Intel RES2SV240 Hardware User Guide - Page 11

1 Overview The Intel® RAID Expander Card RES2SV240 offers high performance, high disk drive connectivity,scalability, and flexibility in various storage environments, and is an attractive alternative to other expensive and complex topologies. The SAS expander is ideal for high availability and scalable server clustering environments and front-end storage subsystems used in clusters, Storage Area Networks (SANs), and NetworkAttached Storage (NAS) environments. It is an optimal device for use in data centers and SANs, leveraging existing SCSI infrastructure for investment protection and ease of migration and implementation. Intel® RAID Expander Card RES2SV240 is a 24-port, 6.0Gb/s Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) expander that enables the connection of up to 24 directly attached SAS or Serial ATA (SATA) devices. Each expander phy is individually configurable and performs SAS and SATA transfers based on the speed of the host or target at either 6.0Gb/s, 3.0Gb/s, or 1.5Gb/s. The Intel® RAID Expander Card RES2SV240 addresses the growing demand for increased data throughput and scalability requirements across entry level, midrange, and enterprise server platforms. SATA and SAS are serial, point-to-point, device interfaces that use simplified cabling, smaller connectors, lower pin counts, and lower power requirements than parallel SCSI. Benefits of SAS and SATA SAS is a serial, enterprise-level device interface that leverages the proven SCSI protocol set. SAS is a convergence of the advantages of SATA, SCSI, and FC, and is the future mainstay of the enterprise and high-end workstation storage markets. SAS offers a higher bandwidth per pin than parallel SCSI and improves signal and data integrity. The SAS interface uses the proven SCSI command set to ensure reliable data transfers, while providing the connectivity and flexibility of point-to-point serial data transfers. The serial transmission of SCSI commands eliminates clock skew challenges. The SAS interface provides improved performance, simplified cabling, smaller connectors, lower pin count, and lower power requirements than parallel SCSI. SAS controllers leverage a common electrical and physical connection interface that is compatible with Serial ATA technology. The SAS and SATA protocols support the use of a thin, 7-wire connector instead of the 68-wire SCSI cable or 40-wire ATA cable. The SAS/SATA connector and cable are easier to manipulate, connect to smaller devices, and do not inhibit airflow. The point-to-point SATA architecture eliminates difficulties created by the legacy ATA master-slave architecture, while maintaining compatibility with existing ATA firmware. Intel® RAID Expander Card RES2SV240 Hardware User's Guide 1