Spectra Logic Transforms Tape Connectivity with the OSW-2400 Switch

Through the use of active optical cables, the OSW-2400 switch enables connection distances up to 100 meters, enabling SAS fabrics to cover data center floor spaces up to 10,000 m² (107,639 sq ft), connect between building floors, or extend to nearby buildings, increasing deployment flexibility and simplifying connectivity between servers and tape storage systems.

By adopting a switched SAS fabric, servers requiring access to tape storage deployed beyond in-rack or rack-to-rack cable distances can now use optical SAS connectivity, enabling the use of lower-cost SAS tape drives and reducing or eliminating the need for more expensive Fibre Channel network infrastructure. 

Based on the Serial-Attached SCSI 4.0 (SAS-4) standard, the OSW-2400 switch provides up to 48 24G lanes operating at 22.5 Gb/s, delivering 1.08 Tb/s of bandwidth, or an aggregate data transfer rate of 108 GB/s. 

The OSW-2400 switch supports current-generation SAS-3 tape drives including LTO-9 and IBM TS1170 Enterprise Tape Drives. It also provides backward compatibility with SAS-2 devices, preserving investments in previous-generation host bus adapters and SAS-enabled tape drives including LTO-6, LTO-7, LTO-8, and IBM TS1160 Enterprise Tape Drives.

Supporting T10 and port-to-port zoning, the OSW-2400 switch enables one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many sharing of Spectra tape libraries. Switch cascades may also be configured to expand the number of fabric connections or extend connection distances beyond the limits of a single switch.

“When managing data at scale, the cost of access can be a significant component of overall storage costs. Extending SAS beyond the rack is a practical way to reduce these costs,” said Simon Robinson, Principal Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, part of Informa TechTarget. “By making SAS connectivity to tape available across the data center, Spectra is helping to lower the total cost of data archival in large-scale data environments, as well as increase deployment flexibility.”

“The Spectra OSW-2400 Optical SAS Switch represents a unique and transformative step forward in data center tape connectivity,” said Nathan Thompson, CEO, Spectra Logic. “By reducing or eliminating the need for expensive Fibre Channel infrastructure, organizations can simplify their tape operations and achieve greater flexibility, while maintaining the performance and reliability they expect.”

Spectra OSW-2400 Key Features:

• Extended Connectivity: Active optical cables extend connection distances up to 100 meters, enabling physical scale-out, resource sharing, and enhanced deployment flexibility.
• Lowest Cost Per Port: Connection costs are up to 70% less than comparable Fibre Channel infrastructure, offering significant savings in acquisition, maintenance, and upgrades.
• Highest Performance: Delivers 22.5 Gb/s per lane, the maximum SAS throughput available today. End device frame buffering (EDFB) optimizes bandwidth when using slower devices, improving data transfer rates by as much as 50%.
• Reliable & Efficient: Hot-swappable dual power supplies and redundant cooling fans offer the highest reliability, with energy consumption between 40-136 watts depending on configuration. 1U short-depth packaging with front or back mounting options provides maximum flexibility in rack placement.
• Simplified Operation: Eliminates the need for specialized Fibre Channel skills. Provides easy-to-deploy switched topologies, including one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many configurations.

Specifications

The Spectra OSW-2400 Optical SAS Switch features 12 x 4 wide Mini-SAS HD ports. Each port is capable of connecting four devices such as servers or tape drives. Switch configurations start at 12 SAS-4 lanes (3 ports) and scale in increments of 12 lanes (3 ports) up to a maximum of 48 lanes (12 ports.) Both active optical and passive cables are supported.

Field-installed port upgrades are available in increments of 12 lanes (3 ports), providing a convenient growth path. A maximum of 40 tape drives per switch can be configured.

The OSW-2400 switch features a 1U short-depth rack mount enclosure. Dimensions are 1.735” x 17.31” x 12”, with front or back mounting options that simplify cabling and direct exhaust toward hot aisles regardless of mounting position. 

Engineered for five-nines availability, the OSW-2400 switch provides highly reliable operation. For high-availability configurations, a second switch may be deployed in a dual-ported configuration to ensure continued server and drive access in the event of a switch failure.

A 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet port and application software is also included for out-of-band management access. 

Availability

The Spectra OSW-2400 Optical SAS Switch is available for Q1 delivery.

For more information on the Spectra OSW-2400 switch, visit the website here.

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