Seagate Launches 2TB Enterprise Class Drive With 6Gb SAS

Scotts Valley, California-headquartered Seagate Corporation has announced the launch of a 2TB Enterprise-Class (ES) drive that features 6Gbps SAS interface. The drive has been christened “Constellation”. The drive is offered with either a 3 Gbps SATA interface or a 6 Gbps SAS 2.0 interface.

A fourth-generation enterprise-centric device, the drive is touted as the industry’s first such drive by the company. Constellation is best suited for enterprise apps where data demand is extremely high. The 6 Gbps SAS helps in very high data integrity thanks to its error detection and correction (IOEDC/IOECC).

Measuring 26.1 mm(H) X 101.6 mm (W) X 146.99 mm (L), the device weighs 710 gm. The cache has a capacity of 16MB. The drive spins at 7,200 RPM, and can sustain data transfer at a rate of 150 Mbps. With an average latency of 4.16 ms, random read seek time of less than 8.5 ms and random write seek time of less than 9.5 ms, the product has one of the best performances for its particular category.

Constellation requires an average idle power of 8.0 W, runs on an average operating power of 12.2 W, and requires 11.2 W for seek.

Read more about an industry-first achievement by Seagate, here.

Broadcom Launches BCM96519 For Carrier Transport Network

A new multi-line digital subscriber line (DSL) terminal solution has been launched by Broadcom. The Irvine, California-headquartered company has announced the availability of BCM96519 to customers in the Ethernet-based wireless and wired backhauling application domain. Compared to copper-based transport and backhaul systems, the new solution is expected to increase the throughput of Ethernet connectivity over copper by almost 10-fold, touching speeds of up to 1 Gbps.

With mobile services now moving towards high throughput-demand apps such as mobile TV, live video sharing and high-resolution 3D gaming, a high-tech backend solution was needed that can provide multi-megabit per second (Mbps) backhauling links that can support 3G and 4G base stations (also called Node Bs or BTSs or Base transceiver stations).

The BCM96519 solution has the capability to feed IP service routers and remote DSL access concentrators at a high data rate and with low complexity. This enables this solution to complement the existing product portfolios of vendors. The BCM96519 is compatible with co-located ADSL and VDSL2 loops, and does a better job, according to a company press release, than legacy E1/T1 and G.SHDSL technologies.

Read more about the latest launch of a new solution that boosts connectivity throughput, here.

IBM Introduces New System x Servers

Armonk, New York-headquartered IBM Corporation has announced the launch of new System x Servers in the market. These systems run on two-socket Intel Xeon 5600-series processors.

The new line-up includes the following configurations:

- x3650 M3 and x3550 M3: these are rack servers.
- x3500 M3 and x3400 M3: these are enterprise tower servers.
- HS22 and HS22V: these are BladeCenter systems. The HS22V is a virtualization-optimized machine, and runs Java applications up to 43% faster than the earlier-generation machines.
- dx360 M3: this is an iDataPlex server. The dx360 M3 is the first two-socket server to touch 3,000 operations per watt. This yields to a 36% improvement from the previous generation of iDataPlex servers.

The new configurations offer a range of systems management tools, such as:

- IBM’s system director software: this tool can be used to pre-configure servers, remotely repurpose systems and set up automatic updates and recoveries.

- UEFI: or unified extensible firmware interface, this is a next-gen BIOS firmware.

- IMM: Integrated Management Module, which enables remote management, remote monitoring, as well as remote troubleshooting and repairing.

- ToolsCenter: this tool is ideal for small and medium businesses, and it simplifies acquisition and usage of system management tools.

Read more about new entries in the server market, here.

Intel Launches A New SSD, X25-V

Santa Clara-headquartered Intel Corporation has launched a new solid state drive called X25-V.

The new device is available for USD 125. Its capacity is 40 GB, and employs 34nm NAND flash memory technology. The target market for this drive is netbooks and dual-drive / boot drive desktop set-ups.

Salient features of solid state drives are that there are no mechanical, moving parts or spinning platters inside their body. This makes the drives especially useful in rugged environments such as netbooks that are portable and therefore liable to be used more roughly than are the traditional desktops. Further, the lack of any mechanical motion implies that responsiveness to system’s demands for read and write is faster than the traditional hard disk drive (HDD).

On a desktop, the SSD can be installed with the OS and favorite applications and fitted into the system. When booted, the desktop can then take advantage of the superior speed of the SSD to function, while data and files can be stored on the HDD. The SSD speeds operations at the time of boot-up, opening of apps and resumption from hibernation / stand-by.

Read more about the latest solid state drive launched by Intel, here.

Broadcom Introduces New Mobile Chip To Monitor Health Parameters

Irvine, California-headquartered Broadcom Corporation has announced the release of a new system-on-chip that will enable people to monitor certain key health parameters while on the move.

The new chip is called BCM2049, and is the first in a series of new-wave chips that will be built on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology and specifications. Mobile phone and other device manufacturers can incorporate this chip in their handsets and sell as value-add to customers. The chip allows mobile phones to be conveniently connected to sensors and monitors to aggregate and display data such as tracking the progress of their workouts, monitoring their heart rate, etc. This information can be displayed on the handset screens.

The Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology has been ratified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), which means that soon, the market is expected to see a new wave of devices which require very little power which can be drawn from coin-sized batteries. And since consumers are already familiar with Bluetooth, the acceptance of these new devices shouldn’t be difficult, according to analysts.

Read about the latest technology that can enable people to monitor their health while on the move, here.

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