Storage Controllers Let Workstations Use Low-Cost ATA Drives

Workstations and servers can use low-cost ultraATA disk drives while achieving the high performance levels associated with more expensive SCSI drives thanks to a new family of storage controllers featuring the firm's DiskSwitch architecture. The architecture applies the principles of switched networking to I/O subsystem design, dedicating a channel to each drive and aggregating the drives' performance through its packet-switching controller to the PCI bus or host computer. The product family includes three PCI bus controllers. The DiskSwitch 4 storage controller supports four drives for high-end desktop systems in applications dealing with large amounts of data. The DiskSwitch 4S storage controller supports four drive interface for small servers. The DiskSwitch 8S storage controller supports eight drive interfaces for mid-range corporate servers.