PMC-Sierra Announces Expanders

ORLANDO, Fla. -- PMC-Sierra, Inc. (Nasdaq:PMCS) today announced the newest additions to its end-to-end enterprise storage chipsets, the PM8004 SXP 24x6GSec and PM8005 SXP 36x6GSec SAS-2 expanders, to enable a new class of storage systems and enterprise server solutions. PMC-Sierras SAS-2 expander embedded switches significantly improve performance, manageability and security in enterprise storage applications such as virtualization, virtual tape libraries, Web 2.0 storage systems and server RAID. The expanders, together with PMC-Sierra’s Tachyon® protocol controllers, SRC RAID controllers and SPS active-active multiplexers, provide the industry’s first end-to-end chipset solutions for 6Gb/s SAS/SATA enterprise storage systems (see Figure 1) and enterprise server RAID (see Figure 2).

The SXP 24x6GSec and SXP 36x6GSec, 24- and 36-port 6Gb/s SAS expanders, are the fourth generation of PMC-Sierra’s market-leading maxSAS™ expander switch product line. They include advanced diagnostic and system fault isolation capabilities to improve system manageability and lower total cost of ownership. In addition, the devices double system performance by increasing data I/O throughput and supporting full 6Gb/s line rate on all ports. Support for SAS-2 multiplexing allows legacy SAS and SATA HDDs to take advantage of the devices’ improved bandwidth support. A comprehensive software development kit (SDK) leverages PMC-Sierra’s existing enclosure management architecture, enabling OEM storage providers to preserve their existing software investment and accelerate time to market.

“PMC-Sierra continues to introduce leading enterprise storage technologies that enable our customers to increase performance to 6Gb/s, differentiate their products with advanced SAS-2 features and lower development costs,” said Travis Karr, vice president of marketing for PMC-Sierra’s Enterprise Storage Division. “The market demand for our end-to-end storage systems and server storage chipsets is very strong as new applications drive the need for ever-increasing bandwidth, scalability and performance.”

PMC-Sierra Inc.