BusLogic Expands FlashPoint Family of High-Performance Ultra SCSI Host Adapters; Dual Channel FlashPoint DL and 16-Bit Wide FlashPoint LW Join Industry's First Family of SCAM Level 1- and PCI 2.1-Compliant, Ultra SCSI I/O Solutions.premier supplier of high-performance SCSI SCSI in full Small Computer System Interface Once common standard for connecting peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, etc.) to small and medium-sized computers. SCSI has given way to faster standards, such as Firewire and USB. I/O (Input/Output) The transfer of data between the CPU and a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input to another. See PC input/output. I/O - Input/Output solutions, today expanded its breadth of hardware offerings with the introduction of FlashPoint DL and FlashPoint LW, the two newest members of its FlashPoint family of feature-rich, PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). Ultra SCSI The designation for various high-speed SCSI interfaces. The original specification was Ultra SCSI, followed by Ultra2, Ultra3, etc. For details, see SCSI. host adapter Also called a "controller" or "host bus adapter," it is a device that connects one or more peripheral units to a computer. It is typically an expansion card that plugs into the bus. IDE and SCSI are examples of peripheral interfaces that call their controllers host adapters. See host. solutions for file servers and "workstation-class" personal computers. FlashPoint DL, the first dual channel Ultra SCSI PCI solution in its class, doubles the number of SCSI devices from 7 to 14, that can be connected to a single 8-bit SCSI adapter See SCSI host adapter. card. FlashPoint LW is a 16-bit Wide Ultra SCSI adapter that provides a transfer rate of up to 40 MB/sec., delivering a price/performance level that has not been previously available. As with BusLogic's FlashPoint LT, introduced in October 1995, the two new members of the FlashPoint family are both SCAM (SCSI Configured Auto Matically) Level 1- and PCI 2.1-compliant. "Outstanding performance, extremely attractive pricing, and an unmatched feature set have been at the foundation of the FlashPoint Ultra SCSI adapter strategy. These two new additions underscore this design philosophy and are filling a very real market need," said Julian Elliott, BusLogic's vice president of marketing. "FlashPoint DL and FlashPoint LW enable our customers to continue to push the envelope of SCSI I/O performance and connectivity without exceeding the affordability requirements." FlashPoint DL FlashPoint DL supports up to seven peripheral devices per channel at data rates up to 20 MB/sec per channel, making it ideal for environments with a low number of available PCI slots and high connectivity needs. The two-channel, 8-bit narrow architecture is particularly useful for connecting combinations of peripherals with varying device speeds, including CD-ROM drives CD-ROM drives, which today typically means a CD-RW drive that is a combo CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW drive, come in a variety of speeds. The original drive (1x) transferred data at 150KB per second. and hard disk drives. The adapter is fully compatible with SCSI-1, SCSI-2, and future Ultra SCSI devices. Although PCI has quickly been adopted as the performance I/O expansion bus, PCI-based systems still only provide three to five PCI expansion slots. Systems requiring large numbers of performance-oriented peripherals, such as network servers and high-end workstations, are restricted by the number of available PCI expansion slots. The connectivity advantages available with the FlashPoint DL are significant in these environments, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Jeff Taylor For the U.S. Attorney, see . For the wrestler, see . Jeff Taylor is a founder of the online jobs site Monster.com. He attended UMass Amherst and joined the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. He worked as a DJ before working on the startup in the mid 90s. , development engineer for Plextor Corp., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based manufacturer of network CD-ROM servers. "Our PlexServer offers high-levels of CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). connectivity and performance in network environments. FlashPoint DL is an integral component in developing these features by offering two high-performance SCSI connections from a single PCI slot," said Taylor. "This enables double the number of SCSI connections per slot, greatly increasing the expandability of the PlexServer. FlashPoint LW FlashPoint LW is a single-channel, Wide Ultra SCSI adapter targeted at performance engines such as servers and workstations. The adapter offers a 16-bit Wide architecture that delivers the Ultra SCSI transfer rate to 40 MB/sec and supports up to 15 devices. The FlashPoint Family: Performance, Innovation and Compatibility The single-chip, integrated ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Pronounced "a-sick." A chip that is custom designed for a specific application rather than a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. used in each member of the FlashPoint family features BusLogic's SeqEngine automation technology, which reduces SCSI command overhead and the number of interrupts generated to the host CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. . This proprietary SeqEngine technology, coupled with a high-speed 32-bit bus master DMA (1) (Digital Media Adapter) See digital media hub. (2) (Document Management Alliance) A specification that provides a common interface for accessing and searching document databases. , enables transfers across the PCI bus of up to 133 MB/sec, significantly enhancing performance in multi-threaded environments. Both devices offer broad peripheral compatibility with a wide range of SCSI-1, SCSI-2, and future Ultra SCSI devices including hard drives, CD-ROMs, tape drives, removable disks, magneto-optical drives, juke boxes and scanners. All FlashPoint devices are fully Plug and Play and PCI 2.1- and SCAM Level 1-compliant. An auto termination feature intelligently determines termination of the adapter and SCAM devices, eliminating a major source of complexity in many SCSI device environments. FlashPoint DL, FlashPoint LW and FlashPoint LT also feature AutoSCSI, a utility allowing the user to customize key parameters of the adapter via a software interface to the resident system. Additionally, the devices are preconfigured Set up ahead of time. It implies that the device or software application has been modified to suit the customer or situation. See ghosting server. with GreenLogic, a power-saving feature which reduces power consumption when the SCSI bus is idle. Driver support is available immediately for popular operating systems, such as Windows 95, DOS/Windows, Windows NT, NetWare, OS/2 and UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). . BusLogic's DOS Manager features an Advanced SCSI Programming Interface (ASPI (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface) An interface specification developed by Adaptec, Inc., Milpitas, CA, that provides a common language between drivers and SCSI host adapters. ) layer and a Win ASPI layer, making the adapter fully compatible with a wide range of available third-party software that enhance flexibility in configuring a SCSI solution. The FlashPoint Bonus Pac, a productivity software suite, is bundled with the kitted versions of FlashPoint DL, LW and LT to offer additional productivity software and system tools to the multimedia end-user. The Bonus Pac contains new state-of-the-art CD player software, capable of recognizing different CD-ROM formats such as audio, MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) An ISO/ITU standard for compressing digital video. Pronounced "em-peg," it is the universal standard for digital terrestrial, cable and satellite TV, DVDs and digital video recorders (DVRs). , AVI (Audio Video Interleaved) A Windows multimedia video format from Microsoft. It interleaves standard waveform audio and digital video frames (bitmaps) to provide reduced animation at 15 fps at 160x120x8 resolution. Audio is 11,025Hz, 8-bit samples. , CD Interactive and PC Karaoke and also includes current releases of the following software: -- McAfee Associates Scan 95 - Virus protection software -- BusView - Displays each device connected to FlashPoint -- Media Rack - Wave and MIDI player and talking clock. BusLogic's FlashPoint LT, introduced in October 1995, was the first adapter to offer OEMs, VARs, and power users an easy-to-use SCSI solution featuring high performance, Ultra SCSI- and SCAM-compliance at an affordable price. Flashpoint DL and FlashPoint LW Pricing and Availability BusLogic's FlashPoint DL is available for first customer shipment February 16 at a U.S. list price of $339 in kitted form. The FlashPoint LW is also available in a kitted version for first customer shipment February 16 at a list price of $279. Kitted versions of the adapters include internal cables, software device drivers, FlashPoint Bonus Pac and full sets of documentation. About BusLogic Founded in 1988, BusLogic Inc. is a leading supplier of high-performance bus mastered SCSI host adapters for desktop PCs and network servers. BusLogic has recently announced plans to merge with Mylex Corporation (NASDAQ/NM SYMBOL: MYLX), a leading producer of RAID technology and network management products. The merger, subject to approval by BusLogic shareholders and to normal closing conditions, is scheduled to close in February 1996. Upon completion of the transaction, BusLogic will continue to operate under its name and at its present location as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mylex. All BusLogic products are used by OEMs, systems integrators and VARs, and are available worldwide direct from BusLogic or through distributors and resellers. All products are backed by a responsive and flexible customer support organization. BusLogic is headquartered at 4151 Burton drive, Santa Clara, Calif. -0- Note to Editors: Product and company names used here are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Photos available upon request. CONTACT: BusLogic Inc. Julian Elliott/Elyse Phillips, 408/492-9090 or Walt & Company Communications Paige Burgess/Lynne Wall, 408/496-0900 pburgess@walt.com |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion