04/03, 7:20pm
Up to 15TB capacities, hot-swapping, more
Drive maker LaCie has added a "diskless" model to its five-drive RAID server, the Neil Poulton-designed 5big Network 2 enclosure. Now starting at $350, users can scale or configure their storage as desired, using RAID 0, 1, 5, 5+spare and 6 (hot-swappable). With burst speeds up to 70MB per second thanks to dual LAN ports, the unit is aimed at creative shops and small businesses for storage, serving and both Apple and Windows backup system compatibility.
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03/19, 11:50pm
Also posts two new how-to articles
Apple has posted several new articles in its support database, including two that address specific issues. One deals with upgrading to Lion from Snow Leopard from a RAID volume, while the other explains some unexpected XSan Admin behavior when inconsistent or missing-name server records are used. XSan users also got a tutorial on advanced mounting options, while a fourth deals with restoring Lion Server from a Time Machine backup.
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03/12, 9:00pm
Can use dual USB 3 port for up to 10Gb per second
HighPoint Technologies has launched two new Mac and PC compatible external storage solutions using USB 3.0 for a theoretical speed of up to 5Gb per second per port, or 10Gb per second total possible throughput in the dual-bay, "toaster" design RocketStor Smart Backup and RocketStore Smart RAID. The units can accommodate two SATA standard-size HDD and SSDs up to 6Gb per second in speed and can work with add-on USB 3 PCI-E cards.
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09/08, 8:40pm
Compact design integrates dual drives
G-Technology has unveiled its latest storage system, the G-RAID. The aluminum-clad device offers 8TB of storage space, spread across two 4TB disks running at 7,200rpm. The company geared the system for Mac OS X, taking advantage of the 10Gbps Thunderbolt connections on the latest Macs, though a simple reformat extends support to Windows machines.
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08/11, 4:00am
Features eSATA or USB 3.0 external connectors
A new card for Mac and Windows computers with PCI slots from Addonics called the HPM-XU can connect up to five SATA hard drives to either eSATA or USB 3.0 ports on any system via single cable. The hardware port multiplier (HPM) comes with a built-in RAID accellerator and supports transfers in excess of 240MB per second (with five drives in a RAID 5 configuration). The card supports all versions of Windows (2000 and higher), Mac OS X (10.4 or later) and Linux (kernel 2.6 and higher).
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08/01, 9:00pm
Affordable family or small business RAID unit
As household or small-business backups get larger, the need for an easy-to-use RAID array to serve as a master backup unit grows. MacNN takes a look at an entry from Weibetech, the RTX220-QR, that emphasizes easily-swapped, no-tools-required drive addition and seamless, fast, reliable operation -- with Prosoft's Data Backup software included for Mac and Windows users. In our exclusive review, we find out if the unit can become the centralized home (or home office) backup unit for power-users and first-time RAID buyers alike.
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07/28, 8:40pm
Offers room for two 2.5-inch drives; RAID-0 or 1
Other World Computing has expanded its Mercury Elite Pro Dual Mini bus-powered RAID options with two new HD-based and three new SSD-based pre-configured choices for up to two terabytes (2TB) of capacity using either Firewire 800, Firewire 400, USB2 or eSATA connections to achieve transfer speeds up to 300MB per second. The RAID unit is remarkably compatible all the way back to Apple OS 8.6 (using Firewire 400), and all the way up to Mac OS X Lion, as well as Windows 98SE and higher.
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07/15, 12:30am
Bus-powered, quad-interface up to 1TB
Macintosh peripheral maker Newer Technologies has added a new drive model to its lineup, the portable Guardian Maximus Mini, a small RAID enclosure that supports 2.5-inch hard and solid-state drives that mirror each other in a plug-and-play, bus powered hardware RAID 1 (or optional RAID 0 mode) with total capacity of 2TB using hard drives (1TB of storage capacity mirrored), or up to 960GB (480GB mirrored) of SSD storage.
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02/02, 10:35pm
Offers up to 192TB raw capacity, 24 bays
The new AccuRAID AR424I and AR424IR high-performance storage servers from Sans Digital are iSCSI RAID 24-bay machines that come with either a 4-channel single controller (upgradeable) or 8-channel redundant controller, as well as up to 900MB per second read and write performance over Gigabit Ethernet (performance charts after the jump). They support up to 192TB raw storage capacity in a single 4U machine and are positioned as economical and competitive alternatives to Fibre Channel SAN products.
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11/11, 9:35pm
Up to 10X throughput improvement
Apricorn today debuted its SSD-based Mac Array, a turnkey virtual memory expansion kit that uses a single PCIe X4 slot and a total of 512GB of SATA SSD drives to dramatically outscore traditional 7200rpm SATA disk drives, and even more remarkable increases in video or graphic rendering times. The array takes moments to install and is preconfigured for Mac and RAID 0 (striping), including a custom SATA PCIe host card on board.
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10/12, 9:55pm
Transfers at up to 76MB/sec, iOS app access
Buffalo Technology is in the process of revamping its consumer-oriented network storage solution offerings, introducing a new V-series set of drives that feature higher transfer speeds than most competing NAS drives, as well as WebAccess i apps for iOS devices, giving users ways to stream and upload digital content directly to and from their mobile devices. Future models in the line will also feature RAID redundancy, and all the drives in the V-series feature Time Machine and iTunes compatibility along with built-in FTP and print server software.
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10/01, 9:30pm
Up to 812MB/sec read, 620MB/sec write speeds
Enhance Technology has unveiled a new high-performance RAID server, the UltraStor ES3160 FS. It boasts 16 SATA II or SAS drives for either 16TB or 32TB of storage, dual active-active RAID controllers, dual I/O modules, hot-swappable dual redundant power supplies and cooling modules. The new 3U server is an enterprise failover RAID system designed to deliver high performance Windows Clustering, as well as cross-platform high availability, SAN and virtualization applications.
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08/13, 6:55pm
Tower supports RAID 0, 1, 5, hot spare, more
SansDigital has expanded its TowerRAID series with a new 8-bay RAID tower, the TowerRAID TR8XP. The tower supports both SATA and higher-speed SAS hard disks and provides a mini-SAS 6G interface with a supporting PCIe 2.0 x8 6G RAID controller. The 8-Bay enclosure supports RAID levels 0, 1, 1+0, 5 and JBOD, while delivering up to 650MB/s read and write speeds.
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05/14, 6:25pm
Card delivers 600MB/sec on each channel
High Point has released its RocketRAID Quad eSATA 6Gbs host adapter. The new card is claimed to be the industry’s first PCI-Express 2.0 host adapter with four independent 6Gb/s eSATA connectors for the Mac. It supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 and JBOD configurations for performance or data protection.
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02/17, 7:35pm
Systems support several RAID arrays
Sans Digital in Wednesday introduced several four-bay storage systems, the TowerSTOR TS4CT and EliteRAID ER104CT. The TowerSTOR model arranges four hot-swappable drives in a vertical enclosure, which integrates an LCD for viewing status and management information. Users can choose from RAID 0, 1, 10, 3 and 5 arrays, with connection options including USB 2.0, eSATA, and FireWire 800 or 400.
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12/08, 10:15pm
Deck styled for used with iMacs, Cinema Displays
Stardom has launched its latest storage device, theDeckRAID DR4. The new desktop system runs RAID 5 for a balance between speed and redundancy, while a quad-interface provides connections for eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0. The eSATA port also supports port multiplication. The unit is hot-pluggable and recognized by both Mac and Windows without installing software. The deck can also be used as a boot drive via FireWire and USB 2.0 connections.
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11/18, 4:35pm
Fiber, SAS, iSCSI, SCSI models
Enhance Technology has launched the EnhanceRAID TS800 series, a new desktop RAID line. The series includes four main models based on connection options: IP (iSCSI), SC (SCSI), SS (SAS) and FC (Fiber Channel). Each is powered by an 80-plus efficient power supply, and includes an integrated hardware RAID controller. Eight removable, key-locked drive trays are available, with light pipes displaying disk activity.
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11/12, 2:40pm
Increased storage for hard drives, RAID systems
CalDigit has announced increased storage support in terms of its hard drives and several of its RAID storage systems. The company’s previous hard drives were only available in capacities up to 1.5TB, but can now range up to 2TB at no extra cost. Enhancements have appropriately been made to the company’s CalDigit VR, HDElement, HDOne and HDPro RAID systems. Capacities can now extend from 4TB up to 16TB, or as much as 32TB when combined with other supporting systems.
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10/23, 6:00pm
New volumes support RAID 0, 5, more
EZQuest has launched higher capacity versions of its Cinema Pro rack-mountable RAID and Thunder RAID products. Both storage devices are geared towards video professionals with flexible RAID settings for fast data-transfer rates or a balance between speed and redundancy.
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10/13, 12:00am
Supports up to four drives
Trans International has introduced the DX4, a new drive mount for Mac Pros. The unit fits inside a Pro's case, and supports up to four 2.5-inch SSD or conventional hard drives. Using a third-party SAS/SATA RAID adapter, drives can be connected in RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 or JBOD configurations.
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09/11, 9:15am
iMac update targets ATI video card problems
Apple has posted two new firmware updates, addressing separate pieces of hardware. The iMac Graphics FW Update 1.0.2 fixes stability problems on iMacs running an ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro video card, or else the Radeon HD 2400 XT. Systems must also be operating on Mac OS X 10.5.2 or later.
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09/10, 11:55pm
Fusion 16-drive RAID storage system
Sonnet Technologies has introduced the Fusion RX1600Fibre, its latest expandable RAID storage system. Designed for small video-editing workgroups, the system provides a 4-port, 8Gb Fibre Channel interface that supports up to four users and delivers maximum read speeds of 1,000MB/s or write speeds of 740MB/s. It features sixteen 1TB drives configured as RAID 5, although users can also choose between RAID 4 and RAID 6 arrays.
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09/09, 8:35pm
Radion intros new RAID 5 6TB storage systems
Radion has introduced several GearRAID quad-bay data storage subsystems with enhanced data protection when the drives are configured as a RAID 5 array. The storage devices integrate an Oxford936QSE chipset, enabling four 2TB drives to be configured as a RAID 5 array with a maximum of 6TB of overall storage space. The drives are capable of automatically backing-up data, while one hard drive can fail without any loss of data. Each storage system also supports eSATA, 1394b and USB 2.0 host interfaces.
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09/03, 11:00pm
D400QR5, R400QR5 RAID 5 storage
Sonnet Technologies has announced a desktop RAID system, the Fusion D400QR5, along with its rackmount counterpart, the R400QR5. Both devices build upon the company’s previously released D400Q and R400Q four-bay systems, adding a RAID 5 controller for improved balance between data protection and usable capacity. Both systems support eSATA, FireWire 800 and 400, and USB 2.0 interfaces, while enabling users to select a preferred RAID mode or configure each individual drive.
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08/18, 3:00pm
1U TeraStation III NAS
Buffalo Technology on Tuesday announced its latest storage product, the rackmount TeraStation III, aimed at small- to medium-size businesses. The network device is built on the same platform as the company's standalone TeraStation III, with support for hot swapping, replication, NFS, Active Directory and Time Machine backup. Users can configure the drives in RAID arrays or apply disk encryption for sensitive data.
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07/10, 3:25pm
RAID Monitor 3 released
Squashed Software, formerly Maza Digital, says it has released RAID Monitor 3, a major update to its RAID status utility. The app performs background tracking of drive errors, which are then passed on to administrators through alert messages. Version 3 has been entirely rewritten, and redesigned with a new interface.
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07/08, 11:00am
CalDigit VR mini released
CalDigit has released the CalDigit VR mini, a compact digital storage unit. The product includes two digital storage drives and a frontside LCD display. The CalDigit VR mini supports both RAID 0 (striping), RAID 1 (mirroring), and JBOD and the device can work fast enough to complement high definition video editing. The product features RAID hardware that provides an independent CPU and cache memory to manage the RAID volume. This process eliminates the strain from the host system's CPU and gives applications full system access.
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06/09, 6:30pm
RocketRAID eSATA ships
HighPoint has released the RocketRAID eSATA controller, specifically designed for the Mac Pro. The device is used to manage disk drives and provides additional disk cache. The controller features PCI-Express x4 bus speed, enabling transfer rates of up to 1000MB per second. RocketRAID eSATA also has integrated boot support allowing the controller to boot a Mac Pro system from a single drive or RAID configuration. The controller is also capable of supporting almost every type of eSATA hard disk configuration, such as Silicon Image Port Multipliers and eSATA drive kits.
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06/04, 3:45pm
MN2LP NAS server ships
Sans Digital has relaunched its dual-bay RAID network-attached server, the MobileNAS MN2LP - 2 Bay RAID NAS Server, featuring an LCD readout display. The new LCD provides RAID, system info and the IP address. The two-disk server is geared towards file sharing on a home or office network. It offers both RAID 0 striping for better performance or RAID 1 mirroring for redundancy and better backup. It works over Mac networks via Bonjour networking and is compatible with Windows via CIFS as well as Linux via NFS -- it can support all three platforms at once.
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05/19, 10:00pm
QStar releases HSM upgrade
QStar Technologies has upgraded its flagship product, HSM, to be compatible with the upcoming Mac OS X 10.5 Snow Leopard. The software is geared for storage systems, with tools that can be used to manage data movement between multiple tiers of storage, both online and offline. A variety of storage technologies are supported, including DVD-RAM, BD, CAS, and PDD.
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05/13, 3:45pm
TowerRAID mini-SAS upgrade
Sans Digital had announced an expansion of its TowerRAID series through the addition of mini-SAS interfaces to its TowerRAID TR4X/TR4X-B and TR8X/TR8X-B. Features of the integrated mini-SAS ports combine four hard drive connections into one, reduce possible points of failure, and help to maintain uninterrupted data transfer. The mini-SAS technology is geared towards uses such as video editing, and provides Fibre Channel connectivity while enabling the TR4X and TR8X to support 3Gbps SAS or SATA hard drives.
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04/27, 6:20pm
Sonnet launches R400P
Sonnet has released the Fusion R400P, a four-drive RAID SATA rackmount storage system. The system supports RAID 0, 1, and JBOD and arrives in a 1U rackmount enclosure. It is available in configurations from driveless to 6TB and has an eSATA single-cable port. The new unit is based on Sonnet's Fusion R400Q series and can reach speeds of 220MB/sec in a RAID 0 configuration.
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02/19, 9:10pm
AccuSTOR enclosure ships
Sans Digital has released the AccuSTOR AS212X2 2U 12-bay SAS enclosure, which it says is the first JBOD rackmount to overcome the lack of monitoring ability when utilizing a RAID controller card. The enclosure is built with a selectable switch that allows hardware monitoring with various RAID controller interfaces. The feature also allows system administrators to check hard drive status, power supply and cooling fan information.
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02/05, 4:55pm
TS-439 Pro Turbo NAS
QNAP Systems has announced its latest Intel-based network attached storage (NAS) system, the TS-439 Pro Turbo NAS. The device utilizes a 1.6GHz Atom CPU and provides up to 6TB of storage, with support for online RAID capacity expansion and RAID level migration without turning off the server. The NAS can be connected using five USB 2.0 ports and two eSATA ports. Data can be protected with 256-bit volume-based encryption, automatic policy-based IP blocking, and instant SMS or e-mail alerts to warn of drive problems or failure.
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02/03, 10:25pm
8-bay RAID 6 towers ship
Sans Digital has launched a new series of 8-bay MobileRAID towers, featuring dual channel SCSI, SAS and Fiber Channel connections and hardware RAID 6. RAID 6 balances between parity and speed, while allowing for up to two drive failures at one time without data loss. The MobileRAID towers utilize the engine structure of Sans Digital's AccuRAID rackmount systems, allowing for dual channel support, online expansion, online RAID migration, and RAID roaming. The three towers, the MR8S, MR8X and MR8F4, feature embedded Ethernet web management, allowing for local and remote access of the system status and alerts for system events.
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01/21, 4:20pm
RocketRAID 2684 controller
Storage gear maker HighPoint has unveiled the RocketRAID 2684, its newest SATA/SAS-based RAID controller. The hardware uses an internal SFF-8087 connector, paired with an external SFF-8088 one. It supports SATA drives up to 1.5TB in size, and SAS drives spinning as fast as 15,000rpm.
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01/05, 8:20pm
LaCie DVD burner and RAID
LaCie has unveiled its latest external devices, the d2 DVD burner and a dual-drive RAID system. The DVD burner is driven by Windows XP Embedded and touts a maximum write speed of 22x. Users can choose from a USB 2.0 connection or FireWire, and write to DVD-R, DVD-RW, Dual Layer, CD-R or CD-RW media. The drive also features LightScribe technology for burning custom labels directly onto the discs.
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01/05, 5:45pm
Cinema Pro RAID
EZQuest has revealed the Cinema Pro, a new RAID storage system geared towards video editing. The unit provides 16 bays in a 3U rack format, allowing for up to 24TB of capacity. It uses a 20Gbps external PCIe bus, and transfers approximately 900MBps in RAID 0 mode, or 870MBps in RAID 5; 1, 1E, 3, 6 and JBOD configurations are also supported. Tasks on the Pro are aided by an 800MHz Intel processor equipped with 2GB of SDRAM cache.
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01/05, 3:30pm
ATTO FastStream SC 8500
Storage tech builder ATTO has announced a preview demonstration of the FastStream SC 8500, a new RAID controller, for this week's Macworld Expo. The 8500 is meant for high-end storage functions such as video editing, and can handle as many as five uncompressed HD streams simultaneously. It includes four 8Gb Fibre Channel host interfaces, and can connect up to 128 3Gb SAS or SATA drives, or else eight to 16 JBOD enclosures.
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12/18, 7:35pm
abcSAN's Macworld launch
Small Tree Communications has announced its abcSAN shared storage disk, launching at Macworld 2009 in January. The new SAN (storage area network) disk is a member of Small Tree's GraniteSTOR family, an iSCSI-based Ethernet-attached unit capable of over 600MB-per-second speeds. The disk array arrives with a user interface that features a one-pane window for managing RAID sets, volumes and shares. It can be set up as a SAN or network-attached storage, with 4 and 16 drive configuration to be offered.
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12/16, 8:55pm
Sonnet DX800RAID
Sonnet Technologies has unveiled the DX800RAID, an eight-bay SATA storage system with an integrated Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) expander that can be used to connect up to 16 individual eight-drive enclosures to a single RAID controller. The new system supports RAID 5 and RAID 6, protecting against data-loss if one or two drives fail. The company claims read speeds of up to 680MB per second and write speeds of up to 640MB per second.
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11/23, 2:10pm
MobileRAID MR4UT
Sans Digital has unveiled its latest RAID storage device, the 4-bay MR4UT enclosure. A RAID controller and 400MB per second I/O processor are integrated into the housing, eliminating the need for separate hardware or drivers. Users can configure the drives as RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 3, 5 or JBOD arrays, with the option to keep one drive as a hot spare to be used if an active drive fails. The HDD trays support 3.5-inch hot-swappable SATA I and SATA II drives, with write speeds claimed to reach 210MB per second and write speeds of 170MB per second via eSATA connections, with lower speeds when using the USB 2.0 interface.
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11/20, 9:35pm
EZQuest Thunder Pro RAID
EZQuest has introduced the Thunder Pro Triple series of A/V RAID storage devices. Each unit offers two FireWire 800 ports, a FireWire 400 port and a USB port. The three-drive arrangement ships pre-configured as RAID 0 for the highest capacity and speed. The Oxford-chipset Hitachi SATA II drives run at 7200RPM with up to 64MB buffer cache. EZQuest claims data transfer speeds up to 80MB per second, with support for DV, HDV and DVCPRO HD with real-time effects.
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10/22, 10:05pm
RocketRAID 2680 SAS HBA
HighPoint Technologies has introduced the RocketRAID 2680 SAS host bus adapter (HBA). The company focused on making an adapter with a small form factor measuring only 3.3 inches long, terminating at the end of the PCIe x4 slot. The company claims RAID 5 performance of up to 561MB per second read and 654MB per second write. The device features 8 SAS/SATA ports and supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 10, and JBOD with scaling up to 128 devices if an expander is also used.
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10/13, 10:00pm
ATTO demos new technology
Storage device company ATTO has unveiled new products at the Storage Networking World trade show, a line of ExpressSAS 6-Gb SAS/SATA host adapters, and the FastStream SC 8500 8-Gb RAID storage controller. The ExpressSAS 6-Gb SAS/SATA host adapters combine the company's Advanced Data Streaming (ADS) technology with management software for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. Six models will be released in the line, which are in the process of being shipped to OEMs and partners for certification and qualification.
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10/09, 7:50pm
Mac RAID controllers ship
HighPoint has released a series of SAS Connectivity Plus RAID 5 capable PCI-Express controllers. The three new models are the RocketRAID 2644x4, RocketRAID 2640x4 and RocketRAID 2640x1. The 2644x4 connects externally, while the 2640x4 (a four-lane PCI card) and 2640x1 (a one-lane card) offer internal connections and all three connect to both SAS and SATA hard disks. The controllers offer RAID levels 0, 1, 10, 5 and JBOD.
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10/07, 2:55pm
Pro Drive 2.5-inch RAID
Trans International has released its new Pro Drive for the Mac Pro. The Pro Drive is a 2.5-inch dual hard drive enclosure, designed to replace a Mac Pro's hard drive. The drive can be setup (via a switch on the enclosure) to run in a RAID 0 or 1 configuration, for speed (RAID 0) or redundancy (RAID 1), while occupying the space of a single 3.5-inch drive. Trans International is promising 400MB per second performance when four Pro Drives are loaded in a Mac Pro and set for RAID 0.
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09/28, 11:50am
SSD RAID 0 results
Eric Cheng of Echeng.com says he has successfully installed and run a RAID 0 SSD array in a MacBook Pro, with strong performance results. Utilizing two 120GB OCZ SATA SSD notebook hard drives, and an MCE OptiBay hard drive adapter (placed in the MacBook Pro's SuperDrive bay), Cheng was able to configure the two drives and set them up in a striped RAID 0 array, and install a bootable copy of Mac OS X.
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09/15, 4:35am
Micronet 4TB RaidBank4
MicroNet has announced what it says is the "world's smallest" RAID subsystem. The OS-independent RaidBank4 device comes with eSATA and USB interfaces in sizes up to 4TB, with a 6TB version promised soon. At 6.5 x 4.75 inches, MicroNet claims RAIDBank4 is small enough and sturdy enough for users to carry between home and work.
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08/27, 3:30pm
Sans Digital 42 bay RAID
Sans Digital has unveiled two new hard drive storage rackmounts, each allowing up to 42 drives, the AccuRAID AR442F4 and AR442F4R. 42TB of storage space can be supported when operating as direct attached storage, but also allowing setup as a network-attached service. Drives are interfaced using fibre-channel technology (4GB/s) for maximum speed and can be configured up to RAID 6 to protect against multiple drive failures. Both devices contain three hot-swappable power supplies and two hot swappable cooling fans.
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