Features - Storage Innovations:

ADAPTEC TO SHOWCASES END-TO-END STORAGE SOLUTIONS

Adaptec Inc, a global leader in storage solutions, showcased interoperable end-to-end storage solutions -- from ASICs for direct-attached storage connectivity and data protection to plug-and-play solutions for storage area networks -- at the Intel Developer Forum. The technology demonstrations highlighted a suite of Adaptec solutions that enables organizations to easily scale system performance, data protection and capacity to meet their growing storage needs.

The core of Adaptec's end-to-end approach is a common hardware and software architecture that enables IT managers to seamlessly migrate from direct-attached to networked storage across a broad range of technologies including Serial ATA, Serial Attached SCSI, iSCSI and Fibre Channel. The architecture includes:

• Advanced RAID features such as online capacity expansion and RAID level migration to enable seamless expansion of direct-attached storage capacity and migration to higher levels of data protection
• A common disk data format that allows IT managers to seamlessly upgrade RAID add-in cards and move direct-attached disk drives to networked storage
• Advanced host-target software that enables organizations to seamlessly pool new networked storage with existing direct-attached storage
• New storage management software that uses a single console to manage all Adaptec solutions and make networked storage as easy to manage as directattached storage, simplifying deployment and administration and reducing related costs.

"Companies working to keep pace with growing amounts of data need the flexibility to cost-effectively migrate to higher levels of performance, data protection and capacity," said Ahmet Houssein, vice president and general manager of Adaptec's Storage Solutions Group. "Adaptec's end-to-end storage solutions provide a seamless path from direct-attached to networked storage to simplify storage deployment, configuration and upgrades."

Adaptec Highlights End-to-End Solutions At IDF

Adaptec's management software simplifies storage administration by allowing companies to manage all of Adaptec's direct-attached and networked storage solutions under a single interface:

• Adaptec HostRAID -- Adaptec HostRAID software providing mirroring and striping for the Intel ICH5-R Southbridge and the Marvell Hercules 1 Serial ATA controller chips
• Serial Attached SCSI chip -- The first prototype Serial Attached SCSI chip architected to run at 3- and 6-gigabits/second, allowing OEMs to begin early design and development of first-generation Serial Attached SCSI systems and accelerate development of second-generation solutions. The chip will support both Serial Attached SCSI and Serial ATA disk drives for storage of transactional and reference data in a single enclosure
• Serial ATA RAID controller -- The new four-port Adaptec Serial ATA RAID controller combining advanced data protection with connectivity to Serial ATA disk drives for low cost-per-gigabyte storage of reference data such as electronic documents, presentations, e-mail and graphics
• IP storage networking solutions -- Adaptec iSCSI adapters connecting a Red Hat Linux Apache Web server, Microsoft Windows Exchange server and Computer Associates BrightStor ARCServe Backup server to three iSCSI storage targets in a low-cost, simple-to-deploy IP SAN (storage area network). The targets include:
• Adaptec iSCSI-to-Serial ATA storage system with four disk drives and built-in data protection for low-cost disk-based remote backup
• Adaptec iSCSI-to-Serial ATA storage system with 12 disk drives and redundant RAID, power and cooling for the highest availability IP SAN storage
• Spectra Logic tape library for tape backup. The Adaptec iSCSI HBA and Spectra Logic tape library is the first IP SAN solution to be certified with Computer Associates' BrightStor ARCserve Backup, enabling storage area network-based backup solutions built on low-cost, simple-to-deploy IP storage networks.

Adaptec Debuts PCI Express Solution

Adaptec built on its leadership in serial technologies by showcasing a PCI Express Ultra320 SCSI RAID card, the first of its solutions to use Intel's high-performance PCI Express I/O processor. PCI Express is expected to enable the design of systems that deliver high levels of server-storage performance, scalability and reliability.

"Intel is giving Adaptec early access to our forthcoming PCI Express I/O processor, codenamed Dobson, enabling Adaptec to speed time-to-market of highperformance PCI Express solutions," said Mike Wall, general manager of Intel's Storage Components Division. "Adaptec's development of PCI Express solutions will make its RAID technology available to server OEMs implementing PCI Express, allowing them to integrate data protection into their systems."