Adaptec MaxIQ RAID Controllers With SSD Caching

Adaptec, Inc. announced the expansion of the Adaptec MaxIQ SSD Caching product portfolio with three new MaxIQ Storage Controllers, a new MaxIQ 64GB Cache Performance Kit, wider support for solid-state drives (SSDs) and enhanced management and analytics tools. 

Adaptec’s MaxIQ SSD Caching products can deliver up to eight times the I/O performance of hard disk drive-only arrays, and reduce capital and operating expenses up to 70 percent by allowing IT managers to build High-Performance Hybrid Arrays (HPHAs) – data storage arrays consisting of both hard disk drives (HDDs) and SSDs.

"Our goal is to provide our customers with performance enhancing products that provide more flexibility and create greater operational efficiencies. Our enhanced Adaptec MaxIQ solutions meet all of these goals," said Jared Peters, vice president of sales and marketing, Adaptec. "As SSDs continue to prove their value in a wide range of enterprise, data center and other high-performance computing environments, the need for effective solutions that allow IT managers to take advantage of SSD performance benefits at the lowest possible cost is paramount."

The Adaptec MaxIQ Storage Controller family is built on Adaptec’s advanced data protection and high-performance architecture, and includes Adaptec Intelligent Power Management (IPM) for energy-efficiency, as well as support for all mainstream SSDs including drives from OCZ Technology and STEC, delivering IT managers with increased flexibility when designing storage systems.  

"OCZ is constantly looking for new opportunities to provide our customers with innovative ways to integrate SSD technology into enterprise class storage solutions that meet the demanding performance and reliability requirements of data center and computing applications," said Alex Mei, CMO of the OCZ Technology Group. "MaxIQ Caching Software together with OCZ SSDs will increase I/O performance and lower the total cost of ownership while reducing energy consumption, offering a considerable improvement in overall value and performance."

Adaptec Q-Series Storage Controller Family includes:

• Adaptec MaxIQ 2405Q (4 internal ports)
• Adaptec MaxIQ 5805Q (8 internal ports)
• Adaptec MaxIQ 5805ZQ (8 internal ports with Zero-Maintenance Cache Protection for battery-free data protection)

All MaxIQ Storage Controllers feature 1.2 GHz of processing power, 512MB of DDR2 write cache, MaxIQ Hybrid SSD read caching with support for multiple MLC and SLC SSD devices, and direct I/O connectivity for SATA/SAS SSDs, hard drives, and tape devices. Using SAS expanders, these controllers support up to 256 devices; they also support a broad range of operating systems and are compatible with more than 300 third-party devices. These controllers are also supported by Adaptec Storage Manager for centralized management of all Adaptec RAID controllers on the network.

"Our customers depend on us to deliver server solutions that meet their high-performance standards and bandwidth requirements", said David Rudnick, president of PC Solutions & Integration, Inc.. "The Adaptec MaxIQ SSD Caching solution allows us to convert industry-standard servers into cost-effective, high-performance, scale-out application storage appliances that help our customers save money while attaining high levels of I/O performance."

As a complement to the new MaxIQ Storage Controllers and the existing MaxIQ 32GB Cache Performance Kit, the new MaxIQ 64GB Cache Performance Kit can be paired with any Adaptec Series 5Z, Series 5 or Series 2 Storage Controller and includes a 64GB Intel X-25E Extreme Solid-State drive.

SSD caching end-user tools are also available to intelligently analyze I/O data flows and predict performance.  Plus I/O instrumentation allows for easy configuration, monitoring and management, making it easy for data center and cloud computing customers to integrate HPHAs without disrupting existing operations.

Pricing and Availability
The Adaptec MaxIQ 64GB SSD Cache Performance Kit featuring one 64GB Intel X25-E Extreme SATA SSD and MaxIQ SSD Caching Software is MSRP US$1,795. The Adaptec RAID 2405Q, 5805Q, 5805ZQ list for MSRP US$645, $1,215 and $1,485, respectively. All products are currently available through worldwide distributors and resellers.