Businesses with large or rapidly expanding storage requirements often need storage solutions that provide high performance, scalability, and high availability. The IBM SerialRAID adapter and IBM serial storage disk systems offer flexibility, scalability, and cost-effective data protection for any type of application. The IBM SerialRAID adapter uses industry-standard Serial Storage Architecture (SSA) to provide flexible storage solutions for both clustered servers and single-server configurations for the Windows NT environment. This adapter is a member of the SSA family of storage interface adapters. These adapters are key building blocks in the IBM Seascape architecture, a blueprint for innovative storage solutions for a connected world.The SerialRAID adapter enables users to connect up to 96 SSA disk drives in two loops over a server's PCI bus. The SSA loop utilizes full duplex, point-to-point communication. The bi-directional loop architecture of SSA provides data protection by ensuring that a single cable failure will not prevent access to data. Should an SSA loop be broken, the SerialRAID adapter continues to access all devices on the loop segments. Once the path has been restored, the adapter automatically reconfigures the system to return to normal operation.