Sonnet Fusion DX800RAID Includes SAS Expander

Sonnet Technologies, Inc. announced the availability of the Fusion DX800RAID, a high-performance, eight-drive RAID SATA storage system with a built-in SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) expander that enables connection of up to 16 eight-drive enclosures to a single Sonnet RAID controller. This newest addition to the Fusion line provides the speed required for working with uncompressed 10-bit 1080 HD video; the data security and monitoring critical in a large RAID system; and the straightforward scalability necessary for cost-effective, incremental expansion of storage capacity. The DX800RAID system supports RAID 5 and RAID 6, enabling safe recovery from single- and double-drive failures, respectively.

"The Fusion DX800RAID system’s expander architecture makes it simple for users to increase the capacity of their storage systems and bring needed storage online quickly without needing an additional PCI Express slot in their computer," said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. "As users expand online RAID arrays to 16 drives or more, RAID 6 formatting provides even greater data protection while retaining high performance levels."

The Fusion DX800RAID is designed to provide reliable, flexible, high-performance, direct attached storage for office and studio use. With its eight drives formatted as a RAID 5 group (data protection for a single-drive failure), a Fusion DX800RAID yields impressive read and write file transfer speeds of up to 680 MB/sec and 640 MB/sec respectively, fast enough for single-stream 2K (2048 x 1556) LOG RGB capture and playback. Expanded to 16 drives, RAID 6 formatting gives the new Sonnet system failsafe protection in the event of two concurrent drive failures. With the release of this new product, Sonnet now offers RAID 6 support with all of its Fusion RAID desktop and rackmount storage systems, and current owners can add this capability to their systems by downloading the latest software from the Sonnet Web site.

The reliability of the Fusion DX800RAID is further enhanced through SES (SCSI Enclosure Services) 2.0 compliance, a feature more commonly found on enterprise storage systems, and enhanced S.M.A.R.T (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) data reporting for each hard drive installed in the system. Integrated into the Fusion DX800RAID, SES functionality provides enhanced real-time monitoring and reporting of drive, power supply, and temperature status, all conveyed to the user through utilities application screens and the illumination of conveniently placed LEDs on the enclosure. S.M.A.R.T. data criteria can be used to notify the user of an impending drive failure, thus enabling the user to minimize downtime as a result.

Complete Fusion DX800RAID storage systems include the eight-drive enclosure with eight formatted (Mac OS) 3.5-inch Enterprise/RAID edition hard drive modules, along with a Sonnet RAID controller card, two heavy-duty two-meter mini-SAS data cables, a power cable, a software CD, and documentation. Four-meter and six-meter cables are optionally available. Fusion DX800RAID expansion systems include the enclosure, drives, and power cable.

Complete Fusion DX800RAID storage systems’ suggested retail prices are as follows: Fusion DX800RAID (4TB) at $3,995, Fusion DX800RAID (6TB) at $4,495, and Fusion DX800RAID (8TB) at $5,495. Fusion DX800RAID expansion systems’ suggested retail prices are as follows: Fusion DX800RAID Expansion (4TB) at $2,695, Fusion DX800RAID Expansion (6TB) at $3,195, and Fusion DX800RAID Expansion (8TB) at $4,195.