Aerial  Hot Swap Disk Drives

Each Aerial Hot Swap Disk Drive is optimized for array use and specific OS performance using PerifiTech's patented SCSI Prep utility. These Hot Swap modules are designed for key-lock removal, which is also a bus-disconnect mechanism to avoid glitches on the SCSI bus. The handle doubles as an intake manifold to draw air into the module. Low operating drive temperatures are assured as air is drawn through the module by a rear-mounted fan.

Flexibility and Growth

Disk storage can be increased at any time by adding additional Aerial Disks. Now with dynamic expansion support, no longer is it necessary to re-configure the array each time hard disks are added or removed. RAID modes can also be configured and later reconfigured through simple software techniques without having to re-cable the array. All Aerial Array Subsystems will accommodate any combination of Aerial Disks, DATs, DLTs, or CD ROMs.

Aerial Array Subsystems address power fault tolerance through hot swap power supply modules matched to the disk population and array capacity. Modules load-share under normal operation, and will take over full-load in the event of any supply failure. Failed supplies can be changed during server operation with externally accessible locks and handles. Maximum half-height device capacities for the four Tower configurations are: Aerial 28 Series - 8 HH devices; Aerial 36 Series - 10 HH devices; Aerial 96 Series - 24 HH devices; Aerial 144 Series - 36 HH devices. The Rack Mount chassis will support up to 8HH devices.

PerifiTech Aerial Arrays provide the highest degree of data availability and storage fault tolerance for today's demanding enterprise systems. Aerial Arrays attach to network servers or workstations using an enhanced SCSI interface to ensure high performance and scalability for future storage expansion. PerifiTech's unique design specifications allows the Aerial Array to offer the following highlights:

· Ultra 2 or Ultra WIDE SCSI Open Architecture Implementation
· RAID O/1, true RAID 3, RAID 5 and RAID 10 inter-flexibility
· Maximum Data Integrity with High Data Availability
· Total Storage and Power Fault Tolerance for Zero Array Downtime

· Ease of Installation and Serviceability

The Aerial Array Family consists of three elements: The Array Controller, Hot Swap Disks and Redundant Power Systems. A variety of options based on capacity, application and budget can be added to all Aerial Arrays.

The  Aerial  Array Controller

This RAID 0, 1, 3, 5, or 10 high performance intelligent U2 or UW SCSI controller will link up to 30 drives. The Array Controller simultaneously distributes multi-threaded I/O requests from the host to perform high speed parallel data transfers. The three base SCSI channels offer a per-channel data transfer rate of 40 or 80 MB/s. The optional channel expansion board adds three additional channels. Each channel can be individually programmed as a host or disk channel. Automatic hot standby drive rebuilding allows the Aerial Array Controller to reconfigure the array, should a defective drive be detected. If a hot standby drive is not designated, the defective drive can be hot-swapped and rebuilt on-line. Controller and array status can be monitored via an LCD front panel display or remotley through the RS232 terminal port.