Check out the latest buzz in the computer world. PMC-Seirra, the makers of Network semiconductor announced the very first 6G bit/sec RAID controller for the serial ATA (SATA) and serial SCSI (SAS) system.


The 6E controller series by Adaptec will double the I/O throughput over the previously released 3G bit/sec SAS and SATA controllers. These controllers have been specifically developed for usage in the entry-level market. In addition, the two Series 6E RAID cards are specifically targeted for use in both the storage network adapter cards. These cards are known as the host bus adapters (HBA’s) and are widely used for the storage array RAID functions.


The Series 6 cards by the company includes the four-port 6405E and eight-port 6805E controllers that make it GUI compatible along with the management utility tools that are emphasized with Adaptec RAID controllers.


The 640E controller utilizes the single-port PCIe host interface that works adequately in all workstations, entry server platforms and industrial PC’s. The 6805E controller has the four-port PCIe connectivity that provides higher throughput. These products use the 12MB DDR2-800 memory by PMC.


Jared Peters, the general manager of PMC's Channel Storage Division issued a statement quoting, “The Series 6E outperforms software-based HBAs and SATA controllers and is the first true hardware 6Gbit/sec SATA/SAS RAID controller with on-board DRAM cache for the entry-level market segment with this capability.”


The Series 6E controllers utilize the RAID stack, drivers as well as tools that are used by the Adaptec Series 6 family of controllers. These controllers permits its users to arrange an entry- level solution which is blessed with the all the enterprise class management features as well as full operating system support. The OS is available to the users with minimal effort for its assimilation, training and certification.


The Series 6E RAID controllers are now simply available at all the authorized Adaptec by numerous PMC distributors as well as channel partners. The company has suggested the tentative pricing of Adaptec RAID 6405E and Adaptec RAID 6805E to be in between $200 and $275.