3ware first to deliver Linux Support for Serial ATA
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Brian Solis
FutureWorks for 3ware
408-428-0895 Ext. 101
brian@future-works.com
3ware First to Deliver Serial ATA Controllers
with Linux Support
3ware introduces industry's first full line of high capacity Serial ATA
RAID controllers with open source drivers, management tools for Linux
community
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., August 13, 2002 -- 3wareÒ, Inc., a leading provider
of switched RAID solutions, today announced that it is shipping the
industry's first family of Serial ATA RAID controllers that support open
source drivers and management tools for Red Hat and SuSE Linux.
3ware's Escalade 8500 series of Serial ATA controller is available in four,
eight and 12-port versions and is being demo'd at LinuxWorld, Aug. 12-15 in
San Francisco. 3ware's booth is number R8.
The Escalade 8500 series offers storage VARs and systems builders the first
complete family of enterprise class Serial ATA RAID controllers. The new
controllers extend the company's high performance ATA controller line to
support the Serial ATA interface standard, providing terabytes of reliable,
performance-based Serial ATA RAID storage.
3ware is providing device driver support and management tools in support of
Red Hat Linux 6.2, 7.1 and 7.2 and SuSE Linux 6.4, 7.2 and 7.3.
Traditional technologies such as parallel ATA and SCSI use a bus-based
architecture where all the drives share a single bus, with a resulting
compromise in performance. The Serial ATA architecture provides
point-to-point communication, delivering full bandwidth to each connected
drive when a switched architecture is employed. 3ware's non-blocking
switched fabric design allows the controller to simultaneously access all
drives, delivering much higher performance than competitive SCSI or Serial
ATA solutions.
The Escalade 8500 series of Serial ATA RAID controllers eliminates the
problems of traditional parallel ATA cabling. Serial ATA has longer,
thinner, more flexible cables (up to 1 meter) providing superior airflow
for better system cooling and assembly. For users who want to benefit from
the advantages of serial ATA cabling with standard parallel drives, 3ware
also offers a Parallel-to-Serial converter which allows the Escalade 8500
series controllers and Serial ATA cables to connect to a standard ATA
drive.
Roger Cox, Chief Analyst Server Storage & RAID Worldwide at Gartner
said, "Serial ATA represents a significant milestone for network storage.
Traditionally, only certain classes of data have enjoyed the benefits of
redundant technology due to the high cost of legacy RAID solutions. Serial
ATA enables the use of RAID technology across the entire corporate data
set, for the first time bringing the cost of data reliability to a point
where all relevant data can be stored on redundant systems."
"The Escalade 8500 series is the only Serial ATA controller on the market
that uses a switched architecture designed specifically to meet the intent
of Serial ATA's point-to-point connection methodology," said Mike Wentz,
senior director of product marketing at 3ware. "A switched architecture
improves reliability and performance and increases isolation of drive
faults, resulting in a next-generation RAID controller that delivers real
world solutions for today's storage applications. 3ware provides the only
architecture that can easily scale from four drives to twelve drives,
enabling business and vertical customers to build reliable, high capacity,
scalable, low maintenance storage using inexpensive Serial ATA drives."
Availability and Pricing
The Escalade 8500 family of RAID controllers support up to four drives
(Model 8500-4), 8 drives (Model 8500-8) or 12 drives (Model 8500-12). The
CBL-P-SATA converter kit allows the use of Serial ATA cables with standard
parallel drives. Products are now available worldwide through authorized
3ware distributors. Please contact 1-877-88-3ware (9273) for additional
information or visit 3ware on the Web at www.3ware.com.
About 3ware, Inc.
Founded in 1997, 3ware, Inc., the technology leader in switched RAID
storage solutions, delivers reliable, scalable, network-managed,
high-performance storage. 3ware products are based on 3ware's StorSwitch
architecture, which applies network packet switching to storage
controllers. 3ware solutions are designed to meet the explosive new demand
for cost-effective, scalable storage, driven by enterprise networking
applications. 3ware sells through VARs, OEMs and System Integrators.
3ware, Inc. is located in Mountain View, California with sales offices and
distribution in the USA, Europe and Japan. 3ware is on the Web at
http://www.3ware.com.
# # #
Copyright 2002 3ware, Inc. All rights reserved. Specifications subject to
change without notice. 3ware is a registered trademark and Escalade and
StorSwitch are trademarks of 3ware, Inc. All other trademarks herein are
the property of their respective owners.
