Xyratex Announces High-Performance RAID Controller and Advanced Power Management Software for High-Density RAID System
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New Products Offer Server and Storage OEMs Environmentally Responsible Alternatives
HAVANT, England, March 4 - Xyratex Ltd. (NASDAQ:XRTX), a leading provider of enterprise-class data storage subsystems and storage process technology, today unveiled two major enhancements to its RAID product portfolio: the F6412E RAID controller and Advanced Power Management (APM) software for the industry's highest density RAID system. The Xyratex F6412E sets a new standard for performance and efficiency, delivering up to twice the performance (IOPS) of the previous generation controller while minimizing electronic waste through optimal battery design. In addition, the company's new Advanced Power Management software can save up to 40 percent in power dissipation by automatically spinning down disk drives.
"Increasing cost-efficiency while retaining high performance is the name of the game in the storage business, and it's good to see that Xyratex's latest RAID enhancements continue to deliver against these needs," says analyst Mark Peters, Enterprise Strategy Group. "An additional priority for a growing number of organizations today is the need to be as energy efficient and as environmentally responsible as possible. Xyratex's introduction of a spin-down capability to reduce power consumption when possible, as well as a battery that offers both a longer life and a less environmentally-damaging chemical composition, can only be viewed as goodness. Overall, this announcement combines a performance-oriented solution with better economics and environmental considerations, creating a package that OEMs and solutions integrators can take into a wide variety of markets."
F6412E RAID Controller Doubles the Data Transfer Rate of Previous Generation Products
The Xyratex F6412E is an evolution of the company's highly successful 5000 RAID controllers that have been adopted by a large number of server and storage OEMs. Recognizing the need for vendors to shorten job completion in order to improve staff and business productivity, the F6412E RAID controller sets a new standard for Xyratex RAID storage with up to double the data transfer rate of previous generation products. This increase in transfer rate delivers maximum throughput (MB/s) for high-bandwidth applications ranging from video editing to high speed data protection to database-intensive online transaction processing.
In addition, Xyratex has developed a new battery technology for the F6412E that offers a service life up to 10 years rather than the standard two-to-three years of typical batteries. The extended battery life not only reduces electronic waste, but also minimizes downtime due to component replacement.
Advanced Power Management Software Reduces Energy Consumption in High-Density RAID System
The APM software provides a new level of power efficiency for the industry's highest density, high-availability nearline RAID system (Xyratex F5404E) and increases the eco-efficiency of the entire Xyratex RAID family. The software reduces energy consumption by enabling administrators to create policies that identify disk drives that have not been accessed in order to intelligently spin them down. It identifies groups of physical drives that are accessed in parallel and spins down and spins up drive groups to satisfy requests from applications running on attached servers. A schedulable patrol function regularly evaluates drives that have been spun down to ensure they will spin up on demand without affecting applications' performance, availability or reliability. With these new features, Xyratex OEMs can deliver high-performance storage solutions that appeal to a diverse set of markets, including video editing and high-performance computing at an extremely competitive price.
"Drawing from our expertise in high-efficiency power, reliability, and eco-efficiency, Xyratex continues to enhance customer investment in our products by delivering a new high-performance RAID system and Advanced Power Management software that sets us apart from others in the marketplace," said Lisa Hart, vice president of marketing, Networked Storage Solutions, Xyratex. "Customer commitment is the key to our success. Delivering affordable, adaptable and proven storage solutions is how we will continue to meet our customers' demands."
Product Availability
The Xyratex F6412E RAID controller is available today. The Advanced Power Management software will initially be implemented on the 4U 48-drive F5404E RAID system and incorporated throughout the remaining Xyratex RAID family by mid-2008.
Commitment to Environmental Stewardship
Xyratex embodies a corporate ethic of environmental stewardship that extends to production operations, and the minimization and management of waste including logistics. This code of ethics is translated through localized manufacturing that utilizes recycled materials and reduces the cost of operations to ensure that end-users do not run out of energy capacity.
About Xyratex
Xyratex is a leading provider of enterprise-class data storage subsystems and storage process technology. The company designs and manufactures enabling technology that provides OEM and disk drive manufacturers with data storage products to support high-performance storage and data communication networks. Xyratex has over 20 years of experience in research and development relating to disk drives, storage systems, and high-speed communication protocols.
Founded in 1994 in a management buy-out from IBM, and with headquarters in the UK, Xyratex has an established global base with R&D and operational facilities in Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia.
For more information, visit Xyratex's web site at www.xyratex.com/.
Source: Xyratex Ltd.
CONTACT: Brad Driver, +1-408-325-7260, bdriver@us.xyratex.com,
or Lisa Hart, +1-303-442-3449, lisa_hart@us.xyratex.com, both of Xyratex Ltd.
Web site: http://www.xyratex.com/
