In February 2017 two options existed for pursuing the UMD Storage Refresh Project:
- Team up with OIT (Office of Information Technology, UMTC's central IT) in the purchase, or
- Pursue our own RFP (Request For Proposal)
After extensive discussion with OIT, it was agreed that option #1 would not be viable due to time constraints. We are proceeding with option #2.
Work Completed
In the past 6 months we have:
- Collected business requirements
- Issued an RFP
- Scored vendors
- Received vendor demos and presentations
- Narrowed down the number of potential vendors
Next Step
The next step is Proof of Concept (POC) testing. The remaining vendors are now shipping and setting up their storage equipment in our datacenter for in-house evaluation. We are very close to a mature solution.
All of the storage options under consideration should be able to satisfy our needs in terms of performance and capacity. To help make a final decision, we will be comparing and evaluating:
- Ease of use and management
- Fault tolerance
- Pricing
- Support model
- Device size
- Power consumption
Your Input
You are welcome to send us any concerns or comments at [email protected].