Sonnet Shipping Quiet and Compact Thunderbolt 2-to-PCIe Expansion Chassis

Sonnet Technologies Inc. announced the Echo Express SEL, the latest addition to its Echo Express line of Thunderbolt 2-to-PCIe expansion systems.

Like the other members of the Echo Express family, the SEL enables the use of a variety of high-performance PCIe cards – originally designed for use in desktop computers – with any Mac computer with a Thunderbolt port. The new model is a small and quiet Echo chassis, and supports one low-profile PCIe card.

It incorporates Thunderbolt 2 technology, which delivers twice the bandwidth of Thunderbolt and provides sufficient throughput to support many of the performing and most demanding PCIe cards.

The expansion chassis is suited for use with high-bandwidth networking cards, HBAs, and storage interface cards, allowing them to connect with Thunderbolt-enabled iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro computers, as well as Mac Pro computers that lack PCIe expansion slots.

Plus, the SEL’s dual Thunderbolt 2 ports not only support full-bandwidth connectivity with 20Gb/s Thunderbolt 2-equipped host computers, but provide backward compatibility with 10Gb/s Thunderbolt-equipped computers and devices, and support daisy-chaining of other Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt devices.

The SEL supports low-profile, single-width PCIe 2.0 x8 cards. The majority of the most popular Thunderbolt-compatible 16Gb and 8Gb FC, 10GbE, SAS and SATA HBAs, and RAID controller cards fall into this category, making the SEL a match for users needing a discrete, quiet, and fast PCIe chassis to connect one of these specialized interface cards to their computers.

Thunderbolt 2 technology is essential for enabling many high-performance cards, such as 10GbE, to yield optimal performance over Thunderbolt. For example, in a test using Small Tree Communications, LLC‘s dual-port 10GbE CAT6 Network Adapter with the Echo Express SEL, performance increased by 40% compared to the same card tested in a standard 10Gb/s Thunderbolt-to-PCIe chassis. The list of compatible PCIe cards is available on Sonnet’s website, and is expanding as more cards are tested and certified.

Measuring 4″ wide by 8.4″ long by 2.8″ tall and weighing 1.75 pounds, the SEL is compact and lightweight, yet its rugged aluminum case provides protection for the installed card. It features an ultra-quiet, temperature-controlled fan to help keep even warm cards cool. When not needed, the fan slows down to a whisper. The SEL is Sonnet’s quietest expansion chassis yet.

The SEL ships with an 80W external power adapter, keeping the system’s energy usage low. It also conserves energy by automatically powering on whenever the connected computer powers on or wakes, or powering off when the computer powers off or sleeps. Sonnet includes a cable locking mechanism that secures the Thunderbolt connectors and prevents accidental cable disconnects. Like the other models in the Echo Express family, the SEL was designed, engineered, and built by Sonnet in California.

“Many of our customers that have only one PCIe card, such as a high-speed 10 GbE, FC, or high bandwidth storage interface card, need the increased performance of Thunderbolt 2 but want the smallest and quietest chassis possible,” said Robert Farnsworth, CEO, Sonnet. “Now, users purchasing a new Mac Pro, or other Thunderbolt 2 technology-enabled computers, will be able to take advantage of the groundbreaking performance of Thunderbolt 2 technology using Sonnet’s most affordable Thunderbolt 2-to-PCIe card expansion chassis.”

The Echo Express SEL (part number ECHO-EXP-SEL) is available for $399.