SERIES 6E
DATA SHEET
Entry-Level Unified Serial
®
(SATA/SAS) 6Gb/s RAID Controllers Deliver Affordable
True Hardware RAID that Outperforms Software-Based HBAs and SATA Controllers
Adaptec 6Gb/s SATA & SAS RAID
True Hardware RAID Controllers with On-Board
DRAM for Entry-Level Markets (6405E, 6805E)
Adaptec Series 6E Unified Serial SATA/SAS RAID
controllers deliver the robustness of hardware
RAID and the Adaptec RAID Code, enterprise
class management features, and full OS support
– including open source drivers for Linux and
FreeBSD – into the entry-level RAID space.
Entry-level RAID controllers typically have several
drawbacks. Either RAID is implemented in software
only, which limits its robustness, or it comes
without the support for DRAM caching, which
limits performance. Many integrated solutions do
not offer full OS support, and some require closed
source libraries on certain open source OS platforms.
Management and trouble-shooting capabilities
are often restricted and require special training,
qualification and support.
Adaptec Series 6E Unified Serial SATA/SAS RAID
controllers have none of these inadequacies. They
feature hardware RAID and run the same “Adaptec
RAID Code” (ARC) as Adaptec Series 6 RAID
controllers. They also come with the same drivers,
BIOS and storage management tools as Series 6
controllers and do not require additional training
or qualification. Series 6E controllers support
SATA and SAS devices, and have been qualified
with the same systems, motherboards, backplanes
and drives as Series 6 controllers. Series 6E
controllers have also been thoroughly tested with
entry-level storage devices for desktop use and
the entry-level server platforms, workstations and
motherboards most typically used for basic servers,
performance workstations or industrial PCs.
Adaptec Series 6E controllers deliver the same
6Gb/s performance of our Series 6 controllers,
but are optimized for platforms where a Series 6
controller would not fit in from a price, form
factor or host connectivity standpoint. The
6405E offers maximum connectivity through
a x1 PCI Express 2.0 interface that fits into any
industrial PC, workstation class or entry server
class motherboard, while the 6805E has a x4
PCI Express 2.0 interface for application that
require more bandwidth.
I/O Connectivity and Data Protection
With its entry-level price point, Adaptec Series 6E
can be used as a connectivity product, with support
for up to 4 (6405E) or 8 (6805E) SATA & SAS
devices, and 128MB of DDR2-800 MHz DRAM
cache for device acceleration. At the same time,
the Adaptec RAID Code (ARC) delivers maximum
reliability with RAID levels 0, 1, 1E, 10 and JBOD.
ARC also offers RAID Level Migration (the ability
to easily migrate RAID levels), Online Capacity
Expansion (expand capacity without powering
down the server), and Copyback Hot Spare
(when a failed drive has been replaced, data is
automatically copied from the hot spare back to
the restored drive).
Hybrid RAID
With Hybrid RAID 1 & 10 Series 6E controllers
offer maximum performance and reliability by
combining Solid State Drives (SSDs) and Hard Disk
Drives (HDDs) in a single array. Performing read
operations from the faster SSD and write operations
on both the SSDs and HDD results in tremendous
performance gains over standard HDD RAID
arrays. Hybrid RAID offers the benefits of both
technologies and allows a better cost-per-GB ratio
than comparable SSD-only RAID arrays.
The Case for Cache
The fastest way for a RAID controller to fulfill a
read or write request is to serve data out of its cache.
Savvy network administrators know that enabling
the RAID controller cache offers significant
performance benefits, such as reduced latency in
I/O requests, bandwidth and queue depths that
surpass software application limits, and on-the-fly
parity calculations on sequential writes.
Intelligent Power Management
Intelligent Power Management (IPM) slashes
power and cooling costs by up to 70% using
intelligent I/O caching combined with disk drive
power savings via standby and power-off modes.
Adaptec maxView Storage Manager
Adaptec maxView provides the powerful features
of Adaptec Storage Manager™ in an HTML5 web
interface that can be viewed in standard desktop
or mobile browsers without the need for separate
software installation.
Broad Operating System Support
Series 6E controllers support all major operating
systems, including Windows 7, Windows Server
2008/2008 R2, Windows Vista, VMware ESX
Classic 4.x, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL),
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), Sun Solaris
10, FreeBSD, Debian Linux, Ubuntu Linux.
Compatibility, Reliability, and Support
The Series 6E family has been extensively tested
with third-party components to deliver the utmost
in compatibility. The cards are backed by a 3-year
warranty and the company’s technical support team.
Product Highlights
6 Gb/s throughput at each port
PMC-Sierra PM8013 Dual Core
RAID on Chip (ROC)
SAS 2.0 interfaces and PCIe
Gen 2 Host Connection
128MB On-Board DRAM for
maximum performance
6405E:
supports up to 4 SATA
or SAS devices
— PCIe x1 interface
— Low-profile form factor
(2.535”H x 5.115” L) smaller
than MD2 allows installation in
condensed system designs
6805E:
supports up to 8 SATA
or SAS devices
— PCIe x4 interface
— Low-profile form factor
(2.535”H x 6.095”L) smaller
than MD2 allows installation in
condensed system designs
Enclosure management support
via LED header and SES2/SGPIO
Intelligent Power Management
— Reduces power and cooling
costs by as much as 70%
Hybrid RAID 1 & 10: SSD + HDD
for Maximum Performance and
Reliability
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