Broadcom MegaRAID SAS 9286CV-8eCC
Deliver the performance and protection needed

Overview:

Unmatched RAID Performance for Next-Generation Servers and Storage

Today’s data center, cloud and high-performance computing environments not only require increased storage capacity to handle massive volumes of data, but are also challenged to protect and deliver data as quickly as possible to meet the needs of applications and end users. To address these performance demands as capacity scales, the newest 6Gb/s SAS RAID controllers from Broadcom offer a powerful combination of intelligent performance, enterprise RAID data protection and proven interoperability with the latest server platforms based on the PCI Express 3.0 specification. The MegaRAID SAS 9286CV-8eCC, with eight external ports, delivers two 800MHz PowerPC® processor cores and a 72-bit DDRIII interface that drives 1GB cache memory. Powered by the LSI SAS 2208 dual-core ROC, the 9286CV-8eCC controller includes the latest PCI Express 3.0 and 6Gb/s SAS technology and is ideal for configuring external storage enclosures with high-performance SAS hard drives, high-capacity SATA hard drives or applicationaccelerating SSDs or for building more sophisticated configurations using Broadcom 6Gb/s SAS Switch products.

MegaRAID CacheVault Technology

MegaRAID CacheVault flash cache protection uses NAND flash memory powered by a super-capacitor to help protect data stored in the MegaRAID controller cache. This module eliminates the need for a lithium ion battery traditionally used to protect DRAM cache memory on PCI RAID controllers. The RAID controller automatically writes the data in cache memory to flash storage when a power failure occurs, while the super-capacitor keeps the current going during the process. When the power comes back, the DRAM is recovered from flash storage and the system goes on without loss of data. The benefits of this technology are elimination of hardware maintenance associated with LiON batteries, lower total cost of ownership over the life of the adapter, and more environmentally friendly cache protection.

MegaRAID® CacheCade™ Pro 2.0 and MegaRAID Fast Path Ready

The “CC” family of 6Gb/s MegaRAID controllers ship standards with CacheCade Pro 2.0 and Fast Path software enabled out of the box. These software offerings help to optimize application performance in direct-attached storage environments configured with solid-state drives (SSDs). CacheCade Pro 2.0 read/ write software is designed to dramatically accelerate application I/O performance of hard disk drive (HDD)-based arrays by intelligently caching frequent accessed, or “hot spot”, data to SSDs. Using SSDs as a dedicated pool or high-performance cache in front of HDDs cost-effectively improves both read and write performance, reduces I/O latencies, accelerates application response time and lowers RAID access and rebuild times. MegaRAID Fast Path software is a high-performance I/O accelerator, designed to dramatically boost transactional application throughput of SSD arrays connected to the MegaRAID controller card.

Intuitive RAID Management Utility

The MegaRAID Management Suite™ software provides essential tools to manage MegaRAID products, whether deployed in an enterprise or small business. Broadcom offers a collection of applications and tools including a pre-boot setup utility and a full spectrum of online RAID management utilities. This suite of applications allows administrators to adjust SAS or SATA topology views from the system host, controller and disk enclosure down to the logical and physical drive level. Extending to enterprise deployments, these tools scale to more easily configure, monitor and manage RAID and JBOD volumes locally or over the LAN network.