Introduction

Last week LSI announced ten new RAID controllers and HBA adapters that all utilize the increased bandwidth of PCI Express 3.0.

With high-speed storage products, mainly SATA and SAS 6Gbps SSDs pushing storage performance, the previous generation RAID controllers and HBAs were already saturating the available bandwidth provided by the PCIe 2.0 bus. The new PCIe 3.0 products will increase the available bandwidth and move LSI one-step closer to SAS 12Gbps products coming in the next year or two. In our own testing geared towards enthusiast and power users, we were able to reach peak PCIe 2.0 performance with low cost, consumer SSDs.

The ten new product SKUs also include some new packaging options for LSI. Products are available with advanced kits that include FastPath, CacheCade 2.0 and more accessories bundled. These new bundle packages make it easier for customers to order all-inclusive packages and not needing to piece together components to make a total solution. The new bundles also decrease total cost for those who want to enable every option available on their RAID controller.

Today were going to skim the surface of the new LSI product line up that moves RAID and HBA storage cards from LSI to PCIe 3.0. Let's get right in and see the new offerings.