[ghettosuperstar]

I was given a Dell Emc2 AX150 SAN Server.
It came with six 750 SATA drives and I can connect to the San and configure as I see fit.

My problem is that the cost to add additional drives is astronomical. I am thinking $750 per 750gb hd

. This is due to Dell making it so that you can't add generic (WD,Samsung, etc., other low priced SATA drives) to the unit. You have to purchase the drives from Dell.

My question is what other SANS equipment or provider has good performace, speed, reliability without high costs for media.

 

[ComGuards]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghettosuperstar I was given a Dell Emc2 AX150 SAN Server. It came with six 750 SATA drives and I can connect to the San and configure as I see fit. My problem is that the cost to add additional drives is astronomical. I am thinking $750 per 750gb hd . This is due to Dell making it so that you can't add generic (WD,Samsung, etc., other low priced SATA drives) to the unit. You have to purchase the drives from Dell. My question is what other SANS equipment or provider has good performace, speed, reliability without high costs for media.

Just how much space do you require, and do you require unit-scalability?

NetGear ReadyNas Pro offers a fast iSCSI SAN solution, if that's acceptable to you. Or are you looking for fiber-channel?

 

[the_beast]

Most important question - what are you wanting to do with it?

If this is for home use, is the current capacity not large enough to use as fast, always connected storage, and move data off the SAN onto a slower, less capable but cheaper storage system when the extra speed is not required.

If this is for home use, what are the goals? Do you want to learn about SAN features, or just need network attached storage? If all you need is fast network based storage then a cheap pc, RAID card and a couple of decent NICs might be much better suited for you.

If this is for business use then all the systems you can get will require certified drives. In addition you are (presumeably) unlikely to get another SAN for free, so will have to shell out for the hardware as well as the drives, and so may be better off just getting what you need for the kit you have.