Accessed through Adaptec Storage Manager™ software, Intelligent Power Management supports both SATA and SAS drives and is ideal for applications with large blocks of idle time, such as disk-to-disk backup, e-mail archiving and file and print servers. It allows drives to be operated in three power states: 1) Normal operation: full power, full RPM (revolutions per minute); 2) Standby : low-power mode that spins disks at lower RPM during idle periods; and 3) Power-off: disks not spinning. In addition, blackout periods can be set in which power management features are disabled, such as during peak IT activity periods.

IT managers can configure banks of disk drives to operate in different power states at varying times, and automate the drives to spin up and down according to drive usage patterns. When drives are accessed during pre-configured spin-down to Standby or Power-off modes, Intelligent Power Management quickly and automatically powers these drives back up, as needed, so performance is not impacted. Also, the Adaptec RAID controller automatically monitors drives that have been powered down for an extended period of time to ensure systems are still fully operational, allowing Intelligent Power Management to help reduce drive failures and increase drive life expectancy.