LSI LSI00182 User Manual
There are many choices of SAS/SATA
and SATA storage adapters off ered in
the market today. In this paper, we will
focus on diff erentiating the various
low-cost adapters available.
LSI off ers the most complete line of adapters, spanning all key RAID levels
and connector confi gurations; and is a leader in the SAS/SATA Host Bus
Adapter marketplace. Recently, Adaptec released their 2 Series SAS/SATA
Hardware RAID adapters and compared them to the LSI MegaRAID Entry
Line which actually employs Host-Based RAID technology. In doing
so, they fail to discuss the strengths of host-based RAID technology
(sometimes called Software RAID) and also fail to mention the LSI
Host Bus Adapter (HBA) products altogether, which are Hardware RAID
like the Adaptec 2 Series. As a proven solution, LSI HBAs deliver the
performance, availability and connectivity options that customers desire,
at an optimal price point, and should be considered as an alternative
the Adaptec 2 Series.
In order to better understand how these three product lines stack up against each other, we will
now compare LSI Host Bus Adapters, the LSI MegaRAID Entry Line, and the Adaptec 2 Series:
Scalability
If you plan to employ JBODs (Just a Bunch Of Disks) or external SAS RAID enclosures (RBODs),
the main considerations for a storage adapter are the number of physical devices supported and
interoperability with the SAS expander. Both LSI HBAs and the Adaptec 2 Series support at least 122
physical devices, JBOD mode, and utilize Hardware RAID technology. In addition to scalability, LSI
is the market leader in both SAS HBAs and SAS expanders. These expanders are built to work with
LSI SAS/SATA Host Bus Adapters, thus removing the inevitable interoperability road blocks that are
associated with utilizing separate vendors in one storage system.
The MegaRAID entry line should be considered only if scalability is not a necessity in your
environment, as these adapters do not support JBOD mode or more than eight physical devices.
Low-Cost SAS/SATA PCI Express Storage Adapters:
A Comparison of LSI Host Bus Adapters, the LSI MegaRAID® Entry Line,
and the Adaptec 2 Series
A Comparison of LSI Host Bus Adapters, the LSI MegaRAID® Entry Line,
and the Adaptec 2 Series
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