Adaptec
Adaptec showed off their new iSCSI technology. "What is iSCSI?" you might ask. iSCS,I or Internet SCSI, is an IETF standard that allows you to map SCSI blocks into Ethernet packets. iSCSI technology is a protocol method to transport low latency SCSI blocks across IP networks. iSCSI will allow you to build storage area networks (SANS) over IP using Ethernet, which you already know. iSCSI removes limitations of direct attached storage, including the inability to share storage resources across servers and expanding storage capacity without shutting down applications. The technology is impressive and can also be coupled with the new Serial ATA RAID technology as well as traditional SCSI.
Adaptec is also about to release and revamp their 2400A ATA RAID controller with the release of a new four channel Serial ATA controller. The new Serial ATA RAID controller will feature RAID levels 0,1,10, and 5. The controller will feature transfer rates of up to 150Mbytes/sec, and include a 64MB on board cache (we assume that, at some point, it will be expandable to 128MB, like the 2400A). Mike Hull from Adaptec told us that future generations will provide up to 6 Mbytes/sec of performance. Adaptec plans to release production units in 2002 in conjunction with the launch of Serial ATA. In addition, Adaptec plans a full line of Serial ATA solutions to address customer needs from desktops to mid-range servers.
Adaptec also announced its new low profile external storage subsystem (SAN), called the DuraStor 7320SS, which is a Fibre Channel-to-SCSI system. The 7320SS features LUN zoning for the highest level of SAN security and manageability. LUN zoning allows you to easily allocate storage for specific applications and servers, while preventing overwrites. The DuraStor is, of course, built upon Adaptec's proven SCSI and RAID technologies for the highest application performance, data protection and storage scalability.
Adaptec also introduced the DuraStor 6320SS, which is an SCSI-to-SCSI external storage subsystem. Both solutions consist of a RAID controller appliance and an enclosure with 12 hot-swappable one-inch drive bays to provide up to 1.7 terabytes of storage. With the addition of three 12-bay drive enclosures, the Adaptec DuraStor 7320SS scales to 7 terabytes of storage capacity. Two enclosures can be added to the Adaptec DuraStor 6320SS for scaling to 5.2 terabytes of storage.
Both subsystems are 2U appliances, enabling high-density rack mounting or pedestal use, and both include redundant, hot-swappable fans and power supplies to ensure maximum uptime. Both also feature Adaptec's Storage Manager Pro software. The Java-based graphical user interface simplifies remote and local storage management, enabling users to create and manage RAID arrays, set up user and administrator security levels, and establish notification for disk failures.
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