Contents:

	Why would I buy an Adaptec 2420SA or 2820SA RAID Controller?
	What is the Adaptec Advanced Data Protection Suite?
	In what environment should I use the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA?
	How many drives do the Adaptec 2420SA or 2820SA support?
	What is the size of the cache memory for the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA?
	Do the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA have battery backup for the cache memory?
	What RAID levels are supported?
	What Adaptec RAID management tools are available, and what are the purposes of each?
	What does the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA kit include?
	What operating systems are supported?
	What is the warranty period on the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA?

Why would I buy an Adaptec 2420SA or 2820SA RAID Controller?		top of page

The Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA are the second generation Serial ATA RAID controllers from Adaptec and feature an Adaptec RAID-on-chip (ROC) ASIC running Adaptec RAID Code (ARC) providing the industry's most advanced feature set and highest level of data protection. These second generation cards have added SATA support for transfer rates up to 3Gb/sec as well as Native Command Queuing (NCQ) and SES2 enclosure management.

In addition, Adaptec offers advanced features through the Adaptec Advanced Data Protection Suite.

What is the Adaptec Advanced Data Protection Suite?		top of page

The Advanced Data Protection Suite is a collection of standard and optional features offering customers advanced storage management and data protection features.

New Standard Features:

• The new Dual Drive Failure Protection feature (RAID 6, 60) delivers the ability to survive two simultaneous drive failures, protecting data during the extended array rebuild times required by new large capacity disk drives. A RAID 60 array allows two drive failures for each leg of a multi-layer array for optimal data protection. Dual Drive Failure Protection is particularly interesting for use with large capacity disk drives which exhibit longer rebuild times. This results in a larger window of vulnerability where a second drive failure (in RAID 5) could bring down a server.
• Hot Space (RAID 5EE) distributes the hot spare space within the RAID 5 array, increasing the number of spindles in the array, and therefore, the I/O performance.
• Striped Mirror (RAID 1E) provides mirrored data protection over an odd number of disk drives by mirroring the data stripes rather than the drives.
• Copyback Hot Spare lets administrators designate a physical drive location as a hot spare. When a failed drive is replaced, the data is copied back to the replaced drive from the spare, and the Hot Spare physical location is maintained as initially assigned.

Snapshot Backup (Optional):

• The optional Snapshot Backup feature offers the ability to create up to four point-in-time copies of an array or logical device for improved data backup. These snapshot volumes can be used as a temporary backup volume in cases where the primary storage is damaged, such as a virus attack. Additionally, snapshot volumes can be used to simplify backup to tape without disrupting access to the production volume.

In what environment should I use the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA?		top of page

The Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA are ideal for departmental and workgroup servers and workstations requiring advanced RAID features, supporting up to four (Adaptec 2420SA) or eight (Adaptec 2820SA) Serial ATA drives.

How many drives do the Adaptec 2420SA or 2820SA support?		top of page

The Adaptec 2420SA supports up to four Serial ATA (3Gb/s or 1.5Gb/s) drives and the Adaptec 2820SA supports up to eight.

What is the size of the cache memory for the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA?		top of page

The Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA standard cache memory is 128MB ECC-protected DDR DRAM. A 256MB cache memory option is also available.

Do the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA have battery backup for the cache memory?		top of page

Yes, both the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA offer battery backup support through the Adaptec Battery Module 500 (sold separately under part number 2213700-R). This Lithium ION battery module offers up to 72 hours of cache memory backup. The Adaptec Battery Module 500 is covered by a 1-year warranty.

What RAID levels are supported?		top of page

The standard RAID levels for the Adaptec 2420SA are 0, 1, 1E, 5, 5EE, 6 and 10. The standard RAID levels for the Adaptec 2820SA are 0, 1, 1E, 5, 5EE, 6, 10, 50 and 60.

What Adaptec RAID management tools are available, and what are the purposes of each?		top of page

The Adaptec Serial ATA II RAID 2420SA and 2820SA products include the following management tools:

1. Adaptec Storage Manager™ - Adaptec's management utility which centralizes of all Adaptec RAID products. Adaptec Storage Manager enables remote RAID management, monitoring, and configuration through secure, encrypted communication.
2. ARCCONF (Command Line Interface - CLI) - text-based command line interface that provides the same functions as Adaptec Storage Manager in environments where a GUI is not available.
3. BIOS configuration utility (ACU) - used for quick and easy local setup without booting the OS.

What does the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA kit include?		top of page

• Adaptec 2420SA or 2820SA controller
• Quick Install Guide
• RAID Installation CD (bootable) including drivers and documentation
• Adaptec Storage Manager Installation CD including management software and documentation
• Four 1-meter SATA cables in the Adaptec 2420SA Kit or eight 1-meter SATA cables in the Adaptec 2820SA Kit
• Low-profile bracket (in addition to the full-size bracket attached to the controller)

What operating systems are supported?		top of page

The Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA support Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000, RedHat Linux , SuSE Linux, Netware and FreeBSD. For specific OS versions, see www.adaptec.com

What is the warranty period on the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA?		top of page

Like all Adaptec products, the Adaptec 2420SA and 2820SA has been extensively tested with third-party systems to deliver the utmost in compatibility, now and in the future. It is backed by a 3-year warranty and Adaptec's industry-leading technical support.