PMC Controllers Give New Options for Hyperscale Network Deployments

For large-scale data centers that require hyperscale deployments such as Open Compute or OpenStack, density and flexibility are key considerations. That’s why the just-announced 16-port SAS and SATA storage controllers by PMC are a welcome addition to the industry.

PMC’s 16-port 12Gb/s SAS and 16-port 6Gb/s SATA I/O controller solutions help enable original equipment manufacturers and original device manufacturers to design cost-effective, customized server hardware for hyperscale deployments. The devices have some of the industry’s highest port density, yet offer low power consumption and are capable of more than 1,000,000 I/Os per second to support the most demanding cloud software applications.

The new controllers are pin compatible, also delivering flexibility by bringing three solutions based on one hardware design.

“The diversity of customized solutions that hyperscale data centers are deploying and the demanding density, power and cost requirements present significant challenges to our OEM and ODM customers,” noted Pete Hazen, vice president of the data center & server group at PMC. “PMC’s I/O controllers are designed to address these challenges. It’s the only solution that enables a three-in-one design, and our higher port count and lower power give our customers the advantage they need in this competitive market segment.”

Further, the operating system drivers can be customized with available Linux code to a specific application, or used unmodified right out of the box. The single Linux binary host driver and its full suite of drivers enable easy customization, which can help data center architects tune the devices for specific application use.

The 16-port controllers enable the highest density solutions with a single chip, according to PMC, which provides enterprise storage system solutions for networked and server storage applications. The controllers offer up to 40 percent more power efficiency than other solutions, according to the company.

The 16-port 12Gb/s SAS I/O controller, 8-port 12Gb/s SAS I/O controller, and the 16-port 6Gb/s SATA I/O controller are available starting later this month.

With density and flexibility important factors for hyperscale deployments, the release of these new solutions ups the possibilities.

Edited by Peter Bernstein