LSI Corporation has introduced in the channel the industry's first 6Gb/s SAS switch. The LSI SAS6160 switch is designed to significantly extend the capabilities of SAS in direct-attached storage (DAS) environments by allowing multiple servers to connect to one or more independent external storage systems. The 6Gb/s SAS switch offers customers a high-performance, low-cost and easy-to-use storage networking option for rack-mount server and storage installations in cloud computing, data center and managed hosting application environments.

The LSI SAS switch helps customers to optimize storage resource utilization, reduce islands of storage and simplify storage management, backup and upgrades by enabling storage resources to be shared across multiple servers and managed effectively through SAS zoning. The SAS switch also is designed to provide the connectivity necessary to support virtual server environments, allowing organizations to realize the benefits of virtual machine migration while maintaining the management simplicity of DAS.

"The availability of 6Gb/s SAS switches will provide organizations from the SMB to the enterprise with a simple, low-cost and high-performance storage networking option," said Bob Laliberte, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. "The ability to share and pool storage across multiple hosts, coupled with increased connectivity offered by a SAS switch, will also enable organizations to more efficiently support virtualized server environments and tiered-storage solutions." 

The LSI SAS6160 is a half-width 1U device designed for easy integration with existing SAS infrastructures. The switch features 16 non-blocking 4-lane-wide ports providing a 24Gb/s SAS connection per port, for an aggregate bandwidth of 384Gb/s. Utilizing JBOD or RBOD storage subsystems, the switch supports connectivity of up to 1,000 SATA and SAS devices, enabling customers to take advantage of larger SAS topologies with reduced discovery times.

A single SAS switch infrastructure can also address multiple classes of storage, enabling tiered-storage solutions through a mix of 3Gb/s and 6Gb/s, SATA and SAS end devices. In addition, incorporation of active cable support enables LSI SAS switches to be placed up to 25 meters apart, which is up to a 4X increase over the distance limitation of traditional passive copper cabling.

The LSI SAS6160 switch offers complete SAS domain management through the embedded SAS Domain Manager (SDM) utility. SDM offers port configuration and zoning, firmware management, diagnostics and viewing of the SAS topology, enabling reconfiguration without reconnecting cables or adding hardware.

An optional 1U mounting tray supports up to two LSI SAS6160 switches, allowing up to 32 SAS 2.0 ports or support for high-availability applications by using two switches with redundant data paths.

"The addition of the LSI SAS6160 switch complements the industry's broadest portfolio of 6Gb/s SATA+SAS storage building block solutions available to the channel," said Brent Blanchard, director of worldwide channel sales and marketing, LSI. "With fully integrated management software and extensive end-to-end interoperability testing, customers can deploy with confidence a plug-and-play solution that can greatly extend the capabilities of their existing SAS-based environments."

Pricing and availability

LSI SAS6160 switch: $2,495

LSI 1U mounting tray: $450

The LSI SAS switch is immediately available through the LSI worldwide network of distributors, system integrators, system builders and VARs. The SAS switch extends the comprehensive LSI portfolio of 6Gb/s SATA and SAS solutions, including MegaRAID and 3ware RAID controllers, host bus adapters (HBAs), JBOD enclosures and the CTS2600 family of configurable storage components.