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Adaptec PCIe SATA and SAS RAID Controller Family FAQ

Contents:

What is the Adaptec PCIe family of SATA and SAS RAID controllers?   top of page

The Adaptec PCIe family of next-generation Adaptec Unified Serial™ RAID controllers includes controllers with four, eight, twelve, and sixteen 3Gb/s ports or data paths supporting both Serial ATA (SATA) and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) disk drives. The family includes the following model numbers; 3405, 3805, 3085, 31205, and 31605.

Where are these RAID controllers used?   top of page

These controllers are ideal for supporting server and workgroup applications where high levels of sustained read and write operations are required, such as video streaming, web content, video-on-demand, security and surveillance, fixed content, and reference data storage. Each controller will support both SATA midplane designs with sideband enclosure management and LED signals, as well as a SAS infrastructure with in-band signaling. With this design, the controllers provide compatibility with both SATA-only systems and with new SAS designs too.

What is Unified Serial™?   top of page

Unified Serial controllers support both SATA and SAS disk drives using a serial point-to-point interface. The command set is an enriched SCSI command set providing robust data management, error handling, and performance characteristics.

This flexibility of supporting both SATA and SAS disk drives makes it easy for companies to standardize on a single I/O infrastructure for both mission-critical storage and secondary storage – dependent solely upon whether SATA or SAS disk drives are installed. Customers can standardize on a single I/O controller or storage system for all of their storage configurations, reducing training and repair costs.

What RAID levels do the cards support?   top of page

The Adaptec PCIe SATA and SAS RAID controller family supports standard RAID levels 0, 1, 1E, 5, 5E, 6, 10, 50, 60, and JBOD. It also supports Copyback Hot Spare, which allows the user to specify a fixed physical location for the hot spare for improved manageability. An optional Snapshot Backup feature is also available for this family of cards.

What advanced data protection features does the Adaptec PCIe SATA and SAS RAID Controller Family offer?   top of page

This RAID controller family offers a collection of standard and optional features offering customers advanced storage management and data protection features.

Premium RAID Features:

  • Dual Drive Failure Protection (RAID 6, 60) delivers the ability to survive two simultaneous drive failures, protecting data during the extended array rebuild times required by new large capacity disk drives. A RAID 60 array provides optimal data protection by allowing two drive failures for each leg of a multi-layer array. Dual Drive Failure Protection is particularly interesting for use with large capacity disk drives which exhibit longer rebuild times. This results in a larger window of vulnerability where a second drive failure (in RAID 5) could bring down a server.
  • Hot Space (RAID 5EE) distributes the hot spare space within the RAID 5 array, increasing the number of spindles in the array, and therefore, the I/O performance.
  • Striped Mirror (RAID 1E) provides mirrored data protection over an odd number of disk drives by mirroring the data stripes rather than the drives.
  • Copyback Hot Spare lets administrators designate a physical drive location as a hot spare. When a failed drive is replaced, the data is copied back to the replaced drive from the spare, and the Hot Spare physical location is maintained as initially assigned.

Snapshot Backup (Optional):

  • The optional Snapshot Backup feature offers the ability to create up to four point-in-time copies of an array or logical device for improved data backup. These snapshot volumes can be used as a temporary backup volume in cases where the primary storage is damaged, such as a virus attack. Additionally, snapshot volumes can be used to simplify backup to tape without disrupting access to the production volume.
What operating systems are supported?   top of page

The Adaptec PCIe SATA and SAS family supports a long list of operating systems including Windows, Linux, NetWare, Solaris, FreeBSD, and SCO. Please consult the Adaptec support site for a complete list of available operating systems and drivers.

What management ulitities are inclued with the Adaptec PCIe SATA and SAS RAID Controller Family?   top of page

Adaptec Storage Manager™ - One-view utility which centralizes management of all Adaptec RAID products. Adaptec Storage Manager enables remote RAID management, monitoring, and configuration through secure, encrypted communication.

ARCCONF (Command Line Interface - CLI) - Text-based command line interface that provides the same functions as Adaptec Storage Manager in environments where a GUI is not available.

BIOS configuration utility (ACU) - used for quick and easy local setup without booting the OS.

Does the Adaptec PCIe SATA and SAS RAID Controller Family support write-back cache?   top of page

Yes, but Adaptec recommends that if write-back cache is enabled, the server should be connected to a UPS. Adaptec believes that data integrity is the most important feature on its RAID cards. Write-back cache is volatile to power drops. To protect data stored in cache in case of a power failure a UPS must be used.

Where are these products available?   top of page

Adaptec products are available worldwide from Adaptec Authorized Retail partners. For a reseller near you go to www.adaptec.com

What is the warranty period on the Adaptec PCIe SATA and SAS RAID Controller Family?   top of page

Like all Adaptec products, the Adaptec PCIe SATA and SAS RAID Controller Family has been extensively tested with third-party systems to deliver the utmost in compatibility, now and in the future. Each is backed by a 3-year warranty and Adaptec industry-leading technical support.

How compatible is the Adaptec PCIe SATA and SAS RAID Controller Family?   top of page

Adaptec controllers are tested and supported on all the major vendors' motherboard, enclosures, and disk drives. Please visit our website at www.adaptec.com/compatibility for a list of tested components.

 

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