Adaptec's New RAID Option Card Hits Price/Performance Target for Small Businesses and Workgroup Servers.

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 1998--Adaptec, Inc. further expands the reach of its RAID product offerings for the server market by announcing a new low-cost, fully featured RAID solution that provides state-of-the-art performance.

The ARO-1130SA RAID option card, ideal for improving data availability without sacrificing performance, is designed specifically for servers being deployed in small businesses and enterprise workgroup environments.

Until now, most small business and workgroup servers have relied on RAID-like software embedded within the network operating system because high-cost RAID controllers did not meet the price/performance requirements for servers costing less than $10,000. The ARO-1130SA RAID option card, with a MSRP of $299, dramatically expands the affordability of robust fault-tolerant storage.

Based on an innovative design, the ARO-1130SA RAID option card is able to offer the industry's lowest cost RAID product by utilizing the Adaptec dual-channel Ultra SCSI chip and RAIDport II connector that has been integrated on the motherboard.

Currently, Adaptec has tested two industry leading platforms for compatibility with the ARO-1130SA RAID option card -- the Intel DK440LX Dual Pentium II Processor Custom ATX motherboard and the IBM Netfinity 3500 server.

IBM has also tested the ARO-1130SA RAID option card and has included the ARO-1130SA on the list of IBM Server Proven products for the Netfinity 3500 server.

"Accessing and protecting information is fundamental to any business success, whether the company is big or small. But until now, the tools that large companies relied on for those tasks were unavailable to smaller businesses," said Roger Cox, director of marketing for Adaptec's Mission Critical Subsystems group. "We were delighted to work with IBM and Intel in pioneering this solution for the small business server market."

Product Details

The ARO-1130SA RAID option card supports RAID levels 0, 1, 0/1, and 5 for the Windows NT Server 4.0 and NetWare 4.11/3.12 network operating systems. In addition to industry leading price/performance, the ARO-1130SA offers robust RAID functions such as support for hot-spare drive, hot-swap drive, warm-swap drive, SAF-TE, S.M.A.R.T. drive, bootable array, and dynamic sector repair. Up to 30 disk and non-disk Ultra SCSI and/or Fast/Wide SCSI peripherals may be supported by the ARO-1130SA.

Performance

The ARO-1130SA RAID option card delivers data over the network faster than native operating system RAID-like software and most RAID controllers that cost over four times the ARO-1130SA. By incorporating a powerful Adaptec AIC-7815 RAID co-processor, the ARO-1130SA RAID option card manages EDO DRAM memory, off-loading RAID 1 (mirroring) secondary writes and RAID 5 (data striping with distributed parity) parity calculations from the host CPU, freeing if for other tasks. The DRAM memory module is isolated from the data path and memory is automatically bypassed when direct data transfer offers better performance.

Performance is further enhanced by the Adaptec dual-channel Ultra SCSI chip embedded on the motherboard. This high performance Ultra SCSI chip functions as two independent Ultra SCSI channels, resulting is a maximum data transfer rate of up to 80 Mbytes per second.

Storage Management

Adaptec recognizes the importance of effective storage management. The ARO-1130SA RAID option card utilizes the market-proven Adaptec CI/O Management Software. CI/O provides an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) for creating and managing disk arrays and other SCSI devices from any client connected to the server. Specifically designed to take the complexity out of storage management, CI/O is the network manager's control center for monitoring and managing disk storage for the entire network.

Distribution Kit Contents

The distribution kit includes: ARO-1130SA RAID option card with EDO DIMM installed, ArrayConfigSA initial boot array installation software, Array1000SA Family Manager Set software for Windows NT and NetWare, Adaptec CI/O Management Software and complete user documentation.

Pricing and Availability

The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the ARO-1130SA RAID option card kit is $299. The ARO-1130SA RAID option card distribution kit is available now through Adaptec's WW distributors and resellers.

About Adaptec

Adaptec provides bandwidth management technologies for organizations building the global information infrastructure. Its high performance I/O, connectivity, and network products are incorporated into the systems and products of major computer and peripheral manufacturers. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., Adaptec (NASDAQ:ADPT) employs 3500 people worldwide in design, manufacturing, sales, service and distribution. Adaptec's home page is http://www.adaptec.com.

CONTACT: Adaptec

Christina Bruno Scharrenberg, 408/957-4546

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