Thanks. I do have an interest to learn but there is not enough time. My
employer wants a quote in a few days and I cannot take a risk with
something I no so little about. I would appreciate hearing what others
have purchased for this price.

Ming wrote:
Ned wrote:
What's the best SAN solution I can get for $20K?
Planned uses include storage for student data (we are a school
district)
VMware server virtualization (store virtual machines here for failover)
Email Archiving
Possible Electronic document storage

if you have interest to learn, you can have a DIY IP SAN with
http://iscsitarget.sourceforge.net/ which save your big $$$ and
accomplish your task. see its mailing list archive on how people use it
to save $.



I realize my knowledge is limited and that I am over simplifying this
but I would appreciate hearing opinions from others:

I received the following quotes from Dell & EMC:

Dell -EMC AX150i
Uses only SATA II drives (up to 12)
Interface: iSCSI or FC Dual storage processors
Scalability: Single enclosure only (does not scale)
Price: $13,000 with (3) 500GB SATA drives
Total cost: $13,000
Pros: Cheaper iSCSI interface no expensive FC hardware needed
Cons: SATA drives (not as reliable as SCSI) slower 1GB iSCSI connection


Gateway Computer - Xyratex E5402E AKA Gateway E-842R
Uses up to 146GB SAS 15K RPM drives and/or SATA II drives (up to 12)
Interface: Dual 4GB FC interfaces (no iSCSI support)
Scalability: Can be daisy chained with multiple enclosures
Price: $13,000 with (9) 146GB 15K SAS drives and (3) 500GB SATA II
drives
Additional Cost: $3,600 for Brocade Fabric switch (will need 2 of these
for redundancy)
Additianal Cost: FC HBA's $2,000
Total Cost: $19,000
Pros:Mature FC technology, can mix fast reliable SAS with cheap high
capacity SATA II drives
Cons:Cost, possible learning curve with FC

Thank You
Ned