Bob Friesenhahn > I expect that Sun is realizing that it is already > undercutting much of > the rest of its product line. These minor updates would allow the > X4540 to compete against much more expensive StorageTek SAN hardware.
Assuming, of course that the requirements for the more expensive SAN hardware don't include, for example, surviving a controller or motherboard failure (or gracefully a RAM chip failure) without requiring an extensive downtime for replacement, or other extended downtime because there's only 1 set of chips that can talk to those disks. "Real" SAN storage is dual-ported to dual controller nodes so that you can replace a motherboard without taking down access to the disk. Or install a new OS version without waiting for the system to POST. > How can other products remain profitable when competing > against such a > star performer? Features. RAS. Simplicity. Corporate Inertia (having storage admins who don't know OpenSolaris). Executive outings with StorageTek-logo'd golfballs. The last 2 aren't something I'd build a business case around, but they're a reality. --Joe _______________________________________________ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
