Sonnet Announces Expansion System for Fusion SATA RAID Storage
IRVINE, Calif. -- May 8, 2008 -- Sonnet Technologies, a leader in providing
local storage systems for professional users of Macintosh, Windows, and
UNIX systems in the film, video, and broadcast industries, today announced
the Fusion RAID Expander, which provides a simple and cost-effective
solution for connecting up to seven Sonnet Fusion SATA RAID desktop or
rackmount storage systems to a single computer for even faster performance
and access to up to 56 terabytes (TB) of protected storage. The Fusion RAID
Expander extends a computer's PCI Express (PCIe) bus outside of the box and
provides seven slots for installing PCIe cards. The Sonnet expansion system
delivers plug-and-play installation and is transparent to the computer's
operating system for zero-configuration use.
"Sonnet is committed to delivering storage solutions with uncompromising
performance and reliability. We are excited to offer a product that gives
our customers the capability to add additional storage capacity and
performance as their business grows," said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet
Technologies. "Fusion RAID Expander's robust construction, easy
configuration, and plug-and-play installation make it simple."
The primary advantage of connecting more than one storage system to a
computer is the ability to scale the capacity and increase the performance.
For example, two 8TB Fusion D800RAID storage systems connected to the
Fusion RAID Expander, with their drives configured as protected RAID 5
volumes and combined as one 16TB logical unit, sustain transfers of 645
MB/sec write and 670 MB/sec read.
Sonnet's Fusion RAID Expander overcomes the obstacles of limited space and
too few PCIe slots common in many computers. Many computers are equipped
with only three or four slots, with one reserved for a graphics card. For
power users, this can be restricting. The Fusion RAID Expander houses seven
full-length (x4) PCIe slots in a quiet 4U enclosure with its own power
supply, and connects to the host computer through the included half-height
host bus adapter card, which occupies a single (x8) PCIe slot. This
expansion system provides the space and slots necessary to attach up to
seven Sonnet Fusion SATA RAID desktop or rackmount storage systems, each of
which includes its own RAID controller card, to access up to 56TB of online
storage.
The Fusion RAID Expander chassis employs two quiet fans to cool the 400
watt power supply and card slot area. It supports most PCIe cards,
(including full-length, full-height form factor cards) so users can add
FireWire, USB, video capture, audio, and other interfaces easily. This
Sonnet expansion system delivers the expandability professional users
demand.
Fusion RAID Expander (part # FUS-EXP7) will be available in early June 2008
with a suggested price of $3,995. More information about the Fusion RAID
Expander is available at
(http://www.sonnettech.com/product/fusionraidexpander.html).
About Sonnet Technologies
Sonnet Technologies, Inc. of Irvine, Calif., is a leader in providing local
storage systems for professional users of Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX
systems in the film, video, and broadcast industries. Since its founding in
1986, Sonnet has pioneered and brought to market innovative solutions that
enhance the performance and connectivity of Macintosh and industry-standard
computers. Today, the company is a world-leading computer hardware upgrade
company with a product line featuring a range of high-performance,
cost-effective, and reliable storage solutions, as well as a variety of
performance-extending upgrade cards. More information is available at
(http://www.sonnettech.com).
