(2008/1/21, Taipei) The SCSI/IDE/SATA/RAID interface and storage solution provider, ACARD Technology, unveiled today its new generation of SCSIDE II products in the Bridge160/320 range. The four high-performance SCSI-to-SATA HDD enclosure models intended for industrial-grade applications are ARS-2160 (160MB/s; 68-pin), ARS-2160H (160MB/s; 80-pin hot-swappable), ARS-2320 (320MB/s; 68-pin) and the ARS-2320H (320Mb/s; 80-pin hot-swappable). These enclosures are high-tech products based on SOC (System-on-Chip) technology that convert 2.5" SATA (Serial ATA) HDDs to the SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) interface. This revolutionary development allows 2.5" SATA HDDs to be used as high-performance LVD SCSI HDD enclosures. SCSI has long been the interface of choice for high-end storage applications due to its low CPU overhead, multi-tasking support, high performance and high reliability. The high cost of SCSI HDD HDDs for maintenance and storage capacity upgrades very expensive. Therefore, SCSI HDD enclosures offer a much more favorable option for budget users seeking high performance and high availability.

The Bridge160/320 from ACARD can not only achieve transfer rates of 160MB or 320MB per second, but are also offered at a very reasonable price. The ARC767 core of the Bridge160/320 chipset is used as a SCSI-to-IDE bridge. This is then passed through the ARC722 SATA bridge to achieve compatibility with most SATA HDD products on the market. As it is uses a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) micro-controller, the ARC767 offers increased flexibility and stability for high-end storage applications. The ARCARD HDD enclosure is based on SCSIDE Ii ARC767 chip technology and offers a 3.5" form-factor bridge product that converts a standard 2.5" SATA HDD into a 3.5" LVD SCSI HDD compatible with most 3.5" HDD mounts. This means the Bridge160/320 chip and integrated SATA bridge chip in the ACARD HDD enclosure allows a 2.5" SATA HDD to effectively become a SCSI storage device.

Additionally, the latest 2.5" SATA HDDs released to the market now offer excellent performance. Some of the major HDD vendors have begun to design them for industrial applications as well, and these are becoming available at competitive prices. Currently, an Ultra160/320 SCSI 300GB HDD costs around US$500 retail. A 300GB 2.5" SATA HDD in an ACARD SATA-to-SCSI bridge HDD enclosure, however, costs just US$197 while delivering the same performance. Simply connect a 2.5" SATA HDD to the bridge HDD enclosure and it becomes a standard 3.5" SCSI HDD device. For corporate customers, this offers the same performance at half the cost, boosting their competitiveness and profit margins. This is the essence of ACARD products. If the Bridge product is used in conjunction with the ACARD' Ultra160/320 SCSI card, it will significantly boost system performance as well and offer increased reliability for the high-end storage market.