Digiliant Uses Adaptec Series 6 RAID Controllers

Based in Okemos, MI, Digiliant LLC., provider of customized NAS/SAN, has announced its inclusion of Adaptec Series 6 RAID controllers in the building of its systems.

Some of the features of the Adaptec Series 6 RAID controllers feature PMC Sierra’s multi-core SRC 8x6G RAID-on-Chip (ROC), 512MB DDR2 667MHz cache and an x8 PCI Express Gen2 host bus connection.

They support up to 256 SATA/SAS devices and feature Adaptec Intelligent Power Management for improved energy-efficiency, plus Zero-Maintenance Cache Protection (ZMCP – pronounced ‘zemcap’) to help data centers save thousands of dollars in operating costs.

Series 6 controllers deliver up to 60% higher sustained sequential throughput than previous generation Adaptec controllers and up to 2GB/s sustained data transfer rate to the host. At peak performance, Series 6 offers 4.8GB/s through the SAS 2.0 interface and 4.0GB/s through the PCI Gen 2 host interface.

The fastest way for a RAID controller to fulfill a read or write request is to serve data out of its cache. Savvy network administrators know that enabling the RAID controller cache offers performance benefits, such as reduced latency in I/O requests, bandwidth and queue depths that surpass software application limits, and on-the-fly parity calculations on sequential writes.

RAID controllers typically employ battery backup units (BBUs) to protect cached data during power loss, but BBUs require constant monitoring and preserve data for a maximum of 72 hours during power loss. Series 6 controllers introduce Zero-Maintenance Cache Protection that solves BBU deficiencies by providing full protection to cached data with no installation, monitoring, maintenance, disposal, or replacement costs. Featuring 4GB of SLC based NAND flash memory with super capacitor technology (available as a separate kit), Series 6 controllers instantly save cache contents in the event of system power loss. On a power failure, the data is copied from the DRAM cache of the controller to the NAND flash memory while the super capacitor provides enough energy to support this process and power the controller for approximately 60 seconds. Unlike a BBU, the data is protected for years when copied to the flash memory.

"Offering Windows-based NAS/SAN systems technology is in keeping with the company’s overall commitment to staying on the cutting edge with current products and giving their customers the most state of the art, effective solutions for their storage needs; demands that are increasing for most businesses by up to 40% per year," said Digiliant Senior Account Executive, Tom Tarasiewicz.

"We are a company that is very much customer focused," says Tarasiewicz. "Our customers come to us with individual storage needs and our goal is always to provide them with specific, customized solutions to meet those needs. The Adaptec Series 6 RAID Controller provides our clients with the power and versatility they demand."

Digiliant provides customized, scalable, non-proprietary network storage solutions for small to mid-sized businesses, large corporations, educational and government facilities, as well as the military and their contractors.