Editor's choiceNexsan ATA Beast
If we stay precisely true to the scenario then it is a close tussle between the Adaptec SANbloc, with single controller and 7 drives, and the HP Modular Smart Array 500 G2 with the HP just winning on price. Unless, of course, rack space is at a premium and then the 3RU SANbloc appears to become the more attractive option over the 4RU HP, except the HP has the option of higher capacity drives and thus trumps the SANbloc in terms of raw capacity.
However, if our 1TB scenario is just your starting point and you expect quite rapid growth in your storage requirements then the initial purchase price of the Nexsan ATABeast becomes less of a concern as the ATABeast is, by far, the least expensive of the units in terms of price per gig with its ability to swallow up to 42 inexpensive PATA drives in a 4RU form factor.
Company: Finn Productions
Scenario: This company's database server is running out of storage space. The company wants to add on additional storage to the server.
Approximate budget: Open
Requires: A direct-attached storage device with at least 1TB of storage.
Concerns: Performance of the storage device will be important, as well as the ability to add more capacity in future if required.
