Sans Digital Rackmounted 2U to 4U EliteSTOR

Sans Digital, provider of high performance storage subsystems, is introducing a series of expandable JBOD storages that support both SAS and SATA hard drives.

The EliteSTOR ES208X+BE, ES316X+B and ES424X+B are 2U, 3U and 4U rackmounts with 8 bays, 16 bays and 24 bays respectively. By utilizing SAS expander technology, all three models are capable of connecting to the host computer by a single cable and could be expand by adding 6 more units, or a total of 120 hard drives.

The wide use of digital data is creating exponential growth in the demand for larger storage space. To be one step ahead of the demanding storage market, the ES208X+Be, ES316X+B and ES424X+B are designed with built-in expansion ports for increased storage capacity without the need to purchase a brand new unit with more drive bays. Each unit is capable of up to two levels of expansion via two mini-SAS ports, for a total of 7 units or 120 drives.

The attached host computer could view the storage space as individual JBOD hard drives via a host bus adaptor, or utilize a RAID controller card for RAID application. The combination of 1200MB/s high bandwidth mini-SAS cable and high performance RAID controller card (from brands such as Areca, ATTO, Dell, LSI/3Ware and Intel) allows the fulfillment of storage requirements without compromising performance.

An EliteSTOR SAS expander paired with a typical RAID controller is capable of reaching over 700MB/s in read and write speed under RAID 5 or 6 mode, faster than a typical 4Gpbs Fibre Channel or SAS hardware RAID solution.

Utilizing a RAID controller card also offers enterprise features, such as globe or dedicated hot spare, RAID 50 or 60, and online expansion and migration.

In addition to the expansion feature, the ES208X+BE. ES316X+B and ES424X+B support both SATA and SAS hard drives. Redundant power supplies are standard features on the ES316X+B and ES424X+B model, and are optional on the ES208X+BE. Status of the unit is displayed via the LED located on the front panel and alarm is available for system alert.

"EliteSTOR ES208X+BE, ES316X+B and ES424X+B are cost effective solutions with expansion capability to ensure greater return of equipment investment," said Grandy Chen, President of Sans Digital. "Users could enjoy the benefits of high capacity and performance enterprise-level storage at low costs of $1,489 (8-bay), $1,995 (16-bay), and $2,995 (24-bay)."