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MegaRAID 8480 RAID Controller Description 1-3
Copyright © 2006-2007 by LSI Corporation. All rights reserved.
1.2 MegaRAID 8480 RAID Controller Description
The MegaRAID 8480 Storage Adapter is available with eight PHYs. The
MegaRAID 8480 has one Intel IOP333 I/O processor that controls eight
external SAS/SATA ports through two SAS 4x external connectors.
1.2.1 Controller Limitations
The MegaRAID 8480 Storage Adapter has the following limitations:
• You can connect only one device per SAS PHY unless you use an
expander
• You can use a maximum external cable length of six feet (LSI
recommends using shorter cables, if possible)
• Cables have to meet the SAS specification
• Though you can mix SAS drives and SATA drives in the same virtual
disk, LSI strongly discourages the practice
• See Section 3.3.4, “Electrical Characteristics,” for information about
the power requirements, and Section 3.3.5, “Operating and Non-
operating Conditions” for information about the minimum and
maximum temperature ranges
1.3 General Description
The MegaRAID 8480 Storage Adapter brings 3.0 Gbit/s Serial Attached
SCSI and 3.0 Gbit/s Serial ATA II performance to host adapter,
workstation, and server designs. The controller supports external storage
devices, which allows you to use a system that supports enterprise-class
SAS and desktop-class SATA II drives. Each MegaRAID 8480 Storage
Adapter can connect to drives directly and can use expanders to connect
to additional drives. Simplified cabling between devices is an additional
benefit.
The RAID controller integrates eight high-performance SAS/SATA II
PHYs and a PCI Express bus master DMA core. Each of the eight PHYs
is capable of 3.0 Gbit/s SAS link rates and 3.0 Gbit/s SATA II link rates.