LSI
MegaRAID SATA 300-8X: $450
www.lsilogic.com

The next generation of storage technology is here...almost. NVIDIA is already shipping Serial ATA controllers that conform to the 3 Gbps specification, pushing twice the bandwidth of today's drives. Those are really intended for mainstream use, though. LSI Logic's MegaRAID SATA 300-8X is an industrial implementation of the same SATA 3 Gbps technology.

The standard-height PCI-X card is purportedly geared toward entry-level and mid-range servers requiring a scalable RAID interface. It provides a great alternative to SCSI, and although there are only eight ports on the card, port multiplier support means that you can add four drives per port. The job of managing the ensuing storage traffic falls on an integrated Intel XScale IOP331 processor with 128MB of DDR333 memory serving as cache.

So what does that mean to your customer? It doesn't matter if they connect one drive or 32 of them; performance won't sag. Moreover, if they only use four ports today, the flexibility to add drives down the road is built-in. It isn't necessarily the entry-level solution that LSI suggests, per se, but for a medium-sized business with moderate storage needs, the MegaRAID 300-8X is much cheaper than going SCSI or SAS.

We're still waiting on 3 Gbps disk drives, unfortunately. Representatives at Seagate claim they'll be here in a few months. In the meantime, you can use older SATA 1.5 Gbps drives. They're backwards compatible and support many of the same performance-enhancing features as upcoming 3 Gbps models.

EMC
NewWin 110: $6,100
www.emc.com

EMC is giving resellers a little ammo in the battle against large Tier-one NAS appliance manufacturers such as HP and IBM with its NetWin 110. A 1U rack-mount device, NetWin centers on Microsoft Storage Server 2003 to natively support Microsoft Exchange on NAS. It's pretty much entry-level given EMC's massive portfolio of products, but it's still a significant step up for SMBs with burgeoning storage needs expected to continue growing. The server attaches directly to EMC's CLARiiON devices for either DAS or gateway-attached connectivity, scales up to 35GB, and employs an Intel-based server platform. NetWin is also compatible with EMC's Legato Replistor replication and recovery software, which comes pre-installed with a 30-day trial. And the NetWin 110 is only available through the channel, giving you a unique sales opportunity.

BENQ
FP785 17” Flat Panel: $530
www.benq.com

In the world of lcd displays, a few qualitites set one product apart from others, chief among them being price, support, size, and aesthetics. BenQ's FP785 is a standout in all of those categories. So much so that we were initially skeptical of some of the design cues. Would anyone really be interested in a 17” display that could pass as a handbag? Is there a market for a flat panel made to hang from a wall? There's little doubt about the FP785's ambitions as a style icon (further clarified by BenQ's product launch in Milan). What impressed us was the technology underneath all of the flash and flair.

The flagship feature is Senseye, a technology that BenQ is including with a number of its higher-end LCDs to dynamically improve image quality. According to representatives at the company, Senseye separately adjust color signals, contrast, and sharpness to optimize the way pictures are displayed. Indeed, we did get a chance to see Senseye adding its touch to several images in BenQ's California office.

Other cool features include a sensor that automatically changes display orientation depending on whether the monitor is standing up or hanging upside down. The BenQ logo rotates accordingly, too. The burgundy cloth-covered bottom bezel hides a pair of 1W speakers for multimedia playback. Meanwhile, DVI connectivity ensures the best possible image clarity at resolutions up to 1280x1024.

Netgear
ProSafe Indoor/Outdoor 9dBi Omni-Directional Antenna: $123

Configuring a wireless network can be frustrating business. Every installation is different and each introduces a number of variables. Building sizes differ and construction materials affect performance. There've been plenty of situations where one poorly placed PC precluded me from distributing access to all of the intended systems. Most often, a VAR is consigned to simply rolling with the punches.

You can most certainly take steps to improve your odds for a successful deployment, though, especially in situations where outdoor connectivity might be involved. Centralizing the router, raising it above the influence of obstructions, or adding a repeater are three of the most likely remedies. Alternatively, check out an antenna with higher gain, such as Netgear's ANT2409, more commonly referred to as the ProSafe Indoor/Outdoor 9dBi Omni-directional Antenna. It is designed for 2.4GHz operation in either 802.11b or 802.11g networks and specified as a medium range device.

There's no way you'd ever suggest stashing a router outside in order to better enable wireless connectivity between two buildings, right? With an antenna resistant to natural forces, such as the ANT2409, that isn't necessary. It comes with a six-foot, low-loss antenna, is rust proof, water resistant, and UV resistant. Netgear includes all of the hardware needed for a pole mount or flat-surface mount, depending on the application.

If your customer is experiencing low signal strengths or dropped connections, offer the ANT2409, properly installed, as a potential solution.