• Provides a highly available storage system by supporting attachment to the IBM System Storage DS3500 Express external controller
• Next-generation SAS expansion enclosure supports high bandwidth and random I/O applications with 6 Gbps x4-wide SAS ports
• Can support up to 24.0 TB of SAS disk storage in a single enclosure and up to 384 TB when fully expanded up to 192 drives
• Uses enterprise class, engineering and development to help ensure best-of-breed technology and robustness
• High-performance SAS, capacity-optimized SAS hard disk drives and self-encrypting drives (SEDs) intermix support
• Redundant components help support continuous access to data for data availability 24x7

• IBM® System Storage® EXP3512 and System Storage EXP3524 expansion units can be intermixed behind a single System Storage DS3500 for optimal data utilization and efficiency
• EXP3512 can offer the highest flexibility with support for a full range of requirements—high capacity and low cost to high-performance critical applications
• EXP3524 is ideal for IOPs-intensive applications and energy efficiency requirements with the highest IOPs/watt and 134 percent improvement in IOPs/U (compared to EXP3000 expansion unit)
• Power supplies designed to meet multiple power efficiency standards
• Uses Storage Bridge Bay (SBB) standard architecture designed for robust system environments

The IBM System Storage EXP3512 and System Storage EXP3524 expansion units are designed to affordably meet the demanding data requirements of today and tomorrow by building on over 30 years of design expertise. IBM’s legacy in enterprise storage systems, with next-generation 6 Gbps SAS drive technology, enables the System Storage EXP3500 expansion units to deliver best-of-breed technology, reliability and performance. With two models available, the EXP3500 expansion units are 2U cabinet-mountable 6 Gbps drive enclosures that are designed to support either a total of twelve 3.5-inch SAS drives (EXP3512) or twenty-four 2.5-inch SAS drives (EXP3524) for optimal flexibility and efficiency. The EXP3500 expansion units can be a key component of a high-performance storage solution. With each external SAS port on the environmental service module (ESM) supporting a 6 Gbps x4-wide connection, the EXP3500 can achieve excellent throughput to the host.

With global commerce and 24x7 information available on-demand, businesses require continuous access to information in order to be productive, competitive and to ensure customer satisfaction. The EXP3500 expansion units offer the assurance of high availability with redundant power supplies and ESMs which help ensure that contact with the drives continues even in the rare instance of a component failure. With hot-swappable components, you can remove and replace ESMs, power supplies and drives with minimal or no downtime. The struggle to manage escalating data volumes also will not stop, even in a slow-growth economy. The EXP3500 expansion units, with next-generation 6 Gbps SAS back-end technology, provides organizations with a seamless path to external storage—improving performance and scalability, while lowering power consumption—all within a small footprint.