3Ware 8506-12 - Escalade RAID Controller Features Manual

Escalade 8506 Series —High Performing, Scalable and Reliable!3ware combines an advanced switched RAIDarchitecture (StorSwitch) with SATA drives to delivera premium performance, highly available storagesolution. Each controller boasts a PCI 66MHz customASIC that combines an integrated RISC processor,PCI bridge (64-bit, 66MHz) and XOR RAID engine.The Escalade 8506 series features the only 8 and12 port SATA RAID controllers available on themarket today, with support for up to 3TB of storageper controller (dependent on drive capacity, 2TBper single array maximum.) The Escalade 8506-8and 8506-12 are ideal for enterprise storage applica-tion environments where high levels of sustainedreads and writes are required. Applications includeNAS storage, webservers, cluster servers, near-linebackup and archival, security systems as well asstreaming applications for audio and video servers.For 2U rackmount servers, 3ware offers thelow-profile 4-port Escalade 8506-4LP.In accordance with its comprehensive qualitypractice, 3ware puts all products through stringenttesting and works closely with third party hardwareand software partners to ensure compatibility.StorSwitch Architecture — SATASolutions Optimized for Performance3ware’s innovative switched fabric architecture(StorSwitch) is opening minds throughout theindustry to the fact thatSATA based storage canbe highly reliable, availableand meet maximumperformance standards.The StorSwitch architec-ture is a non-blockingswitched fabric thatcommunicates witheach drive via a uniqueport identifier. Basedon a combination ofdesign elements, whichinclude command queues, write caching algorithmsand interleaving data from each drive across the PCIbus, StorSwitch enables multiple synchronous threadsto be executed simultaneously.The use of packetswitching technology means that no drive waits or ispenalized by another drive because of bus arbitration,while executing read/write commands.The result issuperior overall system performance compared toother Serial ATA RAID controllers.No Risk ReliabilityRAID is a must in environments where performanceand reliability cannot be compromised.The Escalade8506 SATA RAID controllers all support RAID levels0,1,10, 5 and JBOD1. Data availability is maintainedwith features such as hot spare/hot swap, hot plug,automatic rebuild and dynamic sector repair.Managing the RAID installation is simple with 3wareDisk Manager (3DM®), CLI, S.M.A.R.T. disk monitoringand an integrated BIOS configuration utility. 3wareDisk Manager software is a browser-based manage-ment utility for easy local and remote managementof arrays. (Windows and Linux only).1 2-port controllers support RAID levels 0, 1, and JBOD2 Hot-spare not available on 2-port controllersSATA — The Revolution in StorageSerial ATA incorporates significant technicalenhancements over traditional ATA making itideal for RAID implementations. Along withseveral configuration benefits, SATA technologyimproves data transmission through a point-to-point topology, which eliminates bus sharingthereby delivering a full 1.5Gb/s bandwidthto each drive. In order to optimize performancein this point-to-point topology however, a switchis required. 3ware is at the forefront of SATAtechnology with the only switched fabricarchitecture — StorSwitch. StorSwitch allows thecontroller to simultaneously communicate withall drives, scaling linearly as more drives areadded, resulting in the highest possible storagesubsystem performance.• Supports up to 12, 8, 4, or 2Serial ATA drives on a single PCIcard, enabling up to 3 terabytesof storage on a half-length card(dependent on drive capacity)• StorSwitch switched architecturedelivers the full performancebenefit of Serial ATA’s point-to-point architecture up to1.5Gb/sec per port• On-board processor providestrue hardware-based RAID andintelligent drive managementfunctions• RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 and JBODsupport1• 64-bit/66MHz PCI compliant• BIOS set up utility and 3wareDisk Management (3DM ®)web-based management software• Bootable array support for greatersystem fault tolerance• Hot-swap and hot-spare featuresfor data availability 2• Windows ®, Linux® and FreeBSDoperating system supportEscalade® 8506 SERIESSerial ATA RAID ControllerWhether the challenge is increasing storage capacity or controlling costs, one technology —Serial ATA (SATA) — gives IT professionals what they need to accomplish both goals.The 3ware Escalade 8506 series delivers SATA RAID controllers that answer the call.3ware is the proven leader in SATA solutions providing the highest levels of performance,capacity, availability and reliability through its patented StorSwitch™ architecture.EscaladeK E Y P RO D U C T F E AT U R E S8 5 0 6 S E R I E S3ware SATA RAIDControllerStorSwitchHARDDRIVEHARDDRIVEHARDDRIVEHARDDRIVEUP TO1.5Gb/secPERPORT

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