Mylex Corp, which has been focusing on bringing its high level system RAID redundant array of inexpensive disks storage technology down to the workstation and desktop, has launched the AcceleRAID family, which takes advantage of Intel Corp’s new motherboards featuring on-board SCSI, to make RAID cheap enough for the low end market. The company’s traditional internal and external RAID controllers cost between $600 and $4,000, but with the growth of the internet and the need for web servers to be constantly available and reliable, Mylex saw the need to bring RAID down to the workstation and high end PC market. It started this strategy last year with the launch of RAIDPlus (CI No 3,190), which put RAID onto the SCSI host adapter. The AcceleRAID family is designed to work with Intel’s Nightshade N440BX motherboard, which moves the SCSI componentry from the RAID controller directly onto the system motherboard. The AcceleRAID family includes two products, the AcceleRAID 200 and AcceleRAID 250. The 200 uses Intel’s SCSI channels on the motherboard, plugging into the PCI/ISA slot on that board and turning the SCSI channels into RAID channels. It includes an Intel i960RD 66MHz processor, a monolithic Windows NT driver, Mylex firmware and Mylex’ new RAID controller chip. The AcceleRAID 250 also uses the Intel N440BX motherboard’s SCSI chipsets, but can also perform as a standalone RAID adapter or work in conjunction with the Intel board to provide an extra RAID channel. The AcceleRAID 200 is due to ship by the end of this month, and will cost in the low $400’s for distributors and less for OEM’s. The 250 is due next April and should cost around $100 more than the 200. Suresh Panikar, Mylex director of product marketing, says other board vendors, such as Acer Inc will be bringing out on-board SCSI, and the AcceleRAID family will be compatible with these. The new products will see the company moving into the high volume business, and Panikar admits that while it has had some experience of this, it is currently in the process of gearing up to cope with the volumes. He said the margins on these lower cost products were still good, and the lower dollar contribution would be balanced by higher volumes. Panikar believes the company is opening up a whole new business, in low level RAID controllers, and this should add to, rather than replace the company’s traditional business.
