I'm looking into replacing our aging EMC SAN installation with something else, and I thought I'd ping the list for suggestions. Basically I'm looking for, preferably, one box that can do NFS really well and also do fibre channel really well (mostly for ESX LUNs). I've used NetApp gear in the past for both these purposes to great success, and I'd happily try them again, but I suspect there might be some newer, more agile companies out there with competitive alternatives and better pricing.
The management interface counts for a lot too: I hate EMC's with a fiery passion. Something web based is much, much better than a java app that only works well on Windows. Aside from excelling at NFS and fc, and being "officially supported" by VMware, Inc., flexibility in terms of being able to use both SATA and FC/SAS disks where I like is a good plus too. Easy storage expansion by adding more drive shelves is important. Enough controllers with sufficient horsepower such that they can be slammed by NFS but still serve up fibre channel without a hitch is important. In terms of capacity, I'd probably need around 16TB usable to start, and growing quickly from there. Cost is a consideration, but I should probably put this in perspective: I know how much top-tier stuff from NetApp and EMC costs, and I'm prepared to pay that, but if there's another company out there that is just as good or better for a bit less, then I should consider their products too. I'm not expecting 30TB for $8k or anything like that! But I don't want to spend money I don't have to just because I haven't heard of an alternative. So, any companies / products you can recommend along those lines, I'd love to hear about. Thanks! Dan _______________________________________________ Tech mailing list Tech@lopsa.org http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
