...is in the idea of massively teaming together connections to inexpensive RAID arrays to create a Redundant Array of Independent Gigabit Ethernet connections -- RAIGE. One company, Pivot3 is attempting to lead the industry with a new applicance that leverages SATA drives and RAIGE to provide massive storage capabilities across existing connections:

Pivot3 calls its 2U, rack-mountable nodes — filled with up to 12 times 500GB or 750GB SATA drives — Databanks, each of which runs a proprietary, Linux-inspired OS that works in cooperation with its siblings on other nodes to make RAIGE a system that largely administers itself. For example, adding a new node automatically expands capacity to include the additional drives and takes advantage of the new GbE (Gigabit Ethernet) connection to improve transfer rate.

Like other clustered systems, RAIGE doesn’t require admins to worry about the physical location of data. Instead, the system keeps track of where each volume’s blocks reside and routes I/O operations accordingly. RAIGE lets admins define RAID level 0, 1, or 5, but with the additional twist that when a failure happens, all drives participate in rebuilding the volume. That translates into much faster recovery time than with traditional RAID.

Sound interesting? Check out InfoWorld columnist Mario Apicella's write-up on the technology at:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/06/15/25OPstorinside_1.html