Promise SATAII150 SX8 Serial ATA PCI-X Adapter

Promise Updated: 2009-01-05 RSS
Promise SATAII150 SX8 Serial ATA PCI-X Adapter

Cost-effective 8-port PCI-X Serial ATA Adapter

* Provides storage capacity up to 3.2 terabyte per controller (with eight 400 GB drives)
* Delivers more than 500MB/sec sustained throughput in sequential access*
* Linux-friendly with open source driver embedded in the Linux kernel
* Leverages the kernel-embedded RAID capability in Linux to build high-capacity SATA RAID solutions at a low cost
* Features Tagged Command Queuing for better performance
* Supports Serial ATAPI devices

Cost-effective, High-Capacity Enhanced SATA Adapter from the worldwide leader in SATA RAID Technology
The eight-port Promise SATAII150 SX8 PCI-X SATA controller offers a low-cost solution for large capacity SATA storage connected through the PCI-X bus for up to 1 GB/sec of bandwidth. Drawn from Promise's specialized development solutions for OEMs, System Integrators, and VARs, the SATAII150 SX8 controller provides these system integrators with a strong storage platform that leverages Promise's industry-leading ATA expertise. The controller provides an ideal solution for applications including:

* Servers/workstations
* Network attached storage
* Storage Enclosures
* Video surveillance
* Medical Imaging
* Video on Demand
* CD/DVD Duplication systems

Enhanced SATA Support
The SATAII150 SX8 controller takes advantage of Promise Technology's Enhanced SATA feature set that that incorporates advanced features such as command queuing support (TCQ) and includes compliance with Serial ATA II, Extensions to SATA 1.0 specification. Support for these features includes Staggered Drive Spin-up, and Disk Activity LED headers. The SATAII150 SX8 controller has an SMBus interface for Enclosure Services or other system management purposes.

Linux-friendly SATA Controller
The SATAII150 SX8 provides open source Linux drivers embedded in the Linux kernel. For Linux users that are looking to build a high-capacity storage system using software RAID, the SATAII150 SX8 controller also offers support for the kernel-embedded RAID capability in Linux.

Advanced HBA Features
The SATAII150 SX8 host bus adapter is ideal for rackmount servers with its low-profile form factor. The HBA includes Disk Activity LED pins for each port, providing a signal to an enclosure that indicates disk activity for attached drives. The SATAII150 SX8 controller also includes an SMBus (I2C) connector, offering an interconnect for communication between the controller and a SATA-with-extensions-compliant backplane. Addtionally, the SATAII150 SX8 controller offers Serial ATAPI support.

Product Development Kit Available
The SATAII150 SX8 controller is designed to provide a flexible, open platform for OEMs and third-party developers. For customers that are interested in using the SATAII150 SX8 as a platform for advanced storage products, Promise also offers a SATAII150 SX8 product development kit that includes the documentation and reference code needed to develop advanced, high-density Serial ATA storage solutions and accelerate their time to market.

SATAII150 SX8 Specifications

Controller Specifications
* Supports up to 8 Serial ATA drives
* Supports up to 1.5Gb/sec transfer rate per port
* Compliant with Serial ATA rev. 1.0 and Serial ATA II: Extensions to Serial ATA 1.0, Rev. 1.0
* Tagged command queuing** support provides up to 30% performance improvement for SATA drives that supports TCQ technology
* Supports Serial ATAPI devices
* Supports staggered drive spin-up that powers up drives sequentially and avoids excessive power draw
* Supports two cards within a single system for large storage requirements
* Includes Disk Activity LED headers that transmit signal to an enclosure to indicate individual disk activity
* Supports SMBus header for enclosure management

PCI-X Support
* PCI 2.3 compliant
* PCI-X 64-Bit / 66/100/133MHz (controller does not support use in PCI slot)

Large LBA Support
* Supports drives larger than 137GB

Onboard BIOS
* Auto-identifies and configures drive and device types; BBS Compliant; Flash-Upgradable

Cables in Kit
* 8 x 26" (650 mm) Serial ATA cables

OS Support
* Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP
* Red Hat Linux, SuSE Linux, Native Linux kernel support, open source driver available

Platform Support
* Intel IA 32 and AMD 64

Physical dimensions
* Low-profile form factor 2.28" x 7.48" (58 X 190 mm)