What if there were SATA hardware and software that worked seamlessly with IBM's Virtual I/O system on System p and RS/6000 systems running AIX? As it turns out, there is: Ease Software, Inc.'s SATA-on-AIX drives. What's more, SATA-on-AIX eliminates the need for SCSI or SAS drives--at a cost five to 10 times less than either one.

Most IBM users would agree a SCSI or SAS drive is the logical way to manage LPARs and their myriad disks. And IBM's Virtual I/O server allows those partitions to operate smoothly with limited hardware. But when a naked 300-gigabyte SAS drive costs nearly $2,000, and a 300-gigabyte SCSI drive costs roughly half that, neither option is affordable for small and mid-sized enterprises. A 300-gigabyte SATA-on-AIX drive, by contrast, is just $200.

But what about performance? SATA-on-AIX shines there, too, with 250 megabytes-per-second actual transfer rates per four-channel SATA port, according to Ease Software. The drives are hot swappable and provide up to 15 terabytes per host bus adapter, the company says.

SATA-on-AIX is also an attractive option to Internet service providers (ISPs) whose customers want machines of their own. More stable-and more easily serviced-than Linux, a single AIX P5 platform can hold several customer "machines," and the LPAR/SATA-on-AIX combination makes it affordable.

"Because a SATA drive costs 80 to 90 percent less than a SCSI or SAS drive, other options become possible to small and mid-sized organizations," explained Perry Smith, Ease Software president. "For instance, backups. Backups often get neglected, but everyone knows they're absolutely necessary. With disks as inexpensive as ours, customers can afford to have their disk systems 'mirrored.' In that case, they get the functionality and performance of RAID 5 without the read, with double the bandwidth, but at just $2 per gig. Things like that become viable options when clients are able to save such a significant amount of money on their LPAR solutions."

About Ease Software, Inc.

Based in Austin, Texas and founded by IBM veterans who worked on RS/6000 from its inception in 1988, Ease Software has been a leader in AIX consulting for over 10 years. The company has been a direct IBM vendor, providing consulting services to IBM, as well as to private businesses and government entities, since 1995. To learn more, visit Ease Software at http://www.easesoftware.com.