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As the leading designer and manufacture of RAID storage subsystems, Infortrend focuses on creating cost-effective and high performance subsystems. In order to meet the data protection and functionality demands, all Infortrend’s disk-array subsystems require passing several critical tests.

Thermal Analysis

A RAID subsystem is composed of various components including RAID controllers, hard disk drives, power supplies, integrated circuit boards, hot-swap mechanisms, chassis, etc. The heat that is generated by these components becomes the threatening concern for system stability. Infortrend uses the world’s most popular FLOTHERM electronic heat analyzer software to evaluate the heat dissipation efficiency. This helps to save time and costs while providing actual temperature measurements. Only through the actual tests can we be certain that the air intakes are correctly guiding cooling air to the heat generating area and then expel the excess heat. Infortrend’s thermal designs, as proven by the relentless thermal tests, ensure high availability operation in mission-critical applications. Infortrend's RAID subsystems are always validated through strict temperature tests to ensure that we provide systems with the best heat dissipation performance that will continue to run for long periods of time.

Vibration Test

Vibration tests ensure all subsystems will not be damaged by considerable impacts during shipping processes and environmental vibrations received at the installation site. In other words, programmed vibration tests are conducted in static, packaged, or operation statuses. Infortrend follows the specifications set by world-famous standard institutions, integrating test results with design changes to ensure that our products can withstand vibration to set standards. This is to ensure that the RAID systems received by customers can be successfully installed, tested, and integrated to start services after delivery.

Infortrend utilizes the services of well-known validation organizations and incorporates the test results into its design efforts, ensuring that the RAID systems’ design and functionality meet the expected standard. The validation process is based on industry standards and use of an actual product sample. In accordance with the specifications, the product is tested on acceleration, orientation, experiment duration, experimental severity and more. Vibration testing conditions include sine wave testing or random wave testing during the design phase. Different test frequencies and time settings are used to conduct vibration tests along different axes according to the wave type.

Shock and drop test

Accidental impacts to the subsystems may occur during a rack-mounting or relocation process. Shock tests aim to verify the extent of physical impacts a subsystem can sustain. When a RAID is being installed in a cabinet, the operator may knock the system; therefore, cabinet and rack may against each other. Alternatively, the system may be subjected to strong impact during shipping. The shock test for the RAID is mainly intended to test the possible effects caused by the impact in order to analyze how much external force the system needs to be proofed against. Before the shock and drop test, the subsystem must be completed by the vibration test.
The shock test involves various tests in various axes over time to test for the following:

• Half Sine Wave test: to test robustness of the RAID’s external casing.
• High Speed Drop Test: to test how much force the more fragile parts of the RAID can take.
• Square Wave Test: used to test the overall structural strength of the RAID.
• Sawtooth Wave Test: used to magnify the conditions described above.

Drop tests are conducted on packaged products and aim to discover the robustness of and packaging design. By observing the effectiveness of shock-absorbing materials on different impact angles(top, bottom, left, right, front and rear), drop tests ensure an appropriate packaging design against damages to functional and appearance integrity. Through proper packaging and design, we ensure the system is properly protected and made vibration-proof. The anti-drop protection of the system from the packaging is also verified.

The RAID systems from Infortrend are tested not only in simulations but also to the destruction of actual products using shock and drop testing. These help design outstanding mechanisms and packaging that achieve the highest standards of robustness.

Emission and CE Safety Certification

Emission and Safety standards vary significantly among different countries around the world in terms of government regulations and industry standards. Compliance to the emission and safety regulations is one aspect of a reliable RAID subsystem. The main purposes of meeting various standards are:

• To prove that products produce no negative effects on users and environment
• To ensure the circulation of goods in a specific or a gourp of countries are free from legal concerns
• Infortrend’s RAID arrays are designed and manufactured to meet various requirements through tests in thermal performance, vibration, and shock drop or in various electrical emission and safety factors. Our RAID arrays feature high MTBF (Mean Time between Failures) and have proved their reliability in compliance with thousands of test regulations. Widely applied throughout the world, they have gained reputation through years of deployments in myriad real-world applications. The safety certification standard for electromagnetic radiation is an important issue for RAID systems. As companies around the world all continue to pursue strict quality standards, the CE certification signifying the quality of the RAID system is a compulsory test for companies that are seeking to enter the international market.

Infortrend’s RAID systems have been subjected to the strictest quality control whether it’s for temperature, vibration, shock and drop testing. In addition, Infortrend has been certified for electromagnetic radiation and CE safety. Equipped with a dependable MTBF testing capability and having passed thousands of hardware tests, Infortrend provides a full range of world-class and reliable RAID systems.