It has been quite the experience trying to pick just the right hardware for our forthcoming Intelerad PACS deployment.

Complicating matters somewhat is that we are simultaneously deploying VMWare’s ESX solution for our non PACS servers, which requires hardware as well. Not to mention, our internal/external network needs to be modernized at the same time.

The issue that was most contentious for us was that of which SAN to purchase, and how to spec it out. We ended up going with Hitachi/HDS AMS500, but it was far from our initial choice. A while back, I came across Compellent. To a SAN newbie like myself, they seemed to have a solid, easy to use product. However, it was decided that we wanted to go with a more established vendor. HP’s EVA line was ruled out as not quite robust enough for us. IBM’s DS4700 was a strong contender, although Initially far more expensive than the others. We also looked at EMC’s CX3 line. In the end, the EMC was the most expensive of the bunch, and IBM and HDS were similarly priced. The AMS500 won out due to its support of RAID 6, something that we desired to keep our PACS images as safe as possible.

Given we are going with 10K/300GB drives, there was some fear that if one drive fails, during the lengthy rebuild process, we would be susceptible to complete failure if a second drive failed. RAID 6, with its second parity drive, alleviates those concerns.

Now that the bulk of the hardware seems to be taken care of, pending Intelerad approval, we can focus on the software integration piece of the puzzle.

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