Adaptec’s Ultra320 SCSI Card

Adaptec card

As usual, Adaptec is on top of the heap. This is their highest performing dual-channel Ultra320 SCSI card with HostRAID™ RAID 0, 1, and 10 for data protection 2-channel, 64/133 MHz, full-height, half-length card. That’s a mouth full, but this is a powerful card. Since it moves data to/from a fast hard drive to a very fast CPU/memory combo, it can’t be a slow poke. The particular one used in this system is the 39320A-R. It has lots of features, but I’m most interested in its getting data to/from the HD and the rest of the computer. Bravo, it does it spendidly.

OK, but what about installing and set up? I just don’t know of anything that is simplier. Just install the card, pop the install CD in and respond to a few basic questions. Oh yes. Go to their web site and check for any updates.
           
The Adaptec SCSI Card 39320A-R is a 64-bit 133 MHz PCI-X, dual-channel Ultra320 SCSI card with integrated HostRAID. It is a very cost effective RAID 0, 1 and 10 solution. In addition, the Adaptec 39320A-R offers new drivers for HostRAID, both Linux and Windows Server 2003, as well as the same browser-based management tool used by Adaptec RAID products. The Adaptec 39320A-R provides data protection at the fastest SCSI speeds available up to 640 MByte/sec, ideal for mainline storage, streaming video and audio, and other bandwidth-intensive applications.

The Adaptec SCSI Card 39320A-R is designed for maximum configuration flexibility and ease of use. And it accomplishes those two things easily. This card is backwardly compatible with Ultra160, Ultra2, Ultra Wide and all other previous-generation SCSI devices. The card's PCI-X interface enables host bus rates of over 1 GigaByte per second, making it possible to take full advantage of Ultra320 SCS's doubled bandwidth.

Highlights of your package:

  • HostRAID RAID 0, 1 and 10 data protection (Windows and Linux)
  • Adaptec Seamless Streaming® - (what is this?)
  • 320 MByte/sec performance per channel
  • Seamless backward compatibility protects legacy devices
  • Industry-leading compatibility and reliability
  • Adaptec Storage Manager™ – Browser Edition
  • RoHS compliant – a European standard

Supported operating systems:

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003
  • Microsoft Windows 2000
  • Microsoft Windows XP
  • RedHat Linux 8.1 & 9.0
  • SuSE Linux 8.1 & 8.2
  • Novell NetWare 5.1& 6.0
  • Sun Solaris 9 (x86)
  • SCO / Caldera UnixWare 7.1.3
  • SCO / Caldera Open Unix 8

What’s best for you?

Dual-channel, Ultra320 card ideal for mid-range to enterprise servers requiring RAID mirroring or striping
Ideal for mid-range to enterprise servers and workstations requiring entry-level data protection. Could be used as a server or at one of several RAID levels. Like past Adaptec devices, it can chain upto 30 SCSI devices.
Internal Connectors - Two 68-pin Ultra320
Data Transfer Rate - 320 MByte/sec/channel
System Requirements - PCI slot (2.2 compliant)

Package Contents

  • One Adaptec SCSI Card 39320A-R
  • One 5-position Ultra320 SCSI LVD cable with terminator
  • Adaptec Storage Manager - Browser Edition software and supported operating systems drivers

Warranty:  5 year limited warranty, 2 years tech support
MTBF - 1,435,915 hours (I’ll be gone by then!)