New Storage Processor and SATA Port Multiplier ICs

New Generation Storage Processor and SATA Port Multiplier Feature Dramatically Faster Processing, Lower Power Consumption, and Significantly Reduced Motherboard RAID Solution Cost

With the introduction of the SiI5923 SteelVine® Series 3 Core storage processor and the SiI3723 SteelVine Series 3 Core SATA 1:2 port multiplier Silicon Image further expanded its proven SteelVine storage product portfolio.  Key applications for these new single-chip solutions include personal computers (PCs), digital video recorder (DVRs) and consumer electronics (CE) motherboards, as well as storage enclosures.

SteelVine Series 3 Core products are designed for enhanced performance and system-level cost reduction without sacrificing functionality.  SteelVine Series 3 Core storage processors perform 38 percent faster and consume 33 percent less power compared to the previous generation of SteelVine products.

The SteelVine Series 3 Core Storage Processor
The SiI5923 SteelVine Series 3 Core storage processor offers an easy software path, enabling motherboard manufacturers to circumvent cryptic BIOS configuration screens and multiple windows drivers.  In addition, the SiI5923 SteelVine Series 3 Core storage processor features Silicon Image’s performance RAID, which allows users to easily speed up or add automatic backup features, adding additional drives as needed.

The bill of material for the SteelVine Series 3 Core storage processor is one-half compared to its predecessor, a cost reduction achieved through integration of external components and size reduction. The form factor of this new single chip has also been reduced by 64 percent from an 88-pin QFN to a 40-pin QFN. Key features include:

• Storage offload engine (100 percent)
• eSATA-capable device ports
• RAID 1 performance (racing)
• RAID 0 low latency (high performance)
• Easy to use auto mirror/failover (automatic sector recovery)
• High-performance hardware acceleration

 

The SiI3723 SteelVine Series 3 Core SATA 1:2 Port Multiplier
The new port multiplier supports host and device rates of 1.5 Gbps or 3 Gbps with auto-negotiation, providing both system designers and end users with SATA hard disk drive flexibility. Key features include:

• One host and two device ports
• Storage SATA port multiplier
• eSATA compatible device ports
• Automatic down shift to Gen 1
• LED pins for each PHY
• Enhanced performance option