LSI Software Options for MegaRAID 6Gb/s SAS/SATA Adapters

LSI Corporation announced three software options designed to extend the performance and data protection capabilities of LSI 6Gb/s SAS/SATA MegaRAID controller cards. The new MegaRAID FastPath and CacheCade offerings help to optimize application performance in direct-attached storage environments configured with solid-state drives (SSDs). The MegaRaid Recovery option enhances data protection through new snapshot functionality, which enables rapid file and volume-level data recovery.

"Our customers have asked us to provide advanced controller options to address specific application and market requirements," said Kelly Bryant, DAS business line executive, LSI. "These new software offerings, combined with our industry-leading MegaRAID controllers, enable end users to address key business challenges while helping to deliver a higher return on their IT investments."

LSI MegaRAID FastPath optimizer software provides high-performance I/O acceleration for SSDs connected to a 6Gb/s SAS/SATA MegaRAID controller. The technology is designed to dramatically boost transactional application throughput, delivering up to 150,000 I/Os per second (IOPS). The software supports full optimization of SSD and hard disk drive (HDD) virtual disk groups to deliver a 3X improvement in read and write IOPS compared to MegaRAID controllers not utilizing FastPath technology.

"We've found that MegaRAID FastPath technology enables Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 to maximize the performance of SSD storage using non-parity RAID levels," said David Powell, Director of SQL Server Performance Engineering at Microsoft. "We're blown away by the performance results we're seeing from LSI – up to 150,000 8KB IOPS in SQL Server benchmark testing, and easily 2X faster than comparable RAID solutions for online transaction processing (OLTP) database workloads. Any business looking for cost-effective performance and scalability should try SQL Server with MegaRAID SAS RAID controllers, LSI FastPath software and today's high-performing solid-state disk technology."

LSI MegaRAID CacheCade cache tiering software enables SSDs to be configured as a secondary tier of cache to maximize transactional I/O performance. Utilizing SSD devices as cache can deliver up to a 50X performance improvement in read-intensive applications, such as OLTP and file and Web server workloads. The solution is designed to accelerate the I/O performance of HDD-based arrays while minimizing required investments in SSD technology.

Enhanced data protection is provided by LSI MegaRAID Recovery, which uses snapshots to enable rapid file and volume-level data recovery capabilities. Users can capture snapshots of source volume data at designated points in time and restore data from those points should accidental or malicious data loss or corruption occur. MegaRAID Recovery is designed to satisfy the growing need for more frequent restore points and reduced recovery times, providing IT organizations with new levels of data protection and business continuity.

LSI demonstrated the new MegaRAID advanced software options in the Bell Micro booth at CeBIT 2010, March 2-6, in Hannover, Germany.

Support for these MegaRAID advanced software options is immediately available to select OEM customers. Expected availability for channel partners is in the second quarter of this year.