SCSI Trade Association Held First 6Gb/s SAS Plugfest November 10-14, 2008

Plugfest Featured Testing for Product Interoperability and Compatibility

San Francisco, Nov. 24, 2008 – The SCSI Trade Association (STA), a member-run industry association established to support and promote SCSI technology, announced today that the ninth Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) plugfest was held Nov. 10-14, 2008, at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL). The plugfest was attended by both STA members and non-members (see below for a list of the attending STA members).

Tests made available to attendees Included:

• Open plugfest environment allowed competitors to interconnect and test for interoperability and compatibility.
• Extensive pair-testing to prove compatibility between any two vendors.
• Pair-testing also allowed vendors the time to vary the parameters to test for margin levels.
• In addition to standard cables, active cables were also tested at longer lengths.

Harry Mason, President of SCSI Trade Association and Director of Industry Marketing for LSI, stated, “Participation in the recent 6Gb/s SAS plugfest was outstanding. Not only did we have companies that have never participated in a SAS plugfest previously, but new categories of SAS devices were introduced and tested. It’s exciting to see the support being generated around the market introduction of 6Gb/s SAS. It reflects the growing, as well as deeper, usage of SAS in enterprise storage solutions.”

Mike Fitzpatrick, Senior Research Executive, Fujitsu Computer Products of America and Chairperson of the SAS Plugfest Technical Committee commented, “The large-system build was a critical test of 6Gb/s SAS functionality and interoperability. It allowed new 6Gb/s SAS products, as well as legacy products to be tested in environments with many other SAS components and new test equipment. New-generation 6Gb/s SAS devices underwent significant physical layer testing to prepare for 6Gb/s SAS industry leadership.”

Extensive pair-testing, allowing companies to pair up in a round-robin test plan with various partners, determined compatibility and functionality. The large-build test involved bringing all of the companies together into a multi-initiator environment, where multiple initiators where interconnected with multiple expanders, which in turn, were interconnected with multiple storage enclosures. Within the storage enclosures, 6Gb/s SAS drives were mixed with 3Gb/s SAS and SATA drives to prove not only interoperability in systems running at 6Gb/s, but also backwards compatibility with legacy products.

Additional plugfests will be scheduled in 2009. Please check www.scsita.org for updates throughout the year.

STA Member Companies Attending the Nov. 10-14, 2008, Plugfest

3Ware
Amphenol
Atto Technology
Finisar
Fujitsu CPA
Hewlett-Packard
Hitachi GST
LeCroy Corp.
LSI Corp.
Maxim
Molex
PMC-Sierra
Quellan Inc.
Seagate Technology
Tyco Electronics
Western Digital
Xyratex

About STA
The SCSI Trade Association was established in 1995 to provide a focal point for members to communicate the benefits of SCSI to the industry. STA promotes the understanding and use of Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) technology and influences the evolution of SAS standards to meet future storage industry needs. The Association has a nine-member Board of Directors, which oversees the Marketing Communications and Technology Committees and all STA activities. To subscribe to Serial Storage Wire, STA’s free Serial Attached SCSI newsletter, please visit: www.serialstoragewire.org. For more information, please visit the STA web site at www.scsita.org, send an email to info@scsita.org or call the STA office at 415-561-6273.

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