Hi guys, I'm in Singapore and based on our testing with Intel since Jan 09, the best combi should be Adaptec 5805Z (zero maintenance, meaning no battery) with some X25-M disk array. We are using 8pcs of X25-M 160GB, but frankly speaking, 4pcs is good enough to fly like rocket if capacity is not your top concern.
The lifespan of enterprise class SLC SSD like X25-E is just too overkill. After some calculation and with the help from Adaptec, we opted for X25-M instead. Remember, it only has 3 yr warranty, I haven't seen any application is able to use anything near 30% of the estimated lifespan of X25-M.....and that's based on 5yr estimated usage.
The standalone performance was amazing. If you want to use such combination for Open-E, some X25-M can definitely go beyond the iSCSI (teaming) or even FC connectivity.
Yes, we also got in touch with TMS. Their product is one of the best, but the price is just too high....
We are now running the X25-M & 5805Z combi for almost 1yr in production
Users are only complaining the applications are just responding too fast, resulted no tea breaks for them anymore.....lol