3Ware 9550SX-12MI PCI-X RAID Contoller

Note: Standby functionality is not guaranteed, as 3Ware does not officially support standby.

Model: 3Ware 9550SX-12MI

Specifications

Features

• 7th-generation StorSwitch point-to-point, non-blocking switched architecture
• On-board PowerPC RISC processor provides true hardware RAID - SCSI device driver model to take advantage of the benefits of SCSI using inexpensive Serial ATA drives
• Bootable array support for greater fault tolerance
• Variable stripe size for performance tuning by application
• 64-bit LBA support
• ATA pass-through mode support
• Up to 256 MB DDR2 400 memory with ECC protection
• 32 pooled DMA channels
• Complete configuration management suite - 3ware BIOS Manager 2 (3BM2) - easy to use BIOS configuration tool - 3ware Disk Manager 2 (3DM2) - browser-based management tool
• Features include: secure access via ssh or https, create unit, delete unit, remove unit, import unit, migrate unit, verify unit rebuild unit - Command Line Interface (CLI) - scriptable configuration tool
• SNMP support
• SMTP support for email/pager notification
• ATA/6 and Out of band (OOB) staggered drive spin-up support
• Auto carving allows logical units larger than 2 TB to be divided into multiple units for legacy operating systems that are limited to a maximum of 2 TB per logical unit
• StorSave platform for advanced performance tuning with the BBU
• Multiple logical unit sizes and RAID levels on one card
• Multiple card support within a system for large storage requirements
• Hot-swap and hot-spare support for data availability
• Dynamic sector repair for robust data protection
• S.M.A.R.T. disk drive monitoring for reliability
• Emergency Flash Recovery protects against failed firmware upgrade
• Drive activity LED support
• Online Capacity Expansion and RAID Level Migration
• Battery Backup Unit (BBU) ready
• Enhanced data protection with write journaling for non-redundant arrays and accidental drive removal
• Drive insertion and removal notification

Scalable RAID storage for any environment
AMCC offers a complete line of half-card and low profile 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16-port SATA and SATA II RAID controllers. Single arrays scale to multi-terabyte capacities per controller (64-bit LBA support). For low-capacity systems, the 3ware 8000 Series delivers high performance RAID storage on a budget. When the challenge is to increase storage capacity and reliability while controlling costs, 3ware offers the 9000 Series. And for the most demanding applications, the flagship 9550SX controllers, with advanced SATA II features and PCI-X host interface connectivity, outperform all other controllers in their class.

Why Choose SATA?
Serial ATA and SATA II provide performance, reliability, ease of configuration, and power consumption advantages over parallel ATA, as well as significant cost advantages over SCSI. SATA is a scalable point-to-point interface protocol which meets the needs of both high- performance storage systems and PC workstations. Each device is cabled directly to the host to deliver 3Gbps (SATA II) or 1.5Gbps (SATA) bandwidth to each drive. SATA uses thin, flexible, one-meter data cables and/or Multi-lane cabling that not only make configuration easy, but also improve system airflow and cooling.

AMCC 3ware RAID controllers
AMCC 3ware RAID controllers deliver full-featured true hardware RAID to servers and PC workstations. AMCCs RAID controller families offer Serial ATA (SATA) and SATA II interfaces in both low profile and half-card footprints. Combined with an advanced RAID management feature set that includes web-based, command-based, and API software components, AMCC controllers, available in 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16-port configurations, are the most compelling solutions available.

3ware puts it all together
AMCC combines unique architectural advancements with SATA and new SATA II features to deliver a new class of RAID controller performance, data availability, and system reliability.

StorSwitch maximizes controller throughput
StorSwitch is a unique non-blocking switch fabric architecture that allows 3ware controllers to concurrently communicate to all attached SATA drives through a pool of 32 direct memory access (DMA) channels for unparalleled performance and data availability. The result is superior overall system performance compared to non-scalable hub-based systems that share the bandwidth of a single DMA channel.

StorSave optimizes data protection and performance
StorSaves revolutionary combination of powerful reliability enhancements and a battery backup unit (BBU) maximize data protection and system reliability without sacrificing controller performance. StorSave permits 3ware controllers to use both controller cache and disk cache during SATA RAID operations. This strengthens array performance during optimal usage, as well as during degraded RAID 5 operations which means faster rebuild times. StorSave Profiles allow user-specified levels of protection vs. performance (9550SX only).

StreamFusion maximizes application performance under multiple loads
An intelligent cache algorithm dynamically optimizes RAID 5 disk accesses and efficiently manages the data through controller cache for guaranteed bandwidth. As the number of data streams increases, the total bandwidth is divided equally among them. Application performance will not suffer as a result of heavy traffic or as a result of multiple applications accessing data simultaneously. 3ware RAID controllers are not the performance bottleneck as is the case with software RAID and other hardware RAID controllers.

Multi-lane combines four SATA ports into a single locked connection to improve I/O subsystem reliability Award-winning Multi-lane technology dramatically increases system reliability by radically reducing cable count. Multi-lane cables combine four SATA ports into a single locked connection. The Multi-lane design enables highly reliable and streamlined enterprise-class SATA storage solutions by greatly reducing the number of cables needed to connect controllers, backplanes, and standard SATA drives.

Hardware vs. Software RAID
All AMCC 3ware RAID controllers incorporate onboard processors to deliver true hardware RAID. Software RAID schemes use the systems processor, exploit host memory, compromise reliability and potentially rob the system of as much as 60% of its CPU cycles just to process RAID calculations.