(OT) archiving as opposed to backing up

patrick> Indeed, and I guess I'm kind of stuck on "classic" SAN patrick> hardware, which is generally SCSI and FC. I think the patrick> really big SAN equipment is pretty much all SCSI and FC, and patrick> I think for this application you need the economy of scale patrick> that comes from a SAN with lots of drives and relatively few patrick> processors, switches, and other supporting equipment. Every patrick> time you have to add that non-storage stuff, you're just patrick> adding to cost of goods. I've seen small SATA SANs, but not patrick> big 42-unit rack type things yet. Is anybody making them patrick> yet? Using them? We make them, and our customers use them. 14 drive building blocks, which combine into groups for bigger configurations (more space, more speed). 4 unit groups (16 TB) are common. We have run internal tests quite a lot larger than that. Some people would like you to believe that iSCSI and SATA are only for the low end. Don't believe them, it's not true. paul