Sun's announcement on Monday about their new "Open Storage" platform couldn't have come at a better time for us. We're starting the setup in a new data center next week and network storage is the one big piece we're still missing.
We had all but decided to go the NetApp route, but Monday's announcement has caused Sun to shoot straight up to the #1 spot on our list. Their Storage 7110 system look almost perfect for our needs – on paper at least – and their 60 day demo offer is just too good to pass up. In particular, I love the fact that it's built on open source, which just happens to be the same approach we take with our own products and services.
There are a few downsides, namely the 2TB limit (please let us attach additional drive arrays!) and the inability to cluster for less than $100k. Sun has indicated they're open to feedback, and from comments made during the launch event I know we're not the only ones who would like to see these limitations removed. Hopefully this can be addressed in a software update some day.
As soon as we get our hands on one – which will be as soon as they make them available in Canada! – we'll be taking it through the wringer to see how it performs. We'll post the results and any feedback here for those who may be interested. In particular, we'll be looking at virtualized LAMP performance, and all that it entails. I expect most benchmarks to be focusing on the larger 7210 system, so hopefully our focus on it's little brother will be helpful to a few people.
We've gone all-Sun for our severs since they released ther x64 product
lines, and haven't looked back. Here's hoping we have the same great experience with their newest product line.