Hitachi Demonstrates 3Gbit/s SAS Data Transfer Using Fully Integrated Hard Disk Controller.

Company Reaffirms Commitment to Open Standards and Accelerates SAS Testing Schedule with Development Partners

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) recently announced that it has completed a successful 3Gbit/s data transfer using the Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) protocol. The demonstration is expected to generate numerous technical insights and accelerate Hitachi GST's schedule for hardware exchanges and testing with its development partners.

Design engineers demonstrated a SAS link sequence that negotiated a 3Gbit/s connection between two fully integrated Hitachi GST hard disk controllers. The link sequence consisted of out-of-band (OOB) signals, speed negotiation and an identify frame exchange. SAS command and data frames were exchanged on the 3Gbit/s connection.

Server and storage systems that integrate 3Gbit/s SAS-based components are expected to provide the highest levels of system performance for bandwidth- intensive applications such as online transaction processing, data analysis and storage virtualization. SAS-based hard disk drives are expected to be used in an array of direct-attached and networked storage environments.

The 3Gbit/s SAS demonstration represents the type of technology innovation that will continue to fuel Hitachi GST's phenomenal growth in the enterprise hard drive segment. "The SAS 1.0 specification has been used by a few companies to demonstrate 1.5Gbit/s transfer rates, but 3Gbit/s has proved to be a formidable challenge," said Fumio Kugiya, general manager, Server Business Unit, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. "Achieving this technology breakthrough is a testament to the strength and innovative spirit of our engineering team."

SAS is widely considered to be the natural evolution of SCSI in enterprise environments. The standard defines a device-level enterprise storage interface incorporating the SCSI protocol, serial point-to-point interconnections, dual porting, increased addressability and the ability to scale to small form factors. Smaller connectors and cabling will also increase system densities and the use of small form factor devices.

Hitachi GST (originally as IBM) was a founding member of the Serial Attached SCSI Working Group before submitting the emerging standard to the SCSI Trade Association and the T10 Committee. Hitachi GST continues to be an active member of these two standards organizations and is expecting to integrate SAS-based hard drives into its product portfolio in 2004.