices as needs change. Upgrade or reallocate storage simply by swapping out disks.
"We are committed to providing best-in-class SAS tape drive solutions, and the compatibility and performance of the new Series 2 Adaptec controllers is an ideal complement to our LTO family of internal and external SAS tape drives," stated Bharat Kumar, vice president of Worldwide Marketing and Development, Tandberg Data. "We will continue to work closely with Adaptec to ensure our SAS tape drives, coupled with the Series 2 controllers, meet the performance and needs of our customers."
Equipped with 128MB of DDR2 cache, customers can connect up to 128 SATA/SAS I/O devices, including disk drives or tape drives using SAS expanders. Adaptec RAID Series 2 controllers are engineered to deliver the industry's most cost-effective solution for increasing data storage access and scalability. The Series 2 family integrates the latest PCIe connectivity, the broadest operating system support, including embedded open source Linux drivers and proven compatibility.
