Features - Storage Innovations:

PACIFIC DIGITAL'S SATA HBA DELIVERS A GBps

Pacific Digital Corp announced that a configuration of its new QMaster SATA RAID HBAs in a single server achieved an unprecedented 1 Gb per second (GBps) sustained data transfer rate.

In testing, the system achieved 1.07 Gbps reading data, and 1.05 Gbps writing. This matches performance that in the past has required multiple FibreChannel links and expensive external RAID systems. A mixed mode benchmark was also performed, with 535 Mbps simultaneously on both read and write.

Random read and write operations are also noteworthy, producing 5,709 IOPS writing and 5,234 IOPS reading. This level of performance is significant for database operations.

"We are proud to announce that we are the first to achieve this level of performance with SATA. We clearly have a hot product. This opens up a new vista of low-cost, high-performance storage solutions," said Tony Tate, vice president of Sales and Marketing at Pacific Digital. "Video-editing and highthroughput servers no longer need to rely on expensive external RAID solutions for the performance they require. The beauty of the PDC solution is that we have versions of the QMaster HBA and the QStor chip that allow the highest storage performance for every user from the desktop all the way through highend workstations and servers."

The QMaster SATA RAID HBA incorporates Pacific Digital's new QStor 3Gbps-ready SATA II RAID ASIC. HBA configurations include both 4 and 8 port versions. The QStor ASIC model SC4300R10 incorporates RAID acceleration in hardware as well as Tagged Command Queuing, Native Command Queuing, and DMA also in hardware.