LSI MegaRAID selected by IBM to power newest System X server line

Citation

(2008), "LSI MegaRAID selected by IBM to power newest System X server line", Microelectronics International, Vol. 25 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/mi.2008.21825bad.008

LSI MegaRAID selected by IBM to power newest System X server line

Article Type: New products From: Microelectronics International, Volume 25, Issue 2.

LSI technology is key enabler for new family of IBM adapters and RAID on motherboard (ROMB) solutions

LSI Corporation (NYSE:LSI) inform us that its MegaRAIDw technology was selected by IBMw for integration into the IBM System xe server line, via its new ServeRAID- MR10 family of adapters and ROMB solutions. Server customers using IBM ServeRAID adapters based on LSIe RAID on Chip (ROC) technology now have a cost-effective choice for internal and external direct-attached storage (DAS) employing SAS and SATA disk drives.

LSI MegaRAID technology provides the best-in-class storage performance and advanced data protection capabilities required for server applications such as e-mail, database, video streaming, web content, video- on-demand, security and surveillance, and reference data storage.

As the third generation of LSI ROC solutions, the LSI SAS1078 incorporates the company's ROC expertise and SAS leadership, providing customers with unsurpassed performance and data protection in a single-chip solution.

MegaRAID SAS/SATA solutions employing the LSI SAS1078 include highly integrated motherboard-based implementations as well as a cost- effective value line and a highly flexible feature-line of PCI Expressw compliant RAID adapters.

“The selection by IBM to enable its ServeRAID-MR10 family with our MegaRAID technology featuring the LSI SAS1078 validates our strength in the market as a leading RAID provider,” said Kelly Bryant, DAS RAID Business Line Director, LSI Engenio Storage Group. “By bringing together our expertise in chips, boards, software and system-level products, this engagement demonstrates the benefits that the LSI silicon-to-systems-to- software SAS/SATA portfolio brings to the OEM community.”

The ServeRAID-MR10M SAS/SATA controller is a high performance x8 PCI Express RAID Controller for external DAS storage, including IBM System Storage EXP3000. This RAID adapter utilizes the LSI SAS1078 ROC and provides investment protection by supporting SAS and SATA hard drive configurations and providing performance enhancements enabled by a standard battery. The battery provides cached data protection during unexpected power outages for ServeRAID-10M when operating in its higher performance, write back mode.

The ServeRAID-MR10k SAS/SATA adapter enables full ROMB for LSI 1078-based subsystems on high- performance servers, including the IBM System x3950 M2 and x3850 M2 servers. The System x3950 M2 is ready for virtualization right out of the box by eliminating software setup and installation time and enables four times the amount of memory to be hosted on a single chassis compared to the previous system for more virtualization workloads.

The ROMB solution is ideal for space-limited server environments. The adapters offer external connectivity with the ability to cascade up to 10 EXP3000s per Port. It also features removable Battery Backed Cache and a RAID activation key along with RAID 6 Protection.

The ServeRAID-MR10 family is also supported by the LSI MegaRAID Management Suitee of software a complete spectrum of applications and tools including next-generation pre- boot and advanced online RAID management utilities.