08-08-2025 | Microchip Technology | Industrial
To better support server OEMs, storage systems, data centres and enterprise customers, Microchip Technology has released the Adaptec SmartRAID 4300 series of NVMe RAID storage accelerators. The new family is a feature-rich, secure, RAID-enabled, high-performance Software-Defined Storage (SDS) solution for NVMe deployments. The accelerators are particularly suited for modern AI data centre environments where accelerating access to NVMe storage is critical for supporting demanding workloads and maximising overall system performance.
The family takes a new approach to NVMe RAID by disaggregating the company's Smart Storage platform into separate software and hardware components. Employing its PCIe storage controllers as the underlying hardware to supply a supporting role for CPU offload and RAID acceleration, the accelerators separate the storage software stack to use the expanded host PCIe infrastructure for optimised data flows and connectivity. In extensive internal testing, the family has shown up to 7x increase in input/output (I/O) performance gains compared to previous generation offerings.
With Smart Storage software operating on the host CPU, I/O data flows maximise performance with writes occurring directly from the host CPU to the NVMe endpoints at their respective PCIe generational speeds, while parity-based redundancy (XOR) is offloaded from the host CPU to the accelerator hardware. This architecture manages bottlenecks inherent to conventional in-line storage solutions. It enables the accelerator to achieve high levels of scalability, flexibility, and support for Gen 4 and Gen 5 PCIe host CPUs, accommodating up to 32 CPU-attached x4 NVMe devices and 64 logical drives/RAID arrays.
"Our innovative solution with separate software and hardware addresses the limitations of traditional architectures that rely on a PCIe host interface slot for all data flows," said Brian McCarson, corporate vice president of Microchip's data centre solutions business unit. "The SmartRAID 4300 series allows us to enhance performance, efficiency and adaptability to better support modern enterprise infrastructure systems."
The family supports NVMe and cloud-capable SSDs, enabling tailored solutions that meet a diverse range of enterprise needs. Specific architectural and semiconductor design techniques, including automatic idling of processor cores and autonomous power reduction capabilities, optimise power efficiency, and multiple safeguards help maintain end-to-end data integrity. The accelerators are created with security features including hardware root of trust, secure boot/update, attestation and Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) support for enterprise-class data protection.
The series maintains the advanced features, functionality and hardware offload of the company's previous-generation of in-line enterprise storage products, while providing high performance that scales with the host, interconnect and CPU-attached NVMe endpoints.
The SmartRAID 4300 series is supported by a suite of host tools that include the Adaptec maxView tool with its HTML5-based web GUI, ARCCONF CLI and plug-ins for remote and local management of enterprise and data centre server platforms. These tools support in-band network management and are accessible via standard desktop and mobile browsers, maintaining compatibility with Adaptec SmartRAID tools for ease of integration. For out-of-band Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) management, the SmartRAID 4300 series has support for Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) standards-based management, Platform-Level Data Model (PLDM) and Redfish Device Enablement (RDE) via MCTP protocol.
