RAID hardware monitoring sans fuss
RAID hardware monitoring sans fuss
February 23, 2009: Sans Digital has released a JBOD rackmount that overcomes the lack of monitoring ability when utilising a RAID controller card.
The AccuSTOR AS212X2 2U 12-bay SAS enclosure is designed with a built-in selectable switch that allows hardware monitoring via various popular brands of RAID controllers interfaces. This new monitoring feature further simplifies the management process by allowing system administrators to access hard drive status, as well as power supply and cooling fan information.
Due to the wide selection of SAS RAID controllers and diverse controller interfaces, most JBOD units are unable to support detailed enclosure monitoring. This limitation delays the process of troubleshooting, where administrators are unable to promptly identify the problem at first glance.
The AccuSTOR AS212X2 addresses this issue by incorporating a user selectable switch, allowing the unit to support monitoring via various brands of RAID controllers. Once the controller model has been determined via the selectable switch, the AS212X2 utilises industry-standard SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) technology, to allow the communication between the rackmount and the host RAID adapter, without the need for additional monitoring software or hardware cable. Compatible RAID cards include: Intel SAS RAID, LSI MegaRAID, Dell PERC external SAS RAID, Areca 1680X or 1680iX series, ATTO ExpressSAS, Adaptec SAS RAID and 3ware SAS RAID controllers.
In addition to the innovative monitoring feature, the AccuSTOR AS212X2 utilises the latest SAS expander technology to allow the connection of 12 high performance SAS drives, or high capacity SATA drives, to the host computer using a single SAS cable.
The AS212X2 is capable of up to 1200MB/sec of bandwidth, with over 500MB/s write and 700MB/s read speeds when operating under RAID 6 mode. The AS212X2 could be expanded by connecting up to 4 enclosures in a daisy-chain format, for a total of 48 hard drives. The unit is designed with cable-less modularised hot-swappable redundant power supplies and SAS expander controller to minimize points of failures.
"Adding a RAID controller to a JBOD unit is the most cost-effective solution to achieve data redundancy for professional environments," said Grandy Chen, Sans Digital President. "The AccuSTOR AS212X2 incorporates crucial monitoring features to allow IT professionals to better administrate their storage systems."