Intel introduces new SAS 6 Gbps RAID-controller

Intel has introduced a new raidcontroller that is compatible with the latest generation of 6G SAS harddisks with a 6 Gbps interface. The controller is branded RS2BL080 and is based on the LSI's SAS2108 6 Gb/s RAID chip. This chip is designed to work with a PCI-Express 2.0 interface, making it possible to combine high performance with a large number of hard disks or solid state drives.

According to Intel, this next-generation controller is significantly faster than its predecessor. The company claims that the sequential transfer speed in raid 5 is up to 2,5x as high, while in raid 6 up to 3x as much data is processed per second. The raidcontroller uses a low-profile format and features 512 MB of onboard DDR2-800 memory. Thanks to new features such as Decision Feedback Equalization, maximum reliability is guaranteed and errors can be diagnosed earlier.

Apart from Intel, LSI itself also announces new SAS 6 Gbps raidcontrollers. The entire MegaRAID 9200 series will be based on the new controllerchip. LSI will release three models with internal connectors (9260-4i, 9260-8i and 9260DE-8i) and two models with external SATA/SAS connectors (9280-8e and 9280DE-8e).

Tags: ddr2 ssd

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