LSI Expands SAS MegaRAID Controller Cards and HBAs

LSI Corporation expanded the industry’s broadest portfolio of 6Gb/s SATA+SAS storage adapters with the introduction of new MegaRAID controller cards and host bus adapters (HBAs). New offerings include the first 6Gb/s controller cards in the MegaRAID entry line, expansion of the MegaRAID value and feature lines, and new HBAs including a high port count configuration.

"The LSI portfolio of RAID controllers and host bus adapters is the most extensive 6Gb/s SAS product line available to the channel," said Brent Blanchard, director of worldwide channel sales and marketing, LSI. "Our channel customers now have access to 6Gb/s SAS-based storage controllers that span the market from entry-level to enterprise-class systems, providing them with the flexibility to meet the demands of a broad range of applications at affordable price points."

The new MegaRAID entry line of controllers are designed for inside-the-box connectivity and include the four-port MegaRAID SAS 9240-4i and eight-port SAS 9240-8i cards. The controllers allow small to medium businesses using high-performance workstations and entry-level servers to employ robust RAID functionality at affordable prices.

The controllers deliver trusted MegaRAID reliability with simplified configuration options, and leverage a common firmware architecture to allow customers to easily migrate to faster, more fully featured MegaRAID value and feature product lines as requirements change.

New additions to the MegaRAID value and feature lines include the eight-port MegaRAID SAS 9261-8i and the MegaRAID SAS 9280-4i4e, which supports both internal storage and external JBOD expansion with four internal and four external ports.

"The use of RAID controller technologies in server and storage solutions has become pervasive from the SMB to the enterprise due to their ability to cost effectively extend data protection, I/O performance and system capacity," said Sergis Mushell, Principal Research Analyst, Gartner. "Vendors offering a broad portfolio of SATA and SAS RAID controllers based on the latest generation 6Gb/s SAS interface technology will allow customers to implement a high-performance, hardware RAID solution that best matches their application requirements and IT budget constraints."

New high-performance HBAs
LSI has expanded its family of 6Gb/s SAS-based HBAs with new configurations designed for servers connecting to large numbers of drives, both inside and outside the server chassis.

The new LSI SAS 9200-16e is a sixteen-port 6Gb/s PCI Express SATA+SAS HBA delivering the industry’s highest level of external connectivity. With support for up to 1024 SATA and SAS physical devices, it allows growing businesses to expand storage capacity up to two petabytes. The new LSI SAS 9212-4i4e enables customers to connect to both internal and external storage arrays and supports up to 256 SATA and SAS physical devices.

The new HBAs support both high bandwidth and input/output-intensive applications and offer the flexibility to connect to 3Gb/s and 6Gb/s SATA and SAS hard drives or solid-state drives. Using LSI Integrated RAID – a low-cost, high-performance, hardware RAID solution – channel partners can configure storage systems with RAID 0, 1, 1E and 10 data protection.
 
Pricing and availability

MegaRAID Entry:

• MegaRAID SAS 9240-4i: $229
• MegaRAID SAS 9240-8i: $325

MegaRAID Value/Feature:

• MegaRAID SAS 9261-8i: $599
• MegaRAID SAS 9280-4i4e: $785

Host Bus Adapters:

• LSI SAS 9212-4i4e: $309
• LSI SAS 9200-16e: $619

The new products are supplied through a worldwide network of distributors, integrators and VARs. The new MegaRAID value and feature line products and high port count HBAs are immediately available. The MegaRAID entry-level controllers are expected to be available in February 2010.