Seagate ST3146855LC VAR Delivers Competitive Advantage With Intel, Adaptec, an - Page 3

enjoyed with Intel's proven multi-core processor technology. Platforms featuring the Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® processor 5400 series deliver the performance headroom needed to confidently consolidate applications onto fewer systems using proven virtualization solutions. This Intel platform provided significant performance headroom thanks to built-in virtualization capabilities and highly efficient multi-core processor architecture. This processing capacity allowed Area Data Systems to recommend server consolidation options that would have been impossible or cost-prohibitive a few short years ago. Maximized I/O throughput enabled a single virtual server to deliver the performance equivalent to approximately 100 individual desktop computers. Adaptec Advantage An Adaptec RAID controller was selected in large part because Adaptec offers reliable, industryleading RAID solutions. The Adaptec 3405 PCI-e 4-port Unified Serial (SATA/SAS) RAID Controller was chosen as the optimal choice for the required virtualization environment. Adaptec provided unmatched flexibility in running virtualization software as well as the necessary drivers and firmware for effective execution. Choosing Adaptec provided distinct advantages throughout Area Data Systems' implementation. Hard drive performance dramatically increases through the use of the Adaptec Unified Serial controller. With the capabilities enabled by this controller, Area Data Systems found it extremely cost-effective to help their customer scale up to 200TB per controller while maintaining superior storage performance. With the robust data demands of the virtualized server, I/O handling was critical. The selection of the MD2 low-profile Adaptec RAID 3405 effectively ensured fast, reliable I/O performance crucial to the customer thanks to cross-platform engineering and rigorous application testing. The customer's stringent reliability requirements were also satisfied with Adaptec. The Adaptec RAID 3405 featured several levels of RAID, including RAID 0, 1, 1E, 5, 5EE, 6, 10, 50, 60, and JBOD- effectively providing safeguards against failure through redundancy and mirroring capabilities. Seagate Selection As a Seagate Premiere Provider and member, Area Data Systems is intimately familiar with the quality and reliability of Seagate hard drives. Seagate Cheetah* hard drives running at 15K RPM were selected as the data storage, OS and application loading component of the virtual server. Combined with the Adaptec RAID controller and the Intel® Server Platform, these high-performance drives provided hot-swappable functionality to enable superior uptime and versatility. Due in large part to the customer's demanding application engineering, Seagate Cheetah hard drives, with their robust reliability attributes, were the only logical choice for storage. Featuring unprecedented levels of performance and reliability for Tier 1, mission-critical server and storage solutions, high-capacity Cheetah hard drives minimized any potential downtime while maximizing responsiveness. Inclusion of Cheetah hard drives provided unparalleled reliability with an MTBF of 1.6 million hours and the peace of mind of the Seagate five-year limited warranty. Flawless Compatibility The end result was a dozen units implemented for the first deployment phase. Each was capable of running virtual machines equivalent in performance to 100 individual desktops. Exceedingly responsive I/O performance was possible only through the flawless compatibility and cooperation of ecosystem leaders Intel, Adaptec, and Seagate and knowledgeable coordination of Area Data Systems. "Adaptec does a great job of providing the drivers and firmware to use for each of the different OS being used on the virtual server." William Huang President, Area Data Systems "To minimize potential downtime while supporting maximum responsiveness, we used Seagate Cheetah hard drives." William Huang President, Area Data Systems