PMC-Sierra has announced that the Adaptec by PMC family of Series 6 RAID controllers will be demonstrated in a 6Gb/s ecosystem at CeBIT 2011. Based on PMC-Sierra's industry-proven SRC 8x6G RoC and ARC RAID stack, the Series 6 delivers performance, scalability and reduced operating costs. The Series 6 also features a unique Zero-Maintenance Cache Protection feature that provides the highest level of maintenance-free data protection.

To ensure compatibility and interoperability, the Series 6 family of RAID controllers is tested with more than 300 host systems, enclosures, Hard Disk Drives and Solid State Disks (SSDs). PMC-Sierra uses a two-staged approach to test new storage and server components for interoperability. During validation and product launch, the Company tests more than 300 components with all supported controller platforms. In addition, PMC-Sierra's Interoperability Test Lab (ITL) can test components introduced outside of product launches and add them to the ecosystem. Continuously refined and optimized, the Company's advanced testing methods include automated processes to rapidly qualify new SSDs in order to keep pace with market requirements.

?As the 6Gb/s channel ecosystem expands, customers want storage solutions that deliver increased performance without compromising interoperability and compatibility,? said Jared Peters, vice president and general manager of PMC-Sierra's Channel Storage Division. Our Series 6 RAID controllers allow for backwards compatibility, which enables an easy and cost-effective upgrade path for current 3Gb/s customers, who can continue to benefit from our innovative features such as Zero-Maintenance Cache Protection and Intelligent Power Management.?

Key Features of the Series 6

The Adaptec by PMC Series 6 is a family of low profile MD2 form factor Unified Serial RAID adapters offering internal and external connectivity for SATA and SAS storage. With four to eight internal ports and up to four external ports using mini SAS connectors, it supports up to eight direct connected devices and up to 256 SATA/SAS devices using SAS expanders.

The Series 6 delivers more than 2GB/s sustained data transfer rate to a host of applications that require high bandwidth. At peak performance, this solution offers 4.8GB/s through up to eight SAS 2.0 interfaces and 4GB/s through the eight-lane PCIe Gen2 host interface. With the optional AFM-600 kit, the Series 6 is the first 6Gb/s Unified Serial RAID controller family offering Zero-Maintenance Cache Protection as an option.

The Series 6 supports the industry's move to ?green? alternatives by offering technology innovations such as Intelligent Power Management and battery-less back up through ZMCP. In addition, the Company has introduced a streamlined product package sleeve for the Series 6 products which will help to reduce waste created by excessive product packaging.