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| Page 1 of 8 | Author: Wymun
Date of review: 17-March-2000
Type Of Review: Miscellaneous |
Are You 'RAID'-y??
Since its conceptual birth in a Berkeley research lab some 13 years back, SCSI HDD RAID (Redundant Array Independent Disk) setups have grown to become synonymous with uncompromising performance in efficiency and reliability. With evolving RAID levels over the years (from RAID 0 to 7, 1/0), it has developed into a fully mature and de-facto HDD configuration for any demanding enterprise server requiring high loading and frequent access. However, this performance comes at a heavy capital outlay (involving purchase of expensive SCSI drives and RAID controller cards), only affordable by companies serious in maintaining trouble-free servers.
However, the advent of faster ATA-66 drives (offering near SCSI brute performance) heralded the viability of plausible RAID IDE configurations to match their SCSI counterparts. Promise Technology, Inc. was the first to successfully unleash such a mini-technological breakthrough, with the development of its FastTrack ATA66 RAID controller card, finally availing RAID for regular PC consumers and smaller companies alike.
Hot on their tracks, HighPoint Technologies also announced the release of their own HPT368 chip, sporting similar RAID functionality. Taiwanese High-end Mainboard and I/O controller manufacturer – Iwill (renowned for their high quality SLOTKET II convertors), is probably the first to license it for their very own rendition of an IDE RAID controller card, the Iwill SIDE RAID66.
But will it be as well received as its Promise counterpart, whom we’ve witnessed nothing short of complimentary reviews? Especially considering my past nightmarish experiences with HPT366 via the ABIT HotRod card, I was rather skeptical as how much improved its successor would be. In any case, Iwill was gracious enough to offer us a rare sample for review, to offer an answer to this provocative question…
So buckle up, as we burn and scorch our HDDs to determine if the Iwill SIDE RAID-66 controller card is indeed, worthy of its RAID claim!!
Hmmm…Doesn’t bear marks of sophistication, but let’s see how it performs…
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