|
Diamond Storage Array High-performance computer data storage components |
Q. What is the Diamond Storage Array?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array offers the industry leading performance, extraordinary density and Enterprise-class reliability of Fibre Channel and SCSI technologies with the significant cost advantage of Ultra ATA disk technology.
The ATTO Diamond Storage Array is a unique solution that leverages ATTO’s 15 years of engineering expertise in data management. The Diamond offers high-performance features such as hardware-based RAID, high-availability components and a fault tolerant, field serviceable design, all in a standard 3U – 19” form factor.
Q. Why use an ATTO Diamond Storage Array?
A.Companies continue to face increasing stress on their IT infrastructures. Skyrocketing storage demands coupled with shrinking budgets are the main source of this stress. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array directly resolves both of these issues. By offering the industry’s highest density coupled with pennies per Megabyte costs, the Diamond Array provides immediate and substantial ROI for today’s IT organization.
Q. Aren't ATA drives considered less reliable than SCSI or Fibre Channel drives?
A. The ATTO Diamond Array takes advantage of recent advancements in technology that make ATA drives as reliable now as SCSI or Fibre Channel drives. The MTBF ratings for the ATA drives that ATTO currently uses are comparable to SCSI or Fibre Channel drives, with an MTBF of around 800,000 hours.
The high-volume demand for ATA disks has driven manufacturers to increase quality, performance and density to levels equal or beyond that available in Fibre Channel and SCSI disk drives. So much has been added to ATA drives that they are nearly identical in composition to SCSI or Fibre Channel drives. In fact, the majority of the internal components are identical across all types of drives with the most notable exceptions being the motor and disk head assemblies.
To further increase reliability and availability, ATTO uses several unique patent-pending technologies to ensure full data protection throughout the data path. To guard against data loss, due to mechanical failures of the drives, ATTO uses several leading-edge RAID techniques within the storage array. An added benefit of using ATA drives in a RAID array is that drive replacement costs are significantly reduced compared to SCSI or Fibre Channel arrays.
Q. What separates the ATTO Diamond Storage Array from off-the-shelf ATA solutions?
A. The Diamond Array utilizes ATTO patent-pending technologies, rather than off-the-shelf ATA solutions, to provide unsurpassed performance and category-leading density. The Diamond Array features Aggregated Data Transfer Technology (ADXT™) – resulting from over 15 years of research and design by ATTO Technology. ADXT is the heart of the Diamond disk storage array and is implemented on the intelligent midplane. The midplane contains a combination of custom Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), processors and proprietary embedded software to make ADXT processing technology a reality. ADXT is divided into three main processing sections that handle the data being read or written to the ATA disk drives via the host interfaces. The Virtual Device Manager (VDM), Data Routing Fabric (DRF) and ATA Interface Engines (AIE) work in unison to smoothly and efficiently organize data streams for storage or retrieval.
Q. Aren't ATA-based Arrays slow?
A. While most competitors provide simple connectivity to the slower ATA drives using an underpowered RAID controller, the Diamond Storage Array takes a different approach. The Diamond Storage Array utilizes a high-performance, sophisticated RAID controller technology to aggregate the performance of all 24 drives in the array to sustain benchmark performance data-transfer rates of over 240 MB/sec.
The Diamond Array’s internal RAID architecture uses the latest advances in ATA drive technology, including Command Overlap, Command Queuing and Double Clocking of Data Transfers to provide performance equal to or better than most native Fibre Channel or SCSI arrays.
Using ATTO’s proprietary patent-pending hardware-assisted ATA Interface Engine (AIE), the Diamond Array performs very fast data transfers from drive to controller via Ultra DMA protocol that operate at 100 MB/sec. Because this is a hardware solution, rather than the traditional software polling method of the ATA interface, the Diamond Array substantially improves the response time to the individual ATA drives. This method further allows the Diamond to achieve comparable I/O access times versus native Fibre Channel and SCSI arrays, due in part to the sheer number of drive spindles contained in the Diamond Storage Array.
Q. How many drives does the Diamond Array support?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array supports a total of 24 drives. Not all are required: four drives minimum are required for a RAID configuration.
Q. What configurations are available?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array is available in both rack (3U) and tower chassis configurations. After deciding on a chassis, customers can configure their storage array with a variety of host interface, management card and disk drive options. A maximum of 24 disk drives and up to two host interface cards can be chosen for each array chassis. Available host interfaces include 1-Gigabit Fibre Channel, 2-Gigabit Fibre Channel and Ultra160 SCSI. Additionally, the Diamond currently supports the following disk drive sizes: 80GB (5.4K), 80GB (7.2K), 160GB (5.4K) and 180GB (7.2K).
Q. What platforms are supported?
A. The Diamond Array is truly platform independent. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array has been designed in accordance with the strict interoperability requirements of both Fibre Channel and SCSI specifications. In fact, the Diamond Storage Array recently received the FCIA’s SANmark level 1 certification. ATTO Technology also has interoperability certifications with major players in the storage networking industry such as Vixel, Brocade, QLogic, Emulex, LSI, Gadzoox, DataCore, TrueSAN, FalconStor, and many others.
No other ATA RAID array currently available has attained the level of industry acceptance and certification as the ATTO Diamond Storage Array. ATTO’s extensive partner network includes all the major vendors in the switch, HBA, operating system, server and SAN software markets. By choosing the ATTO Diamond Storage Array, customers are guaranteed greater interoperability across the SAN and can thereby reduce costs by developing truly best-of-breed solutions.
Q. What type of management information is available?
A. ATTO Technology makes it possible to maximize existing investment in SAN management software and has developed the Diamond Storage Array in accordance with commonly accepted SNMP and SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) reporting capabilities. For customers without a centralized SAN management solution, the Diamond Storage Array can deliver system administrators a quick and concise synopsis of the system’s status via the Serial/Ethernet management ports or Inband via the SCSI or Fibre Channel interface connections.
The Diamond Storage Array’s custom SNMP MIB ties directly into centralized SNMP console, providing up to the minute status of all major components. Several methods of notification ranging from audible to visible to SES are also available to inform the user of component failures.
Q. What are some of the management capabilities of the ATTO Diamond Storage Array?
A. The entire array can be configured to a 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12 or 24 LUN array, depending on which array configuration is chosen.
Q. What RAID levels are supported?
A. The Diamond Storage Array supports JBOD or RAID 0/1/5/10 capability in one box with no additional hardware or software costs, allowing users to configure the array to meet a variety of data management applications.
Q. Does the ATTO Diamond Storage Array support Command Queuing?
A. Yes, the (ATA) Overlap feature is essentially the same as SCSI Disconnect and Reconnect, allowing both drives on the same ATA interface to be processing commands simultaneously. An associated feature is command queuing, which allows commands to be queued inside of an individual disk drive. By taking advantage of both these features, commands are sent to the disk drive without waiting for previous commands to complete, thus reducing associated command overhead. Command queuing in ATA is identical to SCSI Tagged Command Queuing.
Q. What is the maximum number of hosts that can be connected per Diamond Storage Array?
A. The Diamond Storage Array configured with a Fibre Channel host interface card can support up to 125 host connections in loop mode and 252 host connections in fabric mode.
Q. What Fibre Channel support does the Diamond Array provide?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array contains redundant Fibre Channel host ports operating at 2-Gigabits/sec. The host ports support FC-AL, and Point-to-Point operating modes. The array also contains redundant expansion ports to allow for the linking of additional arrays.
Q .Does the Diamond Array support LUN Masking?
A. Yes, the Diamond Storage Array supports LUN Masking, LUN Mapping and Zoning. The ability to define which servers have access to which LUNs is handled through the LUN Mapping and Zoning capabilities within the Diamond. Because the Diamond Array has two independent Fibre Channel or SCSI Host Interface Cards (HICs), the user will need to define which LUNs are accessible through which controller. The default is that every LUN in the Diamond Array is accessible through each of the two controllers. This has advantages and disadvantages depending on how the array is connected.
For example, if a SCSI server is connected to HIC #1 and a second server is connected to HIC #2, data corruption could occur if each server has access to the same LUN. Data management software can be used to account for this setup or the Diamond's LUN Mapping feature can be used to define which LUN is mapped to which HIC.
In the case of a Fibre Channel SAN where multiple servers can be connected through a switch into one or both HICs, the Zoning capabilities of the Diamond Array become important in addition to the LUN Mapping. The user has the ability to define zones and define which servers and LUNs are to be included in that zone. All servers can see all LUNs within the defined zone. Servers and LUNs can be a part of multiple zones. Combined, the Diamond Array's Zoning and LUN Mapping capabilities provide powerful management capabilities to the user.
Q. What type of future technologies will the Diamond Array support?
A. The Diamond Storage Array features industry-standard cPCI-based host interface cards. Current interface technologies include 1-Gigabit Fibre Channel, 2-Gigabit Fibre Channel, and Ultra160 SCSI. Future technologies may include Infiniband and iSCSI, among others. The Diamond Storage Array has been developed with flexibility in mind and can be configured with different interface technologies simply by swapping out existing interface cards with new ones and updating the array firmware.
Q. How many drives are on a bus?
A. The Diamond Storage Array utilizes 12 individual ATA busses. This configuration allows for maximum I/O and data-transfer rates as the Diamond utilizes the Command Overlap functionality of today’s most advanced ATA drives. Command Overlap is a performance feature long inherent in more expensive SCSI and Fibre Channel drives and reduces drive latency, thereby increasing the Diamond Storage Array’s performance compared to other ATA storage arrays.
Q. What type of connectors are used on the midplane?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array houses standard hot-pluggable connectors. This, combined with ATTO’s unique drive carrier design, provides for a rigid foundation for disk mounting while reducing the number of physical connections by 50 percent.
Q. How much power does the Diamond Array use?
A. A fully populated Diamond Storage Array configured with 24 drives draws only 320 watts or 1100 BTU/hr.
Q. Are the drive sleds hot swappable?
A. Absolutely! The connectors on the drive sleds are specially designed such that ground is established prior to power being applied to the sled, thus preventing damage to any of the components on the sled or the midplane. The Diamond Array’s firmware also plays a role by ensuring that power is not applied to the drives until the midplane has established the fact that a sled has been properly installed. Conversely, when a sled is pulled from the array, power is safely removed from the sled.
Q. What can be hot swapped?
A. The Diamond Storage Array ensures reliability by incorporating fully redundant, hot-swappable drive sleds, host interface cards, and power and cooling components.
Q. How is firmware upgraded?
A. Firmware is easily flashed/downloaded from a host onto the Diamond Array through either the RS232 or Ethernet port that comes standard on the Diamond Array Management card. The process takes only minutes to complete. Easy field upgradeability ensures that customers can always be running with the latest capabilities and updates available. The latest firmware versions are obtainable through the ATTO Technology web site (attotech.com).
Q. How is the Diamond Array cooled?
A. The Diamond Array contains redundant cooling assemblies that draw air from the front of the unit, past the disk drives, through the power supplies and finally exiting out the exhaust ports. A single fan is fully capable of keeping the entire array operating in the specified temperature range.
Q. How does the Diamond Array achieve its exceptional performance in RAID configurations?
A. RAID applications are the most taxing on storage subsystems. These calculations (called XOR processes) ensure redundancy but are “compute intensive.”
The ATTO Diamond Array utilizes hardware to complete the XOR calculations. This removes the task from the processors running the storage array and places the workload on components optimized for the duty. ATTO uses patented technology coupled with custom Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASICs) processors to accomplish this. ATTO has many years of ASIC development experience that results in enhanced performance in the Diamond Array.
ATTO’s Diamond Storage Array outperforms competitive products in RAID 5 applications by up to 85%.
Q. Is the Diamond Array suitable for Enterprise-class backup applications?
A. The Diamond Array is optimized for Enterprise-class backup needs. The Diamond Array supports a wide selection of backup solutions and configurations and has industry-proven results to support this.
There are three key aspects to supporting an Enterprise’s backup needs – 1) capacity 2) software 3) interoperability. The Diamond Storage Array offers all three. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array was a key component in the SNIA Terabyte/Hr. Backup demonstration, and is a leading product in ATTO’s support of the Enhanced Backup Solutions Initiative (EBSI). ATTO is a key sponsor of the EBSI initiative.
Q. What is the warranty on the ATTO Diamond Storage Array?
A. All ATTO Diamond Storage products come with a two year warranty for all components with technical telephone support available. In addition, 9-5 and 7x24 on-site maintenance options will be available shortly.
Q. What industry certifications are available?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array undergoes significant testing to meet key industry certifications. These certifications are conducted using industry-developed test programs.
Q. What Regulatory and Safety Certifications has the Diamond Array been tested for?
A. The Diamond Array is thoroughly tested for compliance with world-wide regulatory agency, safety and shipping certifications. Certifications include: Regulatory Certifications:
CE Mark
UL/CSA
TUV
Safety Compliance:
UL 1950 3rd Edition
TUV EN 60950
CSA 22.2 No. 950-95
EMC
FCC Class A
Shipping Certifications:
ISTA packaging approved
Q. What other equipment is the Diamond Array interoperable with?
A. The ATTO Diamond Array is tested with an extensive list of third-party equipment such as HBAs, switches and tape libraries and ISV applications such as backup, disaster recovery and virtualization. For a complete listing, see the Compatibility Matrix on our website http://www.attotech.com/pdfs/matrix.pdf
Q. What Third Party Partner Qualifications has the Diamond Array completed?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array undergoes significant testing for qualification with leading industry partners. The Diamond Array has been qualified for use with storage application and solution software that extends the use of storage networks. These certifications provide users with a host of tested solutions, allowing them flexibility in their choice of components and suppliers.
Diamond Array Partner Qualifications include:
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array offers the industry leading performance, extraordinary density and Enterprise-class reliability of Fibre Channel and SCSI technologies with the significant cost advantage of Ultra ATA disk technology.
The ATTO Diamond Storage Array is a unique solution that leverages ATTO’s 15 years of engineering expertise in data management. The Diamond offers high-performance features such as hardware-based RAID, high-availability components and a fault tolerant, field serviceable design, all in a standard 3U – 19” form factor.
Q. Why use an ATTO Diamond Storage Array?
A.Companies continue to face increasing stress on their IT infrastructures. Skyrocketing storage demands coupled with shrinking budgets are the main source of this stress. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array directly resolves both of these issues. By offering the industry’s highest density coupled with pennies per Megabyte costs, the Diamond Array provides immediate and substantial ROI for today’s IT organization.
Q. Aren't ATA drives considered less reliable than SCSI or Fibre Channel drives?
A. The ATTO Diamond Array takes advantage of recent advancements in technology that make ATA drives as reliable now as SCSI or Fibre Channel drives. The MTBF ratings for the ATA drives that ATTO currently uses are comparable to SCSI or Fibre Channel drives, with an MTBF of around 800,000 hours.
The high-volume demand for ATA disks has driven manufacturers to increase quality, performance and density to levels equal or beyond that available in Fibre Channel and SCSI disk drives. So much has been added to ATA drives that they are nearly identical in composition to SCSI or Fibre Channel drives. In fact, the majority of the internal components are identical across all types of drives with the most notable exceptions being the motor and disk head assemblies.
To further increase reliability and availability, ATTO uses several unique patent-pending technologies to ensure full data protection throughout the data path. To guard against data loss, due to mechanical failures of the drives, ATTO uses several leading-edge RAID techniques within the storage array. An added benefit of using ATA drives in a RAID array is that drive replacement costs are significantly reduced compared to SCSI or Fibre Channel arrays.
Q. What separates the ATTO Diamond Storage Array from off-the-shelf ATA solutions?
A. The Diamond Array utilizes ATTO patent-pending technologies, rather than off-the-shelf ATA solutions, to provide unsurpassed performance and category-leading density. The Diamond Array features Aggregated Data Transfer Technology (ADXT™) – resulting from over 15 years of research and design by ATTO Technology. ADXT is the heart of the Diamond disk storage array and is implemented on the intelligent midplane. The midplane contains a combination of custom Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), processors and proprietary embedded software to make ADXT processing technology a reality. ADXT is divided into three main processing sections that handle the data being read or written to the ATA disk drives via the host interfaces. The Virtual Device Manager (VDM), Data Routing Fabric (DRF) and ATA Interface Engines (AIE) work in unison to smoothly and efficiently organize data streams for storage or retrieval.
Q. Aren't ATA-based Arrays slow?
A. While most competitors provide simple connectivity to the slower ATA drives using an underpowered RAID controller, the Diamond Storage Array takes a different approach. The Diamond Storage Array utilizes a high-performance, sophisticated RAID controller technology to aggregate the performance of all 24 drives in the array to sustain benchmark performance data-transfer rates of over 240 MB/sec.
The Diamond Array’s internal RAID architecture uses the latest advances in ATA drive technology, including Command Overlap, Command Queuing and Double Clocking of Data Transfers to provide performance equal to or better than most native Fibre Channel or SCSI arrays.
Using ATTO’s proprietary patent-pending hardware-assisted ATA Interface Engine (AIE), the Diamond Array performs very fast data transfers from drive to controller via Ultra DMA protocol that operate at 100 MB/sec. Because this is a hardware solution, rather than the traditional software polling method of the ATA interface, the Diamond Array substantially improves the response time to the individual ATA drives. This method further allows the Diamond to achieve comparable I/O access times versus native Fibre Channel and SCSI arrays, due in part to the sheer number of drive spindles contained in the Diamond Storage Array.
Q. How many drives does the Diamond Array support?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array supports a total of 24 drives. Not all are required: four drives minimum are required for a RAID configuration.
Q. What configurations are available?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array is available in both rack (3U) and tower chassis configurations. After deciding on a chassis, customers can configure their storage array with a variety of host interface, management card and disk drive options. A maximum of 24 disk drives and up to two host interface cards can be chosen for each array chassis. Available host interfaces include 1-Gigabit Fibre Channel, 2-Gigabit Fibre Channel and Ultra160 SCSI. Additionally, the Diamond currently supports the following disk drive sizes: 80GB (5.4K), 80GB (7.2K), 160GB (5.4K) and 180GB (7.2K).
Q. What platforms are supported?
A. The Diamond Array is truly platform independent. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array has been designed in accordance with the strict interoperability requirements of both Fibre Channel and SCSI specifications. In fact, the Diamond Storage Array recently received the FCIA’s SANmark level 1 certification. ATTO Technology also has interoperability certifications with major players in the storage networking industry such as Vixel, Brocade, QLogic, Emulex, LSI, Gadzoox, DataCore, TrueSAN, FalconStor, and many others.
No other ATA RAID array currently available has attained the level of industry acceptance and certification as the ATTO Diamond Storage Array. ATTO’s extensive partner network includes all the major vendors in the switch, HBA, operating system, server and SAN software markets. By choosing the ATTO Diamond Storage Array, customers are guaranteed greater interoperability across the SAN and can thereby reduce costs by developing truly best-of-breed solutions.
Q. What type of management information is available?
A. ATTO Technology makes it possible to maximize existing investment in SAN management software and has developed the Diamond Storage Array in accordance with commonly accepted SNMP and SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) reporting capabilities. For customers without a centralized SAN management solution, the Diamond Storage Array can deliver system administrators a quick and concise synopsis of the system’s status via the Serial/Ethernet management ports or Inband via the SCSI or Fibre Channel interface connections.
The Diamond Storage Array’s custom SNMP MIB ties directly into centralized SNMP console, providing up to the minute status of all major components. Several methods of notification ranging from audible to visible to SES are also available to inform the user of component failures.
Q. What are some of the management capabilities of the ATTO Diamond Storage Array?
- System management designed into the array’s firmware enables the status of the array to be presented via RS-232, Ethernet or In-band via the SCSI or Fibre Channel host connections.
- Environmental monitoring of temperature at three key areas within the array enclosure
- Ability to configure and monitor subsystem using simple text commands
- Alerts and warnings sent out via SNMP, SES and CLI in addition to audible and visual methods
- Component health monitoring of host interfaces, power supplies, cooling assemblies and disk drives with status/error reporting via SNMP, SES, and CLI in addition to audible and visual methods
- Event log and error log retrievable via SNMP, SES and CLI
- Automatic IP address assignment via DHCP, manually using IP
- Manual confirmation required for all activities that may result in destructive operations
- System management console is password-protected
- ATTO QuickRAID™ configuration tool streamlines and simplifies array configuration. Automatically reports volume sizes and associated group members. Assigns Logical Unit Numbers (LUNs) to individual RAID volumes
- Detailed help available on all configuration and management commands
- System management can control host interface speed, duplexing, and or loop-type (Fibre Channel-AL, Fibre Channel-SW, Point-to-point)
A. The entire array can be configured to a 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12 or 24 LUN array, depending on which array configuration is chosen.
Q. What RAID levels are supported?
A. The Diamond Storage Array supports JBOD or RAID 0/1/5/10 capability in one box with no additional hardware or software costs, allowing users to configure the array to meet a variety of data management applications.
Q. Does the ATTO Diamond Storage Array support Command Queuing?
A. Yes, the (ATA) Overlap feature is essentially the same as SCSI Disconnect and Reconnect, allowing both drives on the same ATA interface to be processing commands simultaneously. An associated feature is command queuing, which allows commands to be queued inside of an individual disk drive. By taking advantage of both these features, commands are sent to the disk drive without waiting for previous commands to complete, thus reducing associated command overhead. Command queuing in ATA is identical to SCSI Tagged Command Queuing.
Q. What is the maximum number of hosts that can be connected per Diamond Storage Array?
A. The Diamond Storage Array configured with a Fibre Channel host interface card can support up to 125 host connections in loop mode and 252 host connections in fabric mode.
Q. What Fibre Channel support does the Diamond Array provide?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array contains redundant Fibre Channel host ports operating at 2-Gigabits/sec. The host ports support FC-AL, and Point-to-Point operating modes. The array also contains redundant expansion ports to allow for the linking of additional arrays.
Q .Does the Diamond Array support LUN Masking?
A. Yes, the Diamond Storage Array supports LUN Masking, LUN Mapping and Zoning. The ability to define which servers have access to which LUNs is handled through the LUN Mapping and Zoning capabilities within the Diamond. Because the Diamond Array has two independent Fibre Channel or SCSI Host Interface Cards (HICs), the user will need to define which LUNs are accessible through which controller. The default is that every LUN in the Diamond Array is accessible through each of the two controllers. This has advantages and disadvantages depending on how the array is connected.
For example, if a SCSI server is connected to HIC #1 and a second server is connected to HIC #2, data corruption could occur if each server has access to the same LUN. Data management software can be used to account for this setup or the Diamond's LUN Mapping feature can be used to define which LUN is mapped to which HIC.
In the case of a Fibre Channel SAN where multiple servers can be connected through a switch into one or both HICs, the Zoning capabilities of the Diamond Array become important in addition to the LUN Mapping. The user has the ability to define zones and define which servers and LUNs are to be included in that zone. All servers can see all LUNs within the defined zone. Servers and LUNs can be a part of multiple zones. Combined, the Diamond Array's Zoning and LUN Mapping capabilities provide powerful management capabilities to the user.
Q. What type of future technologies will the Diamond Array support?
A. The Diamond Storage Array features industry-standard cPCI-based host interface cards. Current interface technologies include 1-Gigabit Fibre Channel, 2-Gigabit Fibre Channel, and Ultra160 SCSI. Future technologies may include Infiniband and iSCSI, among others. The Diamond Storage Array has been developed with flexibility in mind and can be configured with different interface technologies simply by swapping out existing interface cards with new ones and updating the array firmware.
Q. How many drives are on a bus?
A. The Diamond Storage Array utilizes 12 individual ATA busses. This configuration allows for maximum I/O and data-transfer rates as the Diamond utilizes the Command Overlap functionality of today’s most advanced ATA drives. Command Overlap is a performance feature long inherent in more expensive SCSI and Fibre Channel drives and reduces drive latency, thereby increasing the Diamond Storage Array’s performance compared to other ATA storage arrays.
Q. What type of connectors are used on the midplane?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array houses standard hot-pluggable connectors. This, combined with ATTO’s unique drive carrier design, provides for a rigid foundation for disk mounting while reducing the number of physical connections by 50 percent.
Q. How much power does the Diamond Array use?
A. A fully populated Diamond Storage Array configured with 24 drives draws only 320 watts or 1100 BTU/hr.
Q. Are the drive sleds hot swappable?
A. Absolutely! The connectors on the drive sleds are specially designed such that ground is established prior to power being applied to the sled, thus preventing damage to any of the components on the sled or the midplane. The Diamond Array’s firmware also plays a role by ensuring that power is not applied to the drives until the midplane has established the fact that a sled has been properly installed. Conversely, when a sled is pulled from the array, power is safely removed from the sled.
Q. What can be hot swapped?
A. The Diamond Storage Array ensures reliability by incorporating fully redundant, hot-swappable drive sleds, host interface cards, and power and cooling components.
Q. How is firmware upgraded?
A. Firmware is easily flashed/downloaded from a host onto the Diamond Array through either the RS232 or Ethernet port that comes standard on the Diamond Array Management card. The process takes only minutes to complete. Easy field upgradeability ensures that customers can always be running with the latest capabilities and updates available. The latest firmware versions are obtainable through the ATTO Technology web site (attotech.com).
Q. How is the Diamond Array cooled?
A. The Diamond Array contains redundant cooling assemblies that draw air from the front of the unit, past the disk drives, through the power supplies and finally exiting out the exhaust ports. A single fan is fully capable of keeping the entire array operating in the specified temperature range.
Q. How does the Diamond Array achieve its exceptional performance in RAID configurations?
A. RAID applications are the most taxing on storage subsystems. These calculations (called XOR processes) ensure redundancy but are “compute intensive.”
The ATTO Diamond Array utilizes hardware to complete the XOR calculations. This removes the task from the processors running the storage array and places the workload on components optimized for the duty. ATTO uses patented technology coupled with custom Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASICs) processors to accomplish this. ATTO has many years of ASIC development experience that results in enhanced performance in the Diamond Array.
ATTO’s Diamond Storage Array outperforms competitive products in RAID 5 applications by up to 85%.
Q. Is the Diamond Array suitable for Enterprise-class backup applications?
A. The Diamond Array is optimized for Enterprise-class backup needs. The Diamond Array supports a wide selection of backup solutions and configurations and has industry-proven results to support this.
There are three key aspects to supporting an Enterprise’s backup needs – 1) capacity 2) software 3) interoperability. The Diamond Storage Array offers all three. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array was a key component in the SNIA Terabyte/Hr. Backup demonstration, and is a leading product in ATTO’s support of the Enhanced Backup Solutions Initiative (EBSI). ATTO is a key sponsor of the EBSI initiative.
Q. What is the warranty on the ATTO Diamond Storage Array?
A. All ATTO Diamond Storage products come with a two year warranty for all components with technical telephone support available. In addition, 9-5 and 7x24 on-site maintenance options will be available shortly.
Q. What industry certifications are available?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array undergoes significant testing to meet key industry certifications. These certifications are conducted using industry-developed test programs.
- SANmark™ Fabric Testing
- Microsoft Worldwide Hardware Qualification List (WHQL)
Q. What Regulatory and Safety Certifications has the Diamond Array been tested for?
A. The Diamond Array is thoroughly tested for compliance with world-wide regulatory agency, safety and shipping certifications. Certifications include: Regulatory Certifications:
CE Mark
UL/CSA
TUV
Safety Compliance:
UL 1950 3rd Edition
TUV EN 60950
CSA 22.2 No. 950-95
EMC
FCC Class A
Shipping Certifications:
ISTA packaging approved
Q. What other equipment is the Diamond Array interoperable with?
A. The ATTO Diamond Array is tested with an extensive list of third-party equipment such as HBAs, switches and tape libraries and ISV applications such as backup, disaster recovery and virtualization. For a complete listing, see the Compatibility Matrix on our website http://www.attotech.com/pdfs/matrix.pdf
Q. What Third Party Partner Qualifications has the Diamond Array completed?
A. The ATTO Diamond Storage Array undergoes significant testing for qualification with leading industry partners. The Diamond Array has been qualified for use with storage application and solution software that extends the use of storage networks. These certifications provide users with a host of tested solutions, allowing them flexibility in their choice of components and suppliers.
Diamond Array Partner Qualifications include:
| Brocade DataCore Legato Syncsort Veritas |
 |
Computer Associates FalconStor StoreAge Tivoli (IBM) |
|
