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PCI-X SAS RAID card comparison

Use the table in this topic to compare the features of PCI-X SAS RAID cards for IBM® i. There are also images of adapters for you to view.

Table 1. PCI-X SAS RAID controller card comparison
Features 572A 572C 572F and 575C 57B8
Description PCI-X 266 Ext Dual-x4 3 Gb SAS adapter PCI-X 266 planar 3 Gb SAS adapter PCI-X 266 Ext Tri-x4 3 Gb SAS RAID adapter PCI-X 266 planar 3 Gb SAS RAID adapter
Form factor Low profile 64 bit PCI-X Planar integrated Long 64 bit PCI-X, double-wide card set Planar RAID enablement
Physical links 8 (two mini SAS 4x connectors) 81 12 (bottom 3 mini SAS 4x connectors) and 2 (top mini SAS 4x connector for high availability only) 81
RAID levels supported RAID 53, RAID 63, system mirroring System mirroring RAID 5, RAID 6, system mirroring RAID 5, RAID 6, system mirroring
Write cache size     Up to 1.5 Gb (compressed) 175 MB
Read cache size     Up to 1.6 Gb (compressed)  
Cache battery pack technology     Lithium ion Not applicable2
Cache battery concurrent maintenance No No Yes4 Not applicable2
Cache data present LED No No No No
Removable cache card No No No No
Auxiliary write cache (AWC) support No No Yes Yes
Dual storage IOA configuration No No Yes No
Requires dual storage IOA configuration No No No No
  1. Some systems provide an external mini SAS 4x connector from the integrated backplane controller.
  2. The controller contains battery-backed cache, but the battery power is supplied by the 57B7 controller through the backplane connections.
  3. The write performance of RAID 5 and RAID 6 might be poor on adapters that do not provide write cache. Consider using an adapter that provides write cache when using RAID 5 or RAID 6.
  4. The cache battery pack for both adapters is contained in a single battery field-replaceable Unit (FRU), which is physically located on the 575C Auxiliary Cache card.

Adapter graphics

View the SAS RAID controllers.

Figure 1. CCIN 572A PCI-X266 External Dual-x4 3 Gb SAS adapter
CCIN 572A PCI-X266 External Dual-x4 3 Gb SAS adapter
Figure 2. CCIN 57B8 planar RAID enablement card
CCIN 57B8 planar RAID enablement card
Figure 3. CCIN 572F PCI-X266 Ext Tri-x4 3 Gb SAS RAID adapter and CCIN 575C PCI-X266 Auxiliary Cache adapter
CCIN 572F PCI-X266 Ext Tri-x4 3 Gb SAS RAID adapter and CCIN 575C PCI-X266 Auxiliary Cache adapter
Parent topic: Feature comparison of SAS RAID cards
Related concepts:
Dual storage IOA configurations
Dual storage IOA functions
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Last updated: Wed, February 15, 2012