LSI Corporation today announced LSI MegaRAID CacheCade Pro 2.0 read/write caching software for select LSI MegaRAID 6Gb/s SATA+SAS controller cards. The software is designed to dramatically accelerate application I/O performance of hard disk drive (HDD)-based arrays by intelligently caching frequently accessed, or "hot spot," data to solid-state drives (SSDs). MegaRAID controllers featuring CacheCade Pro 2.0 software can deliver up to 13X more transactions per second and an 82 percent cost savings compared to HDD-only arrays.  

The second generation software, which is compatible with LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260, 9261 and 9280 series controllers, is the industry's first SSD dedicated controller caching technology to offer both read and write caching using SSDs, extending the performance benefits of the previous generation CacheCade software featuring read-only SSD caching. 

"Until now, IT professionals dealing with Web 2.0 e-commerce, virtualized servers, OLTP and data warehousing workloads have not had a cost-effective way to use SSDs to accelerate their applications," said Steve Fingerhut, vice president of marketing, Accelerated Solutions Division, LSI. "They'd either have to manually tune applications to use SSDs as a higher performance tier of storage, which is both inefficient and expensive, or replace all server storage with SSDs at even greater cost and complexity. By deploying CacheCade Pro 2.0 software with a small number of SSDs, users can seamlessly accelerate application performance within their existing infrastructure, changing the dynamics of server storage and return on investment in the datacenter."

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aleratec_15_blu-ray_tower_publisher.jpgAleratec continues to make Blu-ray duplication faster and more efficient. Today it adds a 15-target standalone Blu-ray duplicator to its award-winning line of optical disc Lightscribe duplicators. This professional grade device allows users to simultaneously copy up to a whopping 15 Blu-ray, DVD or CD discs, or laser-etch 15 DVD or CD LightScribe labels, at a time.

The Aleratec 1:15 Blu-ray/DVD/CD Tower Publisher SLS features cutting-edge 12X Blu-ray writers as well as a generous 1TB built-in hard drive.

This new standalone duplicator also includes a dedicated Source drive, allowing the device to make disc-to-disc copies without sacrificing any write capacity. A user can burn the same number of discs whether burning from the hard drive or from another source disc.

The unit can be connected to a PC via USB 2.0 cable for access to the duplicator’s internal hard drive. In PC-Connect mode, users can simply drag and drop disc image and label files directly into the duplicator and be running duplication jobs in no time. The duplicator’s simple, intuitive interface includes "Fast Keys" that give instant access to common functions.

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Leading memory storage brand, Silicon Power, today announces the launch of the D05 external portable hard drive. Made in urban and business styles, it delivers a smooth and seamless elegance. D05 adopts the super-speed USB 3.0 interface and provides an ultra-high capacity of 1TB. With the up to date SP Widget back up and security tool, customers can enjoy safer and more efficient data mobility!

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D05, continues Diamond series in their delicate design and exterior the solid and scratch resistant case by metallic grain surface embosses the diamond mark. The pocket-sized and easy for carry design is indeed the priority choice for urban and business people.

D05 is equipped with new USB 3.0 interface and 1TB storage capacity. It takes only 70 seconds to transfer and store a 25GB blu-ray DVD. The massive 1TB storage capacity can store up to 200 full-length DVD movies. Regardless of the file size, its transmission rate and capacity will satisfy every customer’s needs.

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SanDisk Corporatin, a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, today announced that it has implemented the new SATA µSSD specification into its SanDisk iSSD product line of postage stamp-sized embedded SSDs. SATA-IO, an industry consortium dedicated to sustaining the quality, integrity and dissemination of serial ATA (SATA) technology, introduced the standard today.

The number of media tablets shipped worldwide is expected to grow from 17.8 million units in 2010 to 53.5 million units in 2011. The five-year CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is 48.5 percent, according to the IDC 1Q11 Media Tablet and eReader Tracker Forecast. These thin, high-performance mobile computing platforms combine sophisticated components in a small physical area, compounding design complexity and driving the need for industry standards.

Embedded SSDs offer fast performance in a tiny footprint, making them an attractive solution for all categories of ultrathin devices. The SATA µSSD specification eliminates the module connector from the traditional SATA interface, enabling developers to produce a single-chip SATA implementation for embedded storage applications. Among the first products to implement the new standard, the SanDisk iSSD series is an ideal storage solution for OEMs developing the next generation of thin, powerful mobile computing platforms.

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The Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO), the industry consortium dedicated to sustaining the quality, integrity and dissemination of Serial ATA (SATA) technology, today announced it is developing SATA Express, a new specification that combines SATA software infrastructure with the PCI Express (PCIe) interface. SATA Express enables the development of new devices that utilize the PCIe interface and maintain compatibility with existing SATA applications. The technology will provide a cost-effective means to increase device interface speeds to 8Gb/s and 16Gb/s.

Solid state (SSDs) and hybrid drives are already pushing the limits of existing storage interfaces. SATA Express will provide a low-cost solution to fully utilize the performance of these devices. Storage devices not requiring the speed of SATA Express will continue to be served by existing SATA technology. The specification will define new device and motherboard connectors that will support both new SATA Express and current SATA devices.

“The SATA Express specification provides SSD and hybrid drive manufacturers the advantages of performance and scalability enabled by PCIe 3.0 – which is available now – and the ubiquity of SATA,” said Mladen Luksic, SATA-IO president. “We expect the SATA Express specification to be completed by the end of 2011.”

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The USB 3.0 Promoter Group is announcing that it is creating a new power delivery specification which will significantly extend the capabilities and usages of cable bus power in USB applications. The new specification will enable delivery of more power via the familiar USB connectors and cables, and will coexist with the USB Battery Charging 1.2 specification and existing USB bus-powered applications.

Key characteristics of the forthcoming USB Power Delivery solution include:

  • Compatible with existing cables and connectors
  • Enables voltage and current values to be negotiated over the USB power pins
  • Enables higher voltage and current in order to deliver power up to 100W
  • Switchable source of power delivery without changing cable direction
  • Coexists with USB Battery Charging 1.2 and works equally well with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0

“Building on the rapidly increasing industry momentum for using USB bus power to charge a broad range of mobile devices, the new USB Power Delivery specification extends USB’s cable power delivery capabilities beyond simple battery charging,” said Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group Chairman. “For example, charging the battery of a notebook PC, or simply powering that notebook PC while actively using the USB data connection, would be possible. Conceivably, a notebook PC could rely solely on a USB connection for its source of power.”

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Delkin Devices, Inc., leading supplier of industrial solid state storage products, announces the production release of 32GB and 64GB high performance, extended temperature CompactFlash cards. Delkin is the first manufacturer to offer 64GB CF cards with an operating temperature range of -40 to +85°C, through the use of single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash. Complementing their industrial-grade ruggedness, the Delkin 32GB and 64GB CF cards also deliver high speed performance, reading up to 105 MB/second and writing up to 95 MB/second.

In addition to their enhanced environmental specifications, Delkin’s SLC cards are up to ten times more durable than multi-level cell (MLC) flash cards, delivering over two million program/erase cycles. Delkin has engineered these cards to deliver the maximum capacity, speed, endurance and temperature tolerance, as well as shock and vibration resistance, to meet the demands of industrial applications in harsh environments.

“Delkin has taken CompactFlash to the next level by leveraging the latest advances in NAND technology and our 25 years as a leader in industrial storage,” stated James Grassman, Delkin Vice President of Sales and Business Development. “The new 32GB and 64GB cards are ideal for applications requiring large storage capacity and high speed data transfer in extreme conditions, while maintaining the ease of integration of the trusted CompactFlash form factor,” he added.

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Until recently, conventional wisdom stated that SLC-based (single level cell) solid state drives (SSDs) were the only drives suitable for demanding Tier 0 Enterprise applications. That has changed with the introduction of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies’ (Hitachi GST) new Ultrastar SSD400M MLC (multi level cell) SSD family.

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As a cost-effective alternative to SLC SSDs, Hitachi GST’s Enterprise MLC SSDs are the most advanced in the industry, utilizing Intel’s 25 nanometer (nm), highest endurance Enterprise-grade, MLC NAND Flash and delivering outstanding performance. Couple this with Hitachi GST’s known quality and reliability, and the result is a compelling Enterprise-class MLC SSD that meets the performance, capacity, endurance and reliability demands of today’s Enterprise and Cloud data centers. Targeting Enterprise capacity sweet spots, the Ultrastar SSD400M family is available in a 2.5-inch form factor with a 6Gb SAS interface in capacities of 200GB and 400GB.

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Seagate has shipped its one millionth solid state hybrid drive for laptop PCs after launching the product – Momentus XT – in spring 2010. Major computer makers including Alienware, ASUS, Dell, Sony and Toshiba now offer laptops powered by the 2.5-inch drive that blends performance rivaling solid state drives with the enormous capacity and much lower cost of hard disk drives.

The Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive, a 7200RPM drive with up to 500GB of capacity, boots up to 50 percent faster than traditional 5400RPM drives and sets new benchmarks for real-world system performance for laptops and gaming systems. Seagate's Adaptive Memory™ technology is key to the drive's speed, optimizing its performance by moving frequently used information into the 4GB of onboard solid state memory for faster bootup and application access.

"Seagate's shipment of its one millionth Momentus XT drive is just the beginning of a bright future for solid state hybrid drives," said John Rydning, research director at IDC. "Fast, capacious, and economical hybrid HDD and NAND flash storage solutions like the Momentus XT drive will be found in roughly 25 percent of all new PCs shipped in 2015."

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QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced new V3.5 NAS management software for its Turbo NAS series, embedded as firmware. The new V3.5 firmware provides compatibility with Apple’s new Mac® OS X Lion operating system, provides LDAP, antivirus, syslog server support, and more. Firmware 3.5 also includes service binding feature and enhanced MyCloudNAS service.

Firmware V3.5 provides several new security enhancements. New antivirus feature allows the administrator to scan the NAS manually or on a recurring schedule; then delete or quarantine files infected by viruses, malware, Trojans, and other malicious threats. New RADIUS server provides RAIDUS-client-enabled devices with centralized account management and authentication for network access. External drive encryption blocks unauthorized access and protects data on external drives from theft by encrypting a disk volume or a specific partition.

A NAS server that talks! Newly supported Windows® Live Messenger notification sends error and warning alerts to predefined Windows Live account. The administrator is able to receive the current system temperature, disk and volume information by typing inquiry commands on the Windows Live Messenger program.

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