News | April 4, 2007

"Storage SATA Solution: Sonnet Announces Fusion R400Q Rack Mount SATA Drive Enclosure; 4-Bay, 1U Enclosure Features Quad Interface And SATA Port Multiplier

Sonnet Technologies, one of the leader in upgrades for Apple Mac computers and iPod mobile digital devices, announced Fusion R400Q, the addition to its line of acclaimed Serial ATA drive enclosures. This 13.5" deep, 4-bay rack mount drive enclosure provides unmatched flexibility—with four interface choices—FireWire 400, FireWire 800, USB 2.0, or for ultimate performance, SATA II. An integrated port multiplier supports up to four hard drives through any of the connections.

Fusion R400Q's hot-swappable 3.5" drive trays enable quick addition and swapping of storage on the fly. Users can install a single drive to start, add drives as needed, and purchase additional trays and drives to build a backup archive. Users can add the drives they want at a cost they can afford. With ever-increasing drive capacities and frequent drops in cost per gigabyte, Fusion R400Q is an intelligent alternative to populated enclosures.

This attractive enclosure's form factor allows it to be used in a wide range of applications. Its depth enables it to be used in the shortest portable racks, while its 1U height takes up minimal rack space. Four Fusion R400Qs can be handled with Sonnet's four-port SATA host bus adapters—the Tempo SATA E4P or Tempo SATA X4P. When configured in striped RAID 0 set, data transfer rates up to 200MB/s per 4-drive set are possible. "Fusion R400Q is an especially appealing choice for anybody who needs to increase storage capacity and deliver performance on a limited budget," states Robert Farnsworth, Sonnet CEO. "With the relatively low cost of deploying high capacity SATA drives, and the potential for high performance, Fusion R400Q offers superior availability to tape at a cost much less than SCSI or fibre channel." This enclosure is a perfect companion for Xserve, yet is platform-independent, making it compatible with most servers.

Fusion R400Q includes drive mounting hardware for each of its four included drive trays, and a cable for each interface. Its trays are interchangeable with Sonnet's Fusion 400 and Fusion 500P desktop SATA drive enclosures.

KEY FEATURES

  • 1U rack mount enclosure with 4 hot-swappable 3.5" drive trays
  • SATA II compliant; 3.0 Gb/s and 1.5 Gb/s auto-negotiation
  • Quad interface—eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0
  • Built-in SATA II port multiplier for one cable to host for all connection types
  • Universal 90–260V, 50-60Hz power supply
  • Drive Activity, Drive Presence, and Power LED indicators on front panel
  • Front panel power switch
  • Platform independent—works with Mac, Windows or Linux servers

COMPATIBILITY

Platform independent—Mac, Windows or Linux server

PRICING and AVAILABILITY

Fusion R400Q (part number ENC-SATA-R4Q) will be available in April 2007 for the suggested retail price of USD $699.

SOURCE: Sonnet Technologies