LeCroy Announces Approval of SATA-IO Interoperability Testing for Serial ATA Revision 3.0 at 6 Gb/s Data Rates

Santa Clara, CA September 21, 2009 - LeCroy Corporation, a worldwide leader for serial data test solutions, today announced that the LeCroy Sierra™ M6-2 and M6-4 protocol test systems have been approved by the Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) for compliance testing of new devices to ensure interoperability with SATA Revision 3.0 features (as required by the SATA-IO Logo Working Group for the Device Digital Tests, specified in UTD rev 1.4).

SATA-IO Serial ATA Revision 3.0 increases the data rate to 6 Gb/s and adds a range of new features including Native Command Queuing (NCQ) and improved power management for SATA devices. SATA 6 Gb/s is expected to be particularly significant for flash-based solid state drives which currently are performance limited by the existing 3 Gb/s data rate, and for high-bandwidth applications such as video streaming. SATA 6 Gb/s is otherwise fully compatible with existing SATA devices and cables. Many leading companies are currently working on development of 6 Gb/s SATA devices, with widespread availability expected in 2010. Only those devices that have passed the required interoperability testing, either through an independent test lab or at a SATA-IO Interoperability Workshop, and have been listed on the Integrators List, may use the new certified SATA 6 Gb/s logo.

“LeCroy is committed to supporting leading edge designers of SATA devices,” said Kevin Kearney, Product Line Manager for LeCroy’s Storage Protocol Test products. “With SATA Revision 3.0 now in place and 6 Gb/s designs becoming more prevalent, the new SATA-IO 1.4 logo test requirements are essential to ensuring the interoperability of the next wave of SATA products.”

"The UNH-IOL SATA Consortium utilizes the LeCroy Sierra M6-2 platform to perform a full range of conformance and interoperability testing on SATA and SAS products,” said David Woolf, UNH-IOL Senior Technologist. ”Now that the SATA-IO has approved LeCroy's Sierra platform for SATA-IO 1.4 Logo Testing, we are able to extend our test coverage to include the latest features of the Serial ATA specification."

The Sierra M6-2 (2 channel) and M6-4 (four channel) protocol test systems support SAS and SATA at data rates up to 6 Gb/s, and include a wide range of protocol test features including analyzer, exerciser, error injection and compliance test. The fast lock time ensures complete data capture and the flexible user interface provide graphical display of data traffic and summary reports in a wide variety of formats.

About LeCroy

LeCroy Corporation is a worldwide leader in serial data test solutions, creating advanced instruments that drive product innovation by quickly measuring, analyzing, and verifying complex electronic signals. The Company offers highperformance oscilloscopes, serial data analyzers, and global communications protocol test solutions used by design engineers in the computer and semiconductor, data storage device, automotive and industrial, and military and aerospace markets. LeCroy’s 45-year heritage of technical innovation is the foundation for its recognized leadership in “WaveShape Analysis”—capturing, viewing, and measuring the high-speed signals that drive today's information and communications technologies. LeCroy is headquartered in Chestnut Ridge, New York. Company information is available at http://www.lecroy.com.