UCSC-MRAID-SC=: Technical Deep Dive and Enterprise Storage Configuration Strategies

Defining the UCSC-MRAID-SC= Component

The ​​UCSC-MRAID-SC=​​ is a Cisco UCS hardware RAID controller designed for the C-Series rack servers. Cross-referencing Cisco’s UCS storage architecture documentation and itmall.sale’s product listings confirms its role as a ​​12G SAS modular RAID controller​​ with integrated cache. This component is critical for enterprises requiring hardware-accelerated data redundancy, particularly in high-transaction environments like financial databases or virtualized SAP HANA clusters.

Technical Architecture and Performance Metrics

Core Hardware Specifications

• ​​LSI SAS 3108 chipset​​: Supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60 with up to 2GB DDR3 cache (1GB non-volatile flash-backed).
• ​​PCIe 3.0 x8 interface​​: Delivers 6.5 GB/s throughput for mixed read/write workloads.
• ​​Dual SFF-8643 connectors​​: Enables connectivity to 24 SAS/SATA drives in UCS C240 M5/M6 servers.

Compatibility and Firmware Requirements

itmall.sale categorizes this SKU under “Cisco UCS Storage Controllers,” with validated support for:

• ​​UCS C220/C240 M5/M6​​: For RAID-60 configurations with 12x 3.5” SAS HDDs.
• ​​Cisco Intersight Managed Mode​​: Centralized RAID monitoring via REST API telemetry.

Addressing Key Deployment Concerns

​​Q: How does UCSC-MRAID-SC= differ from software RAID solutions?​​

• ​​Hardware XOR acceleration​​: Reduces CPU overhead by 40% for RAID 5/6 parity calculations (Cisco Performance Hub benchmarks).
• ​​Cache consistency checks​​: Prevents data corruption during power loss via supercapacitor-backed cache modules.

​​Q: What RAID configurations are optimal for all-flash arrays?​​

For NVMe workloads, prioritize:

• ​​RAID 10​​: Balances performance (up to 550K IOPS) and fault tolerance.
• ​​Stripe sizes of 256KB–1MB​​: Optimized for large-block sequential writes in video surveillance storage.

​​Q: Can this controller support boot drives?​​

Yes, but only in ​​RAID 1 or RAID 1E​​ modes for UEFI-compliant OS installations like VMware ESXi 8.0 or RHEL 9.2.

Enterprise Deployment Scenarios

High-Frequency Transaction Databases

• ​​Write-back caching​​: Achieves 2ms latency for OLTP workloads on UCS C480 ML nodes.
• ​​RAID 60 with 16-drive groups​​: Mitigates dual-drive failures in 100TB+ MongoDB shards.

Virtualized Environments

• ​​VMware vSAN Ready​​: Pass-through mode for hybrid HDD/NVMe vSAN clusters.
• ​​Automatic rebuild prioritization​​: Redirects rebuild I/O to secondary paths during live VM migrations.

Lifecycle Management and Firmware

Smart Licensing Integration

The ​​UCSC-MRAID-SC=​​ operates under Cisco’s ​​Storage Utility License​​, enabling:

• ​​On-demand RAID tier upgrades​​: From RAID 5 to RAID 6 without downtime.
• ​​Cross-server license pooling​​: Share entitlements across multiple UCS C-Series systems.

Firmware Best Practices

• ​​Minimum 4.0(4a) firmware​​: Required for SAS 12Gbps link stability.
• ​​Quarterly consistency checks​​: Mandatory for PCI-DSS compliance in retail POS systems.

Procurement and Technical Validation

For enterprises requiring validated components, ​​UCSC-MRAID-SC=​​ is available here. itmall.sale provides:

• ​​Pre-flashed firmware​​: With Cisco’s 2024Q2 stability patches.
• ​​RAID profile templates​​: Including JBOD configurations for Kubernetes persistent volumes.

Final Observations

The ​​UCSC-MRAID-SC=​​ remains a cornerstone of Cisco’s on-prem storage strategy, but its PCIe 3.0 interface creates a bottleneck in NVMe-oF environments. While hardware RAID’s reliability is unmatched for legacy workloads, cloud-native enterprises should evaluate Cisco’s HyperFlex vs. software-defined alternatives like Ceph—especially when 25Gbps+ backend networks are already in place. For hybrid architectures, pairing this controller with UCS S3260 storage servers could reduce SAN latency by 30%, provided teams standardize on end-to-end multipath I/O policies.