Latest Quarch News

09/07/2010 - Mini SAS Cable Pull Module

The Mini SAS Cable Pull Module implements high speed switching of SAS data signals and sequencing logic to emulate the insertion and removal of a Mini SAS cable from a system under test. In addition to automation of cable insertion the module has fault injection capabilities providing a sophisticated method for testing Drive Discovery, Illegal Topologies, intermittent and hard faults, and error injection at all data rates up to 6Gb/s.

Effects of interconnect cable failures in a storage system are difficult to predict. Mini SAS Cable Pull Modules can switch the whole cable or individual connections within the cable. This unique functionality enables engineers to quickly setup both high level and low level tests that would otherwise be painstaking to perform.

Links:

24/05/2010 - New Head Office

Quarch Technology has relocated to a new larger office. This is only a few minutes away from our previous site in Aviemore and will give us a stable, long-term head office. All communications should now go through this location, please see the link below for details.

Links:

22/03/2010 - Demartek Reviews the Torridon System

Leading storage industry test laboratory Demartek has evaluated the torridon system.

Their review gives our customers an independent view of our test systems and the benefits they can provide. A couple of their main conclusions were:

"We estimate that 90% of the manual effort would have been eliminated by this automated test system."

"We believe that the Quarch Torridon system would be able to achieve a rapid return on investment."

Links:

5/03/2010 - Xyratex using Quarch test tools

Xyratex, a major provider of enterprise class data storage sub-systems, has been working closely with Quarch as we developed the Torridon system.

With our equipment now installed and functional in Xyratex's testing tab, we expect them to see major benefits, throughout the development cycle.

"The Quarch 'Torridon' systems are helping us maintain our world leading reputation for quality. The automation of our hot-swap testing is being used in our Design Verification Testing (DVT) on both our 3G & 6G products.

The error injection facilities are really helping to shake out problems with our new EBOD designs. This level of testing would be extremely hard to complete without the Quarch systems.

Andy Bowen - Development Test Mgr - Xyratex"

Links:

18/01/2010 - Introducing the Torridon 'Lite' system

The new 2.5" SAS/SATA Lite drive module has just begun shipping. This is a cost-reduced version of our standard drive control module. It is designed for large systems and QA testing where many modules are required to run repeated tests.

Costing as little as 25% of a standard module, the Lite modules open up an entirely new market for our products and further increase the ROI for our customers.

Links:

08/09/2009 - Torridon HS Drive Control Module released

The latest addition to the Torridon Test system is the HS (High Speed) drive module. This is a 2.5" SAS/SATA module fitting an identical form factor to the regular 2.5" Drive Control Module.

The HS module however, incorporates switching of the high speed SAS data lines (up to 6 Gbit in most systems). This greatly increases the number of tests that can be performed on your system:

  • Staggered hot-swap, including SAS data lines
  • Fail one side of a SAS differential pair
  • Add glitches (down to 50nS) to SAS data and power lines

Links:

19/06/2009 - Electronics design engineer wanted

Quarch Technology is expanding its hardware development team. We now have an opening for an electronic design engineer with experience of digital design and VHDL. This will be at our R&D offices in Aviemore, Scotland.

See the links below for more details and to apply.

Links:

  • Recruitment - Read about the position
  • Apply Now! - Contact us at recruitment@quarch.com with your CV to apply

18/06/2009 - TestMonkey v1.1.10 Released

The first of our new product releases; TestMonkey is designed for busy engineers who want to run complex tests with minimal effort or learning.

TestMonkey is a graphical interface for Quarch control modules. It allows drag-and-drop creation of complex timing patterns for hot-swap tests. These patterns can be exported as a command script for later use or executed directly on the module to assist bench testing.

One of the most powerful aspects of TestMonkey is the ability to inject real-time faults into the system. With an SBB 2.0 control module, you can fail any one of almost 200 connections. For example: A single click will disconnect the I2C bus, allowing you to observe how the system reacts.

In its basic form, TestMonkey is free for download. It replaces the older "Quarch Script Generator" application. In order to use TestMonkey to control a Quarch Module directly, you will need to purchase a user license.

Links:

17/06/2009 - We've Moved

Our new offices are in Aviemore, in the very heart of Scotland. With the much larger premises, Quarch will be able to take on new staff and increase our product line. This is part of our long term goal to serve the entire storage industry. Keep watching over the next few months as we will be releasing a number of exciting new products.

Links:

20/05/2009 - Quarch in Boston

Quarch will be visiting the Boston area from the 8th to the 12th of June. We will be attending the Business Development Networking event for the storage industry (8-10 June). If you would like a to meet with us, at the event or afterwards, please drop us a mail.

14/05/2009 - New pictures of the Torridon system in a major test lab

Thanks to a friendly customer, Quarch was able to take some pictures of our latest Torridon system in use.

The pictures show the live testing of a 24 bay enclosure. This setup allows a greater level of tasting and a huge reduction in both manual effort and human error.

Links:

03/02/2009 - Quarch visits the UNH-IOL

The Interoperability Lab at the University of New Hampshire is an important resource for many storage companies. Quarch Technology visited the lab in order to see how out technology could fit in there.

The lab has had some demo hardware for a couple of months now and thanks go to David in particular for running some excellent tests for us. The results should be up on the website in a week or so. As expected, everything indicates our control cards have no negative effect on the system they are testing.

Links:

30/10/2008 - John Logie Baird Awards

Quarch Technology reached the finals of the John Logie Baird awards. These prestigious awards showcase the most innovative companies in the country.

Links:

06/10/2008 - SBB 2.0 Control Card Released

The SBB 2.0 Canister control card is now shipping. Fully compatible with the Torridon system

This card is is capable of automating hot-plugging of SBB 2.0 canister cards. With switching control over all power and low speed lines, the card can also create a huge number of failure situations. Ideal for testing the resiliency of your storage system.

Links:

29/09/2008 - Announcing the TestMonkey Control Suite

Our new software control suite for using Torridon devices in a bench test environment. Release is expected early 09.

Testmonkey will allow simple graphical control of a single attached Torridon device. This allows an untrained user to rapidly setup and run tests without knowledge of the scripting system normally used to control the cards.

Links:

26/08/2008 - Torridon System Launch

The Torridon system is our latest storage array test system. Fully upgradeable and expandable for the needs of a growing business

With Torridon, you can automate the testing of entire storage arrays. Control multiple drives, eliminate 1000's of hours of manual hot-plug testing and reduce wear and tear on test hardware. The Torridon system represents a major leap forwards for storage testing.

Links: