Hardware RAID Controllers for Heavy-Duty Workloads
Data guardians delivering gigabit-level redundancy
Fast and secure: RAID controller Hardware
If you want multiple drives to store data with maximum fault tolerance, you need a dedicated hardware RAID controller. These data managers duplicate and distribute blocks so that no byte is ever lost.
Most BIOS/UEFI environments now include software RAID functions, but there’s a catch: they consume CPU resources and often throttle overall throughput. As in the real world, it pays to leave critical work to the pros.
Hardware RAID controllers pack serious intelligence: they handle all read/write operations, manage attached drives, and store data redundantly—without robbing the host server of performance. Models are available as PCIe cards or external units.
RAID Controller Categories
SATA RAID controllers from Areca offer an inexpensive and fast method of redundantly backing up SATAIII hard drives and SSDs.
SAS RAID controller from Areca and Broadcom/LSI with many ports (internal/external), tri-mode capable, cache size and PCIe generation.
NVMe RAID controllers offer raw NVMe power for the maximum possible performance.
External RAID controllers for the rack or for installation in externally accessible drive bays of a tower case.

The entry-level Areca RAID controller is equipped with integrated storage processors that enable true hardware RAID. It has its own local RAID processor and a dedicated onboard cache to handle all RAID processing on a hardware basis.
The NVMe RAID adapter also has a powerful 1066 MHz memory processor, DDR3-1066 memory architecture and two PCIe 2.0 x1 M.2 ports (suitable for 2280 and 22110 SSDs). It therefore supports 512 MB DDR3-1066 SDRAM memory as standard. As a 2-port M.2 NVMe RAID solution for desktop servers and workstations, the ARC-1203-2N offers fully functional hardware RAID. The ability of hardware RAID controllers to recover an array in the event of a hard drive failure is far superior to that of software RAID controllers.

The ARC-1203-2i model from Areca provides two SATA III ports for the PCIe bus (2.0 x1). The RAID controller offers high performance and ensures maximum protection with Fault Tolerance in Data Mirroring. With its two 6 Gbps SATA ports, the budget RAID adapter forms an entry-level solution with RAID security for desktop and workstations as well as entry-level servers.

Areca's ARC-1203-4i supports up to four SATA III drives as a PCIe-to-SATA RAID controller. The ARC-1203 series can be easily integrated into a variety of hardware and software platforms. This makes the RAID controllers ideal for both cost-effective and high-performance network-attached storage (NAS) systems that require high security and performance.

Areca's ARC-1203-8i supports up to eight SATA III drives as a PCIe-to-SATA RAID controller. The ARC-1203 series can be easily integrated into a variety of hardware and software platforms. This makes the RAID controllers ideal for both cost-effective and high-performance network-attached storage (NAS) systems that require high security and performance.

SAS RAID controllers from Areca support the high-performance protection of up to four SAS/SATA drives at 6 Gbit/s. They have the same kernel as the proven external RAID controllers from the same company. They are ideally used as file servers, web servers, supercomputers, NAS, near-line backup, streaming, application servers (audio, video) and in security-relevant systems.

Areca's high-performance ARC-1216-4i 12 Gbit/s SAS RAID controllers support up to four internal SAS/SATA disks.The PCIe 3.0 host RAID controllers provide a cost-effective solution for up to four SAS peripherals. They are backward compatible with 6 Gbit/s and 3 Gbit/s SAS/SATA hard drives. With 1GB of onboard DDR3-1600 SDRAM, the ARC-12x6 series offsets lush cache memory that can be optionally protected from power failures via BBM.

Areca's high-performance ARC-1216-4i 12 Gbit/s SAS RAID controllers support up to four external SAS/SATA disks.The PCIe 3.0 host RAID controllers provide a cost-effective solution for up to four SAS peripherals. They are backward compatible with 6 Gbit/s and 3 Gbit/s SAS/SATA hard drives. With 1GB of onboard DDR3-1600 SDRAM, the ARC-12x6 series offsets lush cache memory that can be optionally protected from power failures via BBM.

Areca's high-performance ARC-1226-8i 12 Gbit/s SAS RAID controllers support up to eight internal SAS/SATA disks.The PCIe 3.0 host RAID controllers provide a cost-effective solution for up to eight SAS peripherals. They are backward compatible with 6 Gbit/s and 3 Gbit/s SAS/SATA hard drives. With 1GB of onboard DDR3-1600 SDRAM, the ARC-12x6 series offsets lush cache memory that can be optionally protected from power failures via BBM.
Starline benefits
We know which components work together because we test the connectivity extensively in advance.
On-site service or on-site installation can be booked - on request also within four hours (24 x 7 x 4).
You will receive skilled technical advice from Starline - by e-mail, telephone and, if required, via remote support.
From SATA to SSD to Tri-Mode: powerful hardware RAID
Starline offers 6 Gbit/s SATA models and 12 Gbit/s SAS models from Areca, ATTO, HighPoint, and Broadcom/LSI, supporting up to 512 drives. Our latest Tri-Mode adapters even manage NVMe drives—mixed with SAS or SATA if needed. That makes our controllers a perfect fit for modern data centers, servers, high-end workstations, Mac systems, and virtualization.
- High data security for SSDs and HDDs
- On-board processor for high transfer rates
- Battery-backed cache to prevent data loss
- Optimized drivers for maximum performance
