HP Smart Array 6400 Controller

Designed and tested with industry standard ProLiant Servers for greater reliability, this controller is ideal for workgroup and departmental servers. And like other Smart Array controllers, the SA-6400 features complete data compatibility with previous generation's Smart Array controllers for easy data migration from server to server and for controller upgradeability.

• Advanced RAID level: Advanced Data Guarding
• High Performance Architecture
• Innovative modular design
  • Upgradeable cache for higher performance
  • Upgradeable from 2 to 4 SCSI channels
• High Capacity
  • 2 channel model supports up to 28 drives
  • 4 channel model supports up to 56 drives
• Multiple battery-backed cache options
  • 128 MB DDR-RAM
    
  • 256 MB DDR-RAM
  • 512 MB DDR-RAM

• Advanced Data Guarding (RAID ADG) offers breakthrough level of fault protection of RAID volumes up to 2TB and a total of 28 disk drive in a RAID volume. RAID ADG provides fault protection greater than RAID 1 or RAID 5 and only consumes the capacity of 2 disk drives for distributed parity data. RAID ADG protects against any 2 disk drive failures. This higher level of protection is ideal to protect large logical volumes and with high capacity disk drives where a failed drive rebuild time may be significant.
• Modular, easy-to-upgrade design lets you optimize performance and increase capacity as needed from two to four channels and 128 MB to 512 MB battery-backed cache (BBWC).
• High-performance, Sixth generation architecture offers a new hardware RAID engine, and a new performance 266MHz DDR memory architecture for increased performance over previous controllers.
• Recovery ROM protects against a ROM failure or corruption.
• Ultra320 SCSI technology delivers high performance and data bandwidth up to 320 MB/s bandwidth per channel.
• Mix-and-match LVD SCSI compatibility protects your investments and lets you deploy drives as needed.
• Battery-backed Cache protects cached data in the event of a power outage, server failure or controller failure, and redundant, replaceable batteries take that protection even further. Maximum cache configuration is 512 MB of battery-backed cache.
• 64-bit, 133 MHz PCI-X interface boosts bandwidth above 1GB/s burst transfer rate over PCI-X bus
• 64-bit memory addressing supports servers with greater than 4 GB of memory.
• Online Management Features: Online Capacity Expansion, Online RAID Level Migration, Online Stripe Size Migration, Multiple Online Spares (Global), User Selectable Read/Write cache, User Selectable Expand and Rebuild Priority.
  

• Ultra320 SCSI (320-MB/s bandwidth) per channel
• High-performance 64-bit architecture, featuring a super-scalar RISC processor
• New RAID XOR engine
• Innovative dual processor, dual XOR engine design for the SA-6404
• New performance 266MHz DDR memory architecture providing for greater performance through greater bandwidth
• 64-bit, 133-MHz PCI-X bus (1-GB/s bandwidth)

• Up to four Ultra320 SCSI channels, supporting up to 56 disk drives
• More than 16TB of storage per PCI slot

• Online RAID Level Migration (between any RAID level)
• Online Capacity Expansion
• Logical Drive Capacity Extension
• Global Online Spare
• Pre-Failure Warranty

• S.M.A.R.T.: Self Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology first developed at Compaq detects possible hard disk failure before it occurs, allowing replacement of the component before failure occurs.
• Drive Parameter Tracking monitors drive operational parameters, predicting failure and notifying the administrator.
• Dynamic Sector Repairing continually performs background surface scans on the hard disk drives during inactive periods and automatically re-maps bad sectors, ensuring data integrity.
• Smart Array Cache Tracking monitors integrity of controller cache, allowing pre-failure preventative maintenance.
• Environment Tracking for External Storage System monitors.

• Advanced Data Guarding (RAID ADG): This is the highest level of fault tolerance. It allocates two sets of parity data across drives and allows simultaneous write operations. This level of fault tolerance can withstand two simultaneous drive failures without downtime or data loss. It is available standard with the SA-6400.
• Distributed Data Guarding (RAID 5): This allocates parity data across multiple drives and allows simultaneous write operations. It is recommended for up to 14 hard drives.
• Drive Mirroring (RAID 1, 1+0): This allocates half of the drive array to data and the other half to mirrored data, providing two copies of every file. It is a high-performance RAID configuration.

• Recovery ROM: provides a unique redundancy feature that protects from a ROM failure. A new version of firmware can be flashed to the ROM while the controller maintains the last know working version of firmware. If the firmware becomes corrupt, the controller will revert back to the previous version of firmware and continue operating. This reduces the risk of flashing firmware to the controller.
• On-Line Spares: Up to four spare drives can be installed prior to drive failure. If a failure occurs, recovery begins with an On-Line Spare and data is reconstructed automatically.
• ECC-Protected Cache Memory: Removable, battery-backed cache memory protects data, up to four days (three days with 256-MB Module, one day with 512-MB Module), in the event of power failure, server hardware failure or controller failure. In addition, HP provides an exclusive design that includes redundant and replaceable batteries for greater cache protection.

• GUI based configuration, management and diagnostic software tools
• Common data formatting between generations of products
• Data migration between servers and external storage enclosures

• HP Array Configuration Utility (ACU)
  • Powerful Web based configuration utility for all Smart Array controllers
• Easy to use Wizards for configuration
• Provides a graphical view of HP drive array configurations
• Allows for management of multiple arrays over a secure internet connection from anywhere in the world
• Runs online on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Linux
• Options ROM Configuration for Arrays
  • Rapid configuration upon initial install of the OS

• Powerful server and server options/storage manager tool
• Monitors over 1200 server parameters

* Based on use of MSA30 Enclosure family (14 drives enclosure)

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The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

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For hard drives, 1 GB = 1 billion bytes. Actual formatted capacity is less.