Promise Technology targets midrange network servers at nearly one-third cost of comparable SCSI RAID storage with new RISC CPU, hardware-based parity processing, 6 drive channels
Milpitas, Calif. [October 12, 2001]- Promise Technology, Inc. today announced its new SuperTrak SX6000 ATA RAID controller card offering RAID Levels 0, 1, 0+1, 3 & 5 for up to six high-capacity, high-performance Ultra ATA/100 drives.
SuperTrak SX6000 is designed for use with Windows 2000/NT4 and Linux. The card includes a new 100MHz i960RM RISC chip, hardware-based parity processing for RAID 3 and 5 arrays, hot swap and hot spare support.
The card and three SuperSwap removable drive chassises are also available as SuperTrak SX6000 Pro to implement a hot swappable RAID 5 storage solution.
SuperTrak SX6000 lists at $299. The Pro version, which includes 3 Promise SuperSwap drive enclosures, will list at $479.
SuperTrak SX6000 houses six independent Ultra ATA drive channels, each designed for a single Ultra ATA drive. Large LBA support by the BIOS allows each attached drive to exceed 137GB for massive arrayed storage capacity. Used with three or more Ultra ATA drives, the SuperTrak SX6000 can create ATA RAID 3 and 5 arrays at one-third the cost of comparable SCSI RAID card/drive storage solutions.
"SuperTrak SX6000 represents a significant high performance, proven alternative to SCSI storage for MIS professionals and resellers building PC-based small to mid-sized network servers," said Sam Sirisena, Promise vice president of sales and marketing worldwide.
"We've enhanced the card's onboard processor and improved our array management tools to make SuperTrak SX6000 extremely performance competitive," Sirisena added. "The appeal of SX6000 is not only about saving thousands of dollars, but of offering the best business server-class solution today."
SuperTrak SX6000 permits use of an unassigned, attached hot spare drive for immediate rebuilding of data in case of drive failure. When used with Promise SuperSwap™ hot swap drive chassises, the card allows replacing a failed drive without powering down a system in the event of a failed drive for continuous server operation. The SuperSwap enclosures protect drives and PC electronics when drives are removed and/or replaced in a running system.
A single memory cache slot allows user installation of one standard 168-pin DIMM ECC or non-ECC SDRAM (16MB minimum to 128MB maximum, unbuffered).
The bundled Promise Array Management (PAM) software GUI works over TCP/IP-based networks from any Windows-enabled PC or server, remote or local. It allows a single MIS manager to oversee and manage any SuperTrak™ server on the network -- including all components of the SuperTrak storage subsystem.
PAM also identifies status of the SuperTrak card, individual drives, data channels, and SuperSwap enclosure (if used). Users may also schedule data synchronization to maintain each arrayed drive. And PAM maintains proper logs for Windows NT4/2000 and Linux networks.
The card itself supports SNMP-protocols and can be identified and monitored using SNMP -compatible network management tools.
SuperTrak SX6000 uses Promise Technology's best-selling Ultra ATA/100 ASIC chip to automatically recognize and configure the optimal speed for most Ultra ATA/100, Ultra ATA/66, Ultra ATA/33, and EIDE drives. The ASIC has been used in more than one million controllers and PCs worldwide through OEMs and distribution channels.
About Promise
Promise Technology, Inc., headquartered in Milpitas, CA is a worldwide leader in Ultra ATA storage controllers. The company has an impressive track record of design innovations and product introductions since its founding in 1988. Promise developed the first IDE caching controller, the first Ultra ATA controller card, and the first controller to offer ATA RAID for desktop PCs (FastTrak). For more information, visit Promise Technology's web site at
www.promise.com