I got it really cheap - around $4000 with 3 250GB SATA drives installed. It seemed to be a very good deal considering its functionalities. But when I tried to extend its life and upgrade it a little bit, I was rudely surprised. Dell quoted a 500 GB module at more than $600. SATA drive at that price these days? All they provide more than a generic drive is just a tray so it fits the array. Are you kidding me? The 750 GB module is even more obscene at more than $900. Even when their site is selling the 250 GB module at $69.99, they couldn't explain why it's so much more expensive with the bigger drives. The array model isn't that old!
Dell also quoted a Next Business Day support contract at more than $2,200 a year. They seem to entirely rely on EMC guys to quote that, even the EMC support guys in the past told me to talk to Dell for any support issue. At that price you can buy a new, better array for the cost of a two-year support contract. Yep, that's how they promote their new wares.
It's probably true for all the so-called low cost iSCSI arrays. The "hidden" cost of upgrade and support makes them not so good as the first look. But hey, isn't that often true for many IT investments?
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