Intel RS2BL040 Hardware User Guide - Page 11

1 Overview The Intel® RAID Controller RS2BL040 is a high-performance, intelligent PCI Express* 2.0-compliant SAS/SATA II RAID controller that offers reliability, high performance, and fault-tolerant disk subsystem management. This is a RAID solution that meets the internal storage needs of workgroup, department, or enterprise systems to use cost-effective SATA or high-performance SAS media. As a second-generation PCI Express* RAID controller, the Intel® RAID Controller RS2BL040 addresses the growing demand for increased data throughput and scalability requirements across mid-range and enterprise-class server platforms. The controller can be connected to up to four drives directly and allows the use of expanders to connect to additional drives. Note that all expander features will not be available at product launch. For more information about the use of expanders, see the ANSI SAS Standard Specification, Version 2.0. 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. The optional Intel® RAID Smart Battery AXXRSBBU7 provides cached data protection for the RAID controller, even during system failures. Benefits of SAS SAS is a serial, point-to-point, enterprise-level device interface that leverages the proven SCSI protocol set. SAS is a convergence of the advantages of SATA, SCSI, and Fibre Channel, 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 use 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 Controller RS2BL040 Hardware User's Guide 1