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Author: Steve Denegri
Independent Data Storage Analyst

The Industry in Aggregate

It may have taken longer than expected, but RAID arrays equipped with SAS are now shipping. IBM is the first to get in the game with the launch of its EXP3000 array at the end of August. Soon to come are SAS-based RAID boxes from the likes of Dell, EMC, Hitachi, HP, and Sun. NetApp enters the fray, too, with filers based on SAS by year-end.

Almost universally, the new SAS-based external storage boxes feature 3.5" disk drives. The IBM EXP3000 deploys a single RAID controller and twelve SAS drives in a 2u shelf, giving it the capability to pack almost 4TB in the configuration. Though SAS drives are available in both 2.5" and 3.5", most in the industry agree that 2.5" SAS drives will primarily reside in performance-centric enterprise servers and not external arrays since the smaller size means less capacity per unit. This allows for maximum capacity as storage needs expand. Meanwhile, expect value-based servers to adopt 3.5" SAS drives in order to save cost.

Author: Tonya Comer, Product Marketing Manager, Industry Standard Servers,
HP

Introduction

As organizations address their growing storage needs, they are also facing changes within their computing needs. This means that they need a server configuration that is flexible and adaptable. They also need a standard tool set for configuring, expanding and managing the array controllers. And it all has to come at an affordable price.

The new HP controller combines the benefits of better performance, increased server uptime, and proactive monitoring, all while providing the investment protection customers have come to expect with HP's Smart Array family of controllers. The HP Smart Array E200 and E200i are the first entry-level controllers utilizing PCI Express and they also provide RAID 0, 1 and 1+0 support with an upgrade path to RAID 5 by adding Battery-Backed Write Cache (BBWC). The E200i is the embedded version of this array controller that ships in selected server units, based on customer order specifications.

Author: Brad Corrion, Product Marketing Engineer
Intel Corporation

The evolution and innovation of a new technology generally is paced by the demands of its user base. New technologies can grow and adapt quickly, rapidly responding to the needs of a small user base. Ironically, when the technology becomes popular and entrenched, the innovations focus on extending the shelf life of the current technology to minimize user disruption. For example, parallel shared bus architectures such as PCI were made wider and clocked faster in order to move more data more quickly, but without significantly altering their underlying architecture to support backward compatibility.

When simple extensions no longer address fundamental technological challenges, radical reinvention occurs. The best bits are retained and the rest is reconsidered. Again, consider the parallel shared PCI bus that is quickly being replaced with the serial, point-to-point PCI Express bus. They share many conventions and compatibilities, but the technologies are fundamentally different.

Similarly, the storage industry is witnessing SCSI's big leap to Serial Attached SCSI, or SAS. Like PCI Express, SAS drastically reduces the scalability and design challenges of parallel SCSI while also bringing new capabilities which parallel SCSI could not offer. Timed to leverage SAS adoption momentum, the recently launched Intel IOP34x Storage Processor Family integrates SAS/SATA controllers into the sixth generation of Intel's I/O processor line to provide end-product ease of use, data protection, and the flexibility of multi-protocol storage technologies.

Author: Sam Barnett, Product Line Manager, Serial Attached SCSI and Serial ATA Storage & Storage Networking Products, Storage Products Division,
Vitesse Semiconductor

As first generation systems based on Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) technology enter the market, leading server and storage OEMs are racing to deliver the next group of platforms based on an ever-evolving technology landscape. Vitesse opted to enhance its popular NexSAS™ product family concurrent with the release of generation 1 systems. This leap-frogging approach to the deployment of SAS technology has led to the introduction of many new products with features found only in high availability, superior performing, Fibre Channel systems today. Comprised of three new high-PHY-count expanders, two new RAID-on-CHIP offerings, extensions in intelligent mux/de-mux devices, a new enclosure management/SAS backplane controller, and high-rate, agile signal conditioners, the NexSAS™ line delivers on the promise of high-performance storage solutions for SMB (small/medium business) as well as enterprise systems.

Author: Don Jeanette, Senior Manager, Product Marketing
Fujitsu Computer Products of America

Adoption is Happening:
For nearly two years, a variety of Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) products has been available in the marketplace. In 2006, the hard disk drive (HDD) industry anticipates shipping as many as 2.5M to 3M enterprise products with SAS as the preferred interface. This will represent approximately ten percent of the overall enterprise hard disk drives shipped for the year. In parallel, it is evident that small form factor (SFF) SAS hard disk drives are continuing to gain momentum.