SCSI/Serial ATA analyser and tester

Finisar has introduced the 6 Gb/s SAS/SATA (Serial Attached SCSI/Serial ATA) analyser and tester, which is incorporated into Finisar's Xgig testing platform.

Finisar, provider of fibre optic and test-and-measurement solutions for high-speed data networks, introduced the 6 Gb/s SAS/SATA (Serial Attached SCSI/Serial ATA) analyser and tester, which is incorporated into Finisar's industry leading Xgig testing platform.

This comprehensive testing platform provides critical monitoring, analysis, and testing of products and systems for all major storage protocols including Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and SAS/SATA.

Xgig is the only platform that provides both multi-protocol support and line rate monitoring up to 10 Gb/s.

Additionally, the tool offers enhanced triggering capabilities, data tapping with nominal impact on signal quality, and a trace buffer of up to 16 GBs.

These combined capabilities simplify both problem identification and resolution, reducing design time and improving time-to-market.

SAS and SATA are emerging protocols which replace older disk drive standards and are expected to grow into a multi-billion dollar hard disk drive market.

SAS replaces Parallel SCSI drives and SATA brings cost-economies to desktop and server-class disk drives that are extremely attractive.

As networks become increasingly complex it becomes even more critical to ensure that mixed SAN environments operate in a coordinated and efficient manner.

Introducing new protocols into existing Fibre Channel SANs creates multi-protocol environments that increase network complexity and make it exceedingly difficult for developers to identify and troubleshoot problems.

The 6 Gb/s Xgig analyser and tester allows developers to directly and easily correlate interactions among the leading storage protocols, enabling tracing of commands as they cross devices and protocols.

Xgig's enhanced triggering capabilities capture traces throughout the SAN, providing a wider correlation to facilitate more comprehensive identification and faster location of problem sources.

Xgig then fine tunes the diagnostic information collected, resulting in faster problem resolution.

Xgig can acquire SAS/SATA traffic with nominal impact on signal quality based on its innovative data tapping technology, thus minimizing its intrusiveness on SAN operations.

"We are excited to bring forward a break-through product that addresses every major storage protocol at every line speed, including the latest 6 Gb/s SAS/SATA standard, in a robust, unified platform," said Paul Hansen, vice president of marketing for Finisar.

"Competitive test platforms can typically support only a single storage protocol at a time, requiring a separate analyser for each protocol in use.

This increases production costs and lengthens overall design and development cycles.

Our heritage and expertise in high-speed serial protocols and more importantly, the ability to support multiple protocols in a single platform, provides our customers with investment protection and a critical edge in today's competitive environment." The Xgig storage test tool platform with 6 Gb/s SAS/SATA analyser and tester is currently sampling.

Orders can be placed now for delivery in May 2007.

For more information about Finisar's proven solutions for storage network testing and optimisation, visit our website.

Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), the evolutionary replacement for parallel SCSI, is an enterprise-class storage standard providing high performance and durability and is expected to capture 35% of all hard disk drive (HDD) shipments by 2008, according to IDC's Worldwide Hard Disk Drive 2006-2010 Forecast Update.

Serial ATA (SATA), due to its cost-effectiveness and compatibility with SAS, is becoming a key contender for enterprise applications and will ultimately replace ATA devices on desktop and notebook computers.

SATA drives are expected to contribute 23% of the total enter-prise HDD market by year-end with growth to approximately 34% by 2008.

Cumulative worldwide drive shipments will exceed 3 billion units from 2005-2010, according to IDC.

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