UNH-IOL Establishes Industry's First Independent Proving Ground for Serial Attached SCSI.Business Editors DURHAM, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2004 New SAS (1) (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, www.sas.com) A software company that specializes in data warehousing and decision support software based on the SAS System. Founded in 1976, SAS is one of the world's largest privately held software companies. See SAS System. Consortium to debug implementations of standards and foster interoperability between products One of the newest innovations in data storage - recasting the familiar 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. standard, long a staple of basic computing, into a next-generation storage protocol - will be put to the test this year at the University of New Hampshire New Hampshire, one of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (S), Vermont, with the Connecticut R. forming the boundary (W), the Canadian province of Quebec (NW), and Maine and a short strip of the Atlantic Ocean (E). . The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) tests networking and data communications products. The university established the laboratory in 1988, "with the dual mission of providing a neutral environment to foster multi-vendor interoperability and (UNH-IOL UNH-IOL University of New Hampshire-interoperability Laboratory ) has launched a new industry consortium that will test industry implementations of Serial Attached SCSI See SAS. (SAS), the newest serial data storage technology on the market. The UNH-IOL SAS Consortium will act as an extension of consortium members' research and development labs, helping members to vet their products for conformance to industry standards and interoperability between devices from different manufacturers. Throughout 2004, the consortium will support SAS interoperability "plugfests," or open industry group tests, sponsored by the SCSI Trade Association The SCSI Trade Association, or SCSITA, is an industry trade group which exists to promote the use SCSI technology. It was formed in 1996 [1]. As of 2006, major members include Adaptec, HP, Intel, LSI Logic, Seagate, and IBM [1]. (STA), the industry association which developed and is promoting the technology. "Industry interest in Serial Attached SCSI has been tremendous, judging from the turnout at the first UNH-IOL plugfest we sponsored in March," said Harry Mason, President of the SCSI Trade Association and Director, Industry Marketing, LSI LSI: see integrated circuit. (Large Scale Integration) Between 3,000 and 100,000 transistors on a chip. See SSI, MSI, VLSI and ULSI. Logic. "It's to everyone's benefit to ensure that SATA (Serial ATA) A serial version of the ATA (IDE) interface, which has been the de facto standard hard disk interface for desktop PCs for more than two decades. The original Parallel ATA (PATA) interface was launched in 1986. products can interoperate with SAS. Interop plugfests will undoubtedly play an important role in moving the industry forward faster than it would otherwise." The UNH-IOL has a long history of fostering interoperability and conformance in storage technologies. The laboratory began independent testing of Fibre Channel products in 1995 and worked closely with storage companies and industry engineers as iSCSI came of age. Numerous prominent storage companies have refined their code and extended their products' compatibility through UNH-IOL group tests and consortium memberships. Annual membership fees for the SAS Consortium are $14,000, which covers the costs of developing and performing tests. Consortium members must agree to provide a platform representing their equipment at the UNH-IOL for at least 18 months. For a limited time, early memberships will get a discounted "Founding Member" fee of $10,000. For more information, visit the consortium Web page at http://www.iol.unh.edu/consortiums/sas/. "I'm excited about this technology," said Stephen Schaeffer, manager of the research effort, "It brings the venerable SCSI protocol, which is a good, solid and widely deployed protocol, and enhances it to reflect today's storage needs." About the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory Established in 1988, the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) is a non-profit organization that offers comprehensive interoperability and conformance-based testing through 19 technology-based groups, called consortiums. Test solutions created at the UNH-IOL offer a set of methods to increase interoperability through protocol operations, signaling, point-to-point and multi-system scenarios. For more information, visit the UNH-IOL website at: www.iol.unh.edu. |
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