- What is the distinction among Serial Attached SCSI and Parallel SCSI?
Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) is an evolutionary improvement of parallel SCSI, a tested generation which has been the muse of business enterprise garage for over decades. SAS leverages the rock-stable reliability of parallel SCSI whilst providing dramatic upgrades in overall performance, scalability and compatibility.
- Are parallel interfaces quicker than serial interfaces?
In the past, parallel interfaces have been most suitable due to the fact their a couple of statistics paths enabled extra throughput than the unmarried statistics direction of serial interfaces. However, latest improvements in VLSI generation have enabled serial switch quotes to make a big bounce forward, with out the complicated timing problems that restrict in addition parallel interface improvement. Compared to parallel SCSI, Serial Attached SCSI capabilities better throughput now and extra ability for development within side the future.
- Does this imply parallel SCSI is now obsolete?
Not necessarily. Parallel SCSI has lengthy performed a key function in business enterprise statistics garage, and could keep to have a presence. That said, Serial Attached SCSI is a compelling supplement that suits the great reliability and robustness of its acclaimed predecessor, whilst notably increasing the SCSI envelope in phrases of speed, scalability and flexibility.
- Will the migration direction from parallel SCSI to SAS be difficult?
Ease of migration changed into a number one attention while Seagate and different enterprise figures collaborated to outline Serial Attached SCSI standards. SAS changed into specially engineered to leverage present SCSI command sets, maintaining your funding in garage control and business enterprise utility software. And not like ATA answers, no gadget-degree workarounds are required to installation SAS drives.
5. What is the distinction among Serial Attached SCSI and Serial ATA?
Serial Attached SCSI is an business enterprise-magnificence answer that is going past its interface to supply the advanced overall performance, reliability and scalability demanded in mission-crucial applications. Serial ATA is in the main a desktop-magnificence answer appropriate to be used in light-responsibility environments in which low fee is the best priority.
- Are SAS and Serial ATA well matched?
Yes, compatibility with Serial ATA is certainly a center characteristic of Serial Attached SCSI. SAS backplanes and Host Bus Adapters (HBA) are completely well matched with Serial ATA, permitting connectivity for each sorts of drives on a not unusualplace backplane, reducing infrastructure costs. SAS enclosures provide amazing flexibility for developing corporations who can installation Serial ATA drives while garage necessities are modest, then seamlessly upload SAS drives as evolving enterprise wishes dictate. This ensures the liberty to specify the superior pressure for the utility: SAS for transactional and on line overall performance and reliability, Serial ATA for nearline and backup and repair duties.
- What is a Serial Attached SCSI expander?
Expanders are the important thing to Serial Attached SCSI’s top notch scalability. Each of those low-fee switches permits as much as 128 factor-to-factor connections to be crafted from a unmarried HBA/enclosure, and a complete of sixteen,384 SAS gadgets may be aggregated whilst maintaining overall performance and reliability. By contrast, parallel SCSI imposes a restriction of fifteen gadgets in step with SCSI chain and seriously limits general cable length.
- Will Serial Attached SCSI be to be had within side the new 2.five-inch Enterprise shape factor?
Absolutely! Serial Attached SCSI’s compact cabling and connectors are a really perfect suit for those smaller gadgets. Boasting large area savings, better strength performance and progressed airflow, 2.five inch SAS drives allow consolidation of server/garage hardware into greater compact configurations with accelerated pressure density, yielding better IOPS/U, decrease gadget Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and progressed server CPU cooling.
- Does SAS update Fibre Channel?
Not at all. Serial Attached SCSI and Fibre Channel are each advanced, business enterprise-magnificence answers with unique attributes that have an effect on their suitability for a given utility. SAS gives wonderful overall performance and tremendous scalability on a neighborhood degree. Fibre Channel is nicely desirable for huge business enterprise use [e.g., a Storage Area Network (SAN)] because of its aid of as much as sixteen million addresses and most cabling distance of ten kilometres.
- When will Serial Attach SCSI drives be to be had?
Serial Attached SCSI is to be had now. Seagate commenced ramping up improvement of Serial Attached SCSI drives in mid 2003, with giant availability of SAS answers starting in early Autumn 2004.