LSI introduces low-profile SAS RAID adapters

LSI Logic Corporation announced the industry's first low-profile SAS (Serial Attached SCSI ) RAID storage adapters. The new MegaRAID SAS 8308ELP and SAS 8344ELP PCI Express adapters offer eight ports of SAS connectivity for server and workstation environments requiring the flexibility to use either 3 Gb/s SAS or SATA II drives, or a combination of both.

Utilizing a high-performance I/O processor, the MegaRAID SAS 8308ELP and 8344ELP adapters are optimized for cost-sensitive and space-limited Direct Attached Storage (DAS) environments that demand both feature-rich and high-performance solutions.

"Cost-sensitive and space-conscious customers require highly-reliable, high-performance storage solutions to satisfy their DAS requirements," said Steve Gardner, director of product marketing, Engenio Storage Group, LSI Logic.

With the addition of the MegaRAID SAS 8308ELP and 8344ELP, LSI offers a complete selection of SAS RAID adapters for internal and external connectivity. Customers can now choose from a full spectrum of adapters for environments requiring the highest performance levels and fault tolerance. The MegaRAID SAS 8308ELP offers eight internal ports while the MegaRAID SAS 8344ELP supports four internal and four external SAS connectors. Both adapters offer remote battery backup option to protect data stored in memory.

The new adapters feature next-generation MegaRAID Management Suite software, which includes MegaRAID Storage Manager, a Java-based application providing intuitive array configuration, monitoring and management capabilities. The new software also adds MegaRAID Patrol Read, a unique feature that scans attached disk media for bad blocks and prohibits further writing of data to them, improving overall reliability and data integrity.