Is There Victory in VoIP?
The channel’s biggest stumbling block with VoIP may be a mental one...
SKUs YOU CAN'T LOSE
AMCC/3Ware 9690SA-8E - $945
Need More Drives? One Card Does It All
A storage server such as Intel's SSR212MC2 is great for SMBs looking to add network storage capacity. But even with its 2U, 12-drive ceiling, disk space in the SSR212MC2 can fill up in a hurry. Fortunately, you can configure it as a powerful NAS, drop in a PCI Express card with external connectivity, and start piling on those JBODs.
The storage card is key. 3ware recently revamped its lineup to include SAS acceleration. Once the chief proponent of SATA, 3ware representatives now say the time is right for SAS adoption in the channel. The company's first corresponding offering is a purpose-built storage thoroughbred that packs a proprietary IOP with RAID 5/6 support, 512MB of DDR2-533 cache memory, and (in the case of the 9690SA-8E) eight ports of external SAS. RAID 0, 1, 10, and 50 modes are also accelerated. Because the PCI Express x8 board is low-profile, it drops into Intel's SSR212MC2 without any height issues.
The 9690SA-8E's two SFF-8088 connectors carry four 3 Gb/s SAS lanes each. Hooking up with an external storage box through the four-lane cable is easy. That's good news because 3ware's card supports up to 128 SAS addresses per controller, paving the way for a lot of external capacity.