Thanks to two companies teaming up for a good cause, small and midsize companies will now have access to sensibly sized storage systems. Dell and EMC have announced the release of the CX3-10, an entry-level storage area network (SAN) that promises multi-fabric connectivity, flexibility in how it can be configured, beefed-up data protection and easier installation. At $22,000, it's a much less expensive solution for companies with smaller data storage needs. It offers end-to-end 4Gb/s data transfer capability and a 2GB cache. The system works with both SAN and DAS, and has Fibre-Channel and iSCSI host connectivity. It comes with support for up to 64 servers and 60 drives.

For those who outgrow the system, it has been designed to allow for seamless upgrades to other Dell products. Currently, the product holds up to 18TB of raw storage capacity with Fibre Channel drives, and 30TB with SATA II drives. It comes with the EMC PowerPath software bundle.