SAN comparison Lenovo DM3200F vs Dell 500T
Posted by 9speed@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 7 comments
I'm 6 months into a role which is basically sysadmin with some fun 'manage the MSP relationship' thrown in on the side.
We've identified SAN as a (very) useful addition as we're at an inflection point of MANY things. The logic on SAN is pretty sound for us.
My question is, anyone have any experience / gotchas I may not a thought of for those models in particular?
We're comparing the 500T w/6x3.84 to the DM3200F w/8x3.84 and WOW does that ever favour the Lenovo.
We will be running a mix of VMs (on hyper-v), SQL, fileshares... It seems like the DM3200F is the better fit for that.
Also if you can't tell by my spelling, we're in Canada. About an hour from both Dell and Lenovo Canada offices.
Que_Ball@reddit
Website price is for the suckers. But your future renewals are based on a percentage of those prices. So try to front load any years of coverage you need or you pay inflated cost to renew it. They love to give up front discounts (in normal times). They likely still love a good negotiation that involves a 5yr extension.
Get yourself to the point where you will self support (buy spares on eBay when the equipment starts to be offloaded by leasing companies and asset recovery) which for me usually is in that 4 to 5th year.
SpotlessCheetah@reddit
The gotcha is the price and the price increase every day you don't make a decision.
9speed@reddit (OP)
It’s amazing how much cheaper the Lenovo is even with more drives.
9speed@reddit (OP)
Dear god the drives
tdic89@reddit
I can’t speak for the Lenovo, but the PowerStore line has been solid for us. We’re running a 5000T, two 3200Ts, two 3000Ts, and just installed a 1200T. I like that they’re really simple units with great performance.
One thing I would suggest is running them with a pair of ATS units for power though. Each node has its own power supply and power loss also takes out a node.
9speed@reddit (OP)
That last bit is exactly why I ask.
Simplicity seems to be the appeal. Additional drive cost on the other hand…
tdic89@reddit
You’re very welcome! One other thing I’d mention is that these units are way deeper than a normal SAN. They will fit in an 800cm deep enclosure, but your PDUs might get in the way. You also require about 1.5m at the rear of the chassis to remove a node, as they’re almost 19” themselves. Otherwise you end up having to pull out the SAN from the front of the rack to make enough clearance at the rear. Ask me how I know 😂