Intel Expands I/O Building Block Family To Include Intel® Integrated RAID Design Kit, Software And Controller

Intel® Integrated RAID Building Blocks Simplfy Development of RAID Solutions

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan.19, 2000 - Intel Corporation today announced new products to build high-performance, affordable redundant array of independent disks (RAID) solutions, as part of its family of I/O building block products. Intel® Integrated RAID building blocks are based upon open-industry specifications and are pre-validated with Intel processors, chipsets and leading network operating systems for fast time-to-market on entry and mid-range level servers and workstations. Products are available at multiple levels of integration ranging from I/O processors to completed adapter cards.

Wendy Vittori, general manager, Intel I/O Products Division, states, "The growth of e-commerce and e-business means more data delivered to more users. This data needs to move faster, with higher reliability and quality of service than ever before. Intel I/O building blocks will enable a wider range of customers to integrate high performance I/O in server and workstation products." Intel's I/O efforts are focused in four application areas:

• Supporting increased system bandwidth and CPU performance by offloading I/O functions, such as I/O reads and interrupts not readily scalable with system performance.
• Fulfilling the potential of emerging higher-bandwidth I/O technologies.
• Increasing I/O processor performance to track with available bandwidth and I/O transaction performance.
• Enabling better scalability of system performance and slot count.

Intel Integrated RAID Building Block Products
The Intel Integrated RAID Design Kit SMU22R, a two channel Ultra2 SCSI RAID design based on the high-performance and integrated data flow architecture of the Intel i960® RM I/O processor, will allow original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to meet the need for cost effective, high-performance intelligent RAID. The design kit includes the schematics and descriptions for hardware manufacturing and the Intel Integrated RAID software stack complete with drivers, utilities and firmware, all validated with Intel's latest server processors and chipsets.

The Intel Integrated RAID Controller KMU21 is a single channel Ultra2 SCSI RAID controller validated for use in server and workstation platforms. The SMU22R and KMU21 feature LSI Logic Ultra2 LVD SCSI controllers. "Intel's Intelligent I/O building block announcement reaffirms the industry's direction toward increasing levels of I/O sophistication and aligns well with LSI Logic's long established strategic direction," said Bill Wuertz, vice president, I/O Products, LSI Logic Corporation.

The Intel Integrated RAID software combines the ease of use of a Web browser with advanced capabilities that keep servers online and data available around the clock. OEMs can create their own look and feel across multiple operating systems while maintaining consistent graphical user interface and hard disk data formats. "Intel Integrated RAID software provides RAID management capabilities in the form of a highly integrated building block that is pre-qualified to work with the controller hardware. This simplifies the development process and enables ASUS* to deliver a more reliable RAID solution to our customers," said Jerry Lee, associate vice president, Systems Business, ASUSTeK* Computer Inc.

Increasing Data Reliability
Organizations of all sizes face a deluge of data that must be accessed, processed, stored and retrieved. Simultaneously, multimedia applications are generating richer and more complex data types. Robert Gray, research director at IDC's Storage Systems, explains, "Mission-critical data systems are increasing from the growth of the Internet economy and proliferation of Web-based e-business. Protecting disk storage through RAID technology is a necessity, which is driving demand for low-cost, high-performance RAID solutions. By 2003, revenue demand for entry-level server storage will grow by 33 percent."

Intel I/O Processors
High integration, proven development tools and rigorous validation accounts for why world-leading server vendors choose Intel I/O processor core building blocks in their RAID solutions. According to Subo Guha, director, Product Marketing, Dell Enterprise Systems Group, "Embedded RAID controllers on the server or workstation's system board, also known as RAID-on-Motherboard, offer significant cost benefits compared to other PCI-based RAID implementations. Implementations that incorporate Intel I/O processors can improve data transfer rates and reduce interrupt demands on the system microprocessor. Dell's PowerEdge* 2400 Workgroup Servers features an embedded single-channel RAID controller with 64 MB cache based on the Intel i960 I/O processor."

Intel i960 RM/RN I/O processors feature tight integration of buses and functional units, such as a PCI-PCI bridge, a hardware XOR engine for RAID 5 parity calculations, multiple concurrent data paths, including primary and secondary PCI buses and a PCI-style internal bus, an integrated memory controller for flash memory and ECC SDRAM, and a high-performance processor core. Functional units are supported by the IxWorks* real-time operating system from Wind River Systems*, an implementation of the I2O* software architecture. According to Dave Fraser, vice president, Networks Business Unit and general manager, Wind River Networks business unit, "IxWorks is a complete operating system for advanced applications such as RAID, and is bundled with the Intel I/O processors. We worked with Intel to supply API that enable drivers to use the powerful integrated features of Intel I/O processors."

Intel's I/O Processor Roadmap
The Intel I/O processor family will continue to evolve, with performance and feature enhancements designed to keep developers on the leading edge. Near-term enhancements to Intel's i960 I/O processor family include support for 100 MHz SDRAM and an easy upgrade path to PCI-66. Future I/O processors will be based on Intel's second-generation StrongARM® I/O processor architecture. This architecture will enable processor performance of up to 600 MHz at introduction and is designed to support emerging I/O technologies, including PCI-X and InfiniBand*. Based on Intel's advanced manufacturing process technology, the second-generation StrongARM architecture is designed to support price-performance RAID solutions in a variety of different implementations.

Using I2O* Driver Architecture Adds Interoperability
The I2O software architecture is a key component of Intel Integrated RAID building blocks. I2O provides the communication mechanism between RAID device driver modules, the I/O processor's real-time operating system and the Network Operating System running on the host processor. By implementing an I2O core compliant driver architecture, device drivers are interoperable across supported NOS platforms for faster OEM validation and development of RAID solutions.

"HP was a founding company of the I2O special interest group and has had significant input into the development of the specifications. Future benefits as I2O is fully implemented include improved server efficiency, reduced CPU utilization, plug-and-play flexibility and a more stable I/O platform," said Larry Shintaku, chief technology officer for HP's Network Server Division. "The HP NetRAID-3si disk array controller is the first in a line of HP NetServer system products that will support the I2O standard. The Intel i960 processor provides a single-chip I2O solution."

Pricing and Availability
The Intel® Integrated RAID Development Kit, now available to OEMs through local Intel sales offices and priced at $9,995, includes the SMU22R reference design, the KMU21 controller card, licensed software, Integrated RAID CD and technical documentation.

I/O Processors development kits are available for the entire Intel i960® Rx I/O processor family, and includes a Cyclone evaluation board, complete SW tools including compiler, JTAG emulator, and detailed documentation. For more information, visit http://developer.intel.com/design/iio/devtools/.

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