First 6Gb SATA RAID Controller From Marvell

Marvell announced the industry’s first 6Gb/s SATA RAID controller, the Marvell 88SE9128.

The Marvell 88SE9128 is cost effective and features advanced AES 256 bit data encryption and a blazing fast Serial ATA (SATA) 6Gb/s interface. Storage has long been considered a performance bottleneck in computing systems, but the new Marvell 88SE9128 6Gb/s SATA RAID controller is anticipated to double the storage interface performance and sets a new standard for next generation, high performance PC and server computing. The Marvell 88SE9128 builds on Marvell’s market leadership, delivering advantages in performance, advanced data protection and interoperability which are unmatched in the industry.

"The SATA interface transition to 6Gb/s is critical to meet the demands of ever-higher performance desktop computers, workstations and servers," said Mark Geenen, Founder and President of Trend Focus. "Marvell’s 6Gb/s SATA RAID controller will enable the next generation of high performance, and yet, cost effective computing platforms. The combination of speed and value provided by Marvell is well timed to meet the renewed growth of performance storage as global economic recovery gains momentum in 2010."

Marvell is working closely with the other members of SATA ecosystem, including PC motherboard vendors, hard disc drive and solid state storage companies, to bring 6Gb/s SATA products to market. ASRock, ASUSTek, GIGABYTE and MSI have selected Marvell’s 6Gb/s SATA RAID controller to enable next generation mainstream high performance desktop motherboards. In addition, Marvell has also collaborated with Micron, Seagate and Samsung to provide 6Gb/s SATA enabled hard disk drives and solid state drives for the anticipated industry transition in 2010.

"Marvell has a unique combination of storage hardware, software and firmware expertise along with an almost 15 year track record of delivering revolutionary products, which have scaled across platforms ranging from enterprise class servers to the latest consumer electronics," said Alan Armstrong, Vice President of Marketing for the Storage Business Group at Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. "By working closely with these industry leaders to drive early adoption, as we did for both 1.5Gb/s and 3Gb/s SATA products, we feel that the success of the 6Gb/s SATA industry transition is assured."

Marvell, working with other members of the SATA ecosystem, has taken steps to prepare the market for the broad adoption of 6Gb/s SATA solutions including the plug fests and interoperability workshops hosted by SATA-IO. These activities were designed to allow manufacturers to confirm the interoperability of their SATA products with other suppliers’ products, and verify adherence to SATA specifications. At the interoperability events focused on 6 Gb/s SATA in June 2009, more than 30 companies participated with a wide range of SATA products.

"SATA-IO expects widespread adoption of 6Gb/s SATA products over the next year as new computing platforms start to ship in volume," said Marc Noblitt, SATA-IO board representative. "Members, such as Marvell, are driving this evolution, enabling products with the speed their customers crave, without compromising the performance and quality associated with SATA technology."

The Marvell 88SE9128 6Gb/s SATA RAID controller IC and 6Gb/s SATA adapters are now sampling to tier-one OEMs worldwide and will be available in production volumes beginning in Q4 this year. Marvell will showcase its new 6Gb/s SATA solution in both the Marvell and SATA-IO booth at the IDF Show to be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from September 22 – 24, 2009.