LSI Announces Availability of Advanced Software Features for IBM ServeRAID 6Gb/s SAS Controllers

MILPITAS, Calif., Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) today announced that IBM is now offering advanced performance and data protection features based on LSI MegaRAID® software on its ServeRAID M5000 6Gb/s controllers. Enabled by the M5000 Series Performance Accelerator Key, the new features optimize application performance, maximize solid-state drive (SSD) throughput and enable new levels of data protection and security for System x servers.

"Our customers have asked us to provide advanced controller options to address specific application and market requirements," said Kelly Bryant, vice president of Direct-Attached Storage (DAS) Solutions, LSI. "These new software offerings, powered by LSI MegaRAID software, allow end users to address key business challenges while helping to deliver a higher return on their IT investments."

"To meet the diverse requirements of today's data centers, our customers need access to a full spectrum of high-performance RAID adapter solutions," said Bob Galush, vice president of System x Servers and Options, IBM. "The ServeRAID Performance Accelerator Key provides our clients the performance and power benefits of solid-state drives while retaining superior data protection and security features."

Performance acceleration for solid-state drive configurations

The key also accelerates performance for SSD arrays connected to a ServeRAID M5000 Series controller. Based on LSI MegaRAID FastPath™ software, it is designed to substantially boost storage subsystem and overall application performance, particularly for workloads requiring high levels of random read/write operation, such as transactional database applications.  

Software designed to significantly accelerate the performance of hard disk drive (HDD) arrays by allowing SSDs to be configured as a secondary tier of cache is also activated by the key. Powered by LSI CacheCade™ software, the feature helps to maximize transactional I/O performance for read-intensive applications, delivering up to a 50X performance improvement with only an incremental investment in SSD technology.

Advanced data protection and security

The IBM ServeRAID M5000 Series Performance Accelerator Key also offers advanced features providing enhanced data protection and security capabilities, including snapshots, RAID levels 6 and 60, and data encryption services.  

The features offer enhanced data protection through rapid file and volume-level data recovery capabilities using snapshot functionality, using LSI MegaRAID Recovery software. Users can capture snapshots of source volume data at designated points in time and restore data from those points should accidental or malicious data loss or corruption occur.

The key also enables support for managing self-encrypting drives (SEDs) to help to secure a drive's data from unauthorized access or modification resulting from theft, loss or repurposing of drives. Based on LSI MegaRAID SafeStore™ software, this combines local key management with drive-level encryption to provide businesses with cost-effective security of data at rest, while preserving system performance and ease-of-use.

About LSI

LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) is a leading provider of innovative silicon, systems and software technologies that enable products which seamlessly bring people, information and digital content together. The company offers a broad portfolio of capabilities and services including custom and standard product ICs, adapters, systems and software that are trusted by the world's best known brands to power leading solutions in the Storage and Networking markets. More information is available at www.lsi.com.

Editor's Notes:

1. All LSI news releases (financial, acquisitions, manufacturing, products, technology, etc.) are issued exclusively by PR Newswire and are immediately thereafter posted on the company's external web site, http://www.lsi.com.
2. LSI, the LSI & Design logo, CacheCade, FastPath, MegaRAID and SafeStore are trademarks or registered trademarks of LSI Corporation.
3. All other brands or product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

SOURCE LSI Corporation