LSI Extends MegaRAID Controller, HBA Families with PCIe 3.0 By Doug Crowthers July 5, 2012 12:12 PM Tags : Hardware & Software Storage Data Center Processors Flash Sata Memory Performance Hard Drives Bus Powerpc Connectivity Controller Data Recovery Cache Products Enterprise Software Cloud Computing Servers NAS / RAID Bandwidth Megaraid Sas SSD Chip LSI Logic LSI Corporation has introduced its latest MegaRAID 6Gb/s SAS+SATA controllers and host bus adapters (HBAs) featuring PCIe 3.0 interface.LSI has announced seven new MegaRAID controllers, which offer four or eight ports and provide a powerful combination of intelligent performance, enterprise RAID data protection and proven interoperability. In addition, they have announced three new LSI HBA models that provide state-of-the-art connectivity for servers and appliances in a variety of enterprise-level environments, including corporate data centers, the cloud and high-performance computing. The MegaRAID controllers are designed to increase performance and protection for business and mission-critical data stored on high-performance SAS hard drives, high-capacity SATA hard drives or application-accelerating SSDs. They are powered by the LSI SAS 2208/2308 RAID-on-Chip using 6Gb/s SAS technology and includes dual 800MHz PowerPC Processor cores with 1GB cache memory.To get the most out the controllers, they are based on the PCIe 3.0 interface, which delivers a bit rate of 8 gigatransfers per second (GT/s), roughly twice the bandwidth of the prior generation. PCIe 3.0 incorporates a number of key new features to improve data transmission and protection as well, including transmitter and receiver equalization, PLL improvements and clock data recovery.Pricing and Availability: LSI MegaRAID SAS+SATA Controllers:MegaRAID SAS 9270-8i single/kit - $780/$835MegaRAID SAS 9271-4i single/kit - $540/$575MegaRAID SAS 9271-8i single/kit - $780/$835MegaRAID SAS 9271-8iCC single - $1,050MegaRAID SAS 9286-8e single - $995MegaRAID SAS 9286CV-8e single - $1,255MegaRAID SAS 9286CV-8eCC single - $1,525 The 9271-8iCC and 9286CV-8eCC MegaRAID cards come in easy-to-order prepackaged configurations that include the LSI CacheCade Pro 2.0 application acceleration software that optimizes SSD caching performance. Additional models include the onboard LSI flash-based CacheVault data protection option for even greater system protection.LSI SAS+SATA HBAs:SAS 9207-4i4e single/kit - $335/$415SAS 9207-8i single/kit - $305/$385SAS 9207-8e single - $510 The new LSI HBAs listed above are available immediately. The MegaRAID products are sampling now with general availability expected during Q3 2012. The products are supplied through the LSI worldwide network of distributors, integrators and VARs. Comment on this article ... Comment(s)| Comments