cachecade is not new in storege news.
Adaptec has one like it so its nice to see some competition with this

What is the Adaptec MaxIQ SSD Cache Performance Kit? top of page

The Adaptec MaxIQ SSD Cache Performance Kit consists of a customized Intel 32GB X25-E SATA Solid State Drive, used as high-performance cache, with Adaptec’s MaxIQ SSD Caching Software. The kit can be paired with any Series 5Z, Series 5 or Series 2 Storage Controller to convert industry-standard servers into cost-effective, high-performance scale-out application storage appliances.
What are High-Performance Hybrid Arrays (HPHAs) ? top of page

A data storage architecture approach that is designed to provide IT data centers and cloud computing data centers with high I/O (Input/Output) storage performance at a lower cost per I/O by combining hard disk drives (HDDs) with solid state drives (SSDs) using Adaptec MaxIQ SSD Caching Software.
How does the Adaptec MaxIQ SSD Cache Performance Kit work? top of page

By leveraging its unique presence in the data path, Adaptec MaxIQ SSD caching software introduces a patent-pending Learned-Path Algorithm that identifies frequently-read data, and optimizes “reads” by copying this data directly into an SSD cache pool for faster retrieval of future requests. MaxIQ also updates “hot” cached data on subsequent writes to the same blocks to maximize storage efficiency. Because this is done at the controller level, these processes are completely transparent and do not require any changes to storage architectures, application software or operating systems.
What are the benefits of using the Adaptec MaxIQ SSD Cache Performance Kit? top of page

The MaxIQ SSD cache performance kit provides the following benefits for customers building high-performance hybrid arrays:
Up to 5X faster than HDD-only solutions: MaxIQ Caching Software introduces a patent-pending Learned-Path Algorithm that identifies frequently-read (“hot”) data, and optimizes “reads” by copying this data directly into an SSD cache pool for faster retrieval in future requests.
Reduced capital & operating expenses by up to 50%: MaxIQ reduces capital expenses by increasing IOPS with less hardware — thereby significantly cutting energy and maintenance costs.

How is the MaxIQ SSD Cache Performance Kit different from using a standard SSD with SATA/SAS connectivity or a PCIe-based flash card which can be plugged into a server? top of page

To get maximum performance when using a standard SSD or a PCIe-based flash card, applications must be tuned to store data that requires higher IOPS on the high-performance SSD. This requires that an administrator have intimate knowledge of that specific application and understand how it will benefit by routing data that requires higher IOPS to the SSD. MaxIQ software eliminates this need by transparently analyzing and routing the read and write data and eliminating the need for application-specific tuning.
Secondly, with a standard SSD deployment, data is lost in the case that the SSD fails. With MaxIQ, all the data gets first written to the RAID rotating media, protecting the data in case the SSD cache pool fails.
And finally, standard SSD storage capacities are very small (about 32GB to 160GB) compared to those of rotating disk drives. Therefore, a larger number of SSDs are needed which will increase capital expenditures significantly. With MaxIQ, one can still benefit from the larger capacities of rotating media (HDDs), while gaining the improved I/O performance benefits of the SSDs.
Which applications will likely benefit most from the MaxIQ SSD Cache Performance Kit? top of page

The MaxIQ SSD Cache Performance Kit is ideal for data centers running applications with high “read” demands such as web serving, file serving and databases.
What are the Adaptec MaxIQ SSD Cache Performance Kit contents? top of page

The Adaptec MaxIQ SSD Cache Performance Kit includes a customized Intel X25-E SATA Solid State Drive and the MaxIQ SSD Caching Software. The kit can be paired with any Adaptec Series 5Z, Series 5 or Series 2 Storage Controller.

http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/_common...s/SSD_FAQs.htm