Adaptec Inc. unveiled a new family of entry-level Unified Serial RAID controllers. The new low-profile Series 2 RAID controllers, built on the same Adaptec industry-leading dual core RAID-on-Chip (ROC) architecture used in its successful Series 5 RAID controllers, provide significant performance enhancement and scalability to low-cost data storage systems.

The Series 2 controllers eliminate the limitations of software RAID-based hardware solutions commonly found in entry-level systems, delivering a wide range of advantages for inexpensive SATA and SAS disk and tape drive systems. This includes offering the superior performance of advanced hardware RAID 0, 1 and 10 independent of the server and its operating system; a dramatic increase in data storage system configurability through the controllers' innovative internal and external port architecture; greater support of Open Source drivers; and no vulnerability to viruses. With these controllers, Adaptec provides system integrators, value-added resellers, OEMs, and enterprise data centers with the ability to meet a wide range of data storage I/O (input/output) requirements using entry-level systems.

"The Adaptec Series 2 family is critical to our comprehensive line of Unified Serial RAID controllers," said Suresh Panikar, director, Worldwide Marketing, Adaptec. "Customers who have specific storage needs -- increased RAID performance for disk drives, tape backup, or are working with applications based on Linux -- will find our Series 2 controllers exceed those needs."

The new controllers offer complete compatibility with more than 300 SATA/SAS devices, including midplanes, disk drives, and tape drives. Series 2 controllers are also 'plug and play' compatible with Linux drivers 2.4.2 or later.

"We are committed to providing best-in-class SAS tape drive solutions, and the compatibility and performance of the new Series 2 Adaptec controllers is an ideal complement to our LTO family of internal and external SAS tape drives," said Bharat Kumar, vice president of Worldwide Marketing and Development, Tandberg Data. "We will continue to work closely with Adaptec to ensure our SAS tape drives, coupled with the Series 2 controllers, meet the performance and needs of our customers."

Adaptec RAID Series 2 controllers are engineered to deliver the industry's most cost-effective solution for increasing data storage access and scalability. Equipped with 128MB of DDR2 cache, customers can connect up to 128 SATA/SAS I/O devices, including disk drives or tape drives using SAS expanders. The Series 2 family integrates the latest PCIe connectivity, the broadest operating system support, including embedded open source Linux drivers and proven compatibility.

Pricing and Availability
The Series 2 family consists of three products:

• the Adaptec RAID 2405 Kit (US$250) with four internal ports,
• the Adaptec 2405 Single (US$225) with four internal ports,
• and the Adaptec 2045 Single (US$250). 

Adaptec Series 2 kits include a fanout cable.

All cards will be shipping and available through worldwide distributors and resellers by May 30, 2008.

Both cards integrate Adaptec Storage Manager( (ASM) software. ASM centralizes management of Adaptec RAID products. Cards installed in one or more servers can be configured, managed and monitored remotely from a single client workstation through secure, encrypted communications. The intuitive RAID management tool provides pop-up tips and online help to simplify the creation and management of RAID arrays.