LSI Logic has beat the rest of the industry by announcing its next-generation Ultra320 SCSI controller based on its Fusion MPT (Message Passing Technology) architecture. Ultra320 is the next generation UltraSCSI technology that doubles the overall throughput of the latest Ultra160 bus from 160 megabytes per second to 320 megabytes per second. LSI Logic claims its SYM53C1030 PCI0X to Dual Channel Ultra320 Controller delivers 100,000 I/Os per second, over three times the transaction handling capability of the current Ultra160 controllers. Its also the first SCSI controller to utilize the PCI-X interface (with its 133MHz bus speed). New technologies packed into the SYM53C1030 includes support for the packetized SCSI protocol (which borrows technology from LAN and Ethernet technology where data is sent in packets), QAS (Quick Arbitration Selection) with hardware assist, and SureLINK domain validation to ensure link integrity. The SYM53C1030 was designed to be pin compatible with LSI Logics SYM53C1010R PCI to Dual Channel Ultra160 SCSI controller to allow system designers to design one board for both Ultra160 and Ultra320 controllers and includes full support for Fibre Channel appalications. Expect to see LSI Logic Ultra320 boards in the fourth quarter of 2000.