Exchange on SATA isn't a big deal. We run about 1,700 heavy-IO mailboxes (7,000 IOPS peak) on an Axiom with no problems (and we're not even using pooled RAID10 yet).

As long as you've got the spindles and did your math right, it's fine, even besting a CX. Axiom SATA enclosures are fundamentally different than EMC enclosures (individual RAID port connections in an AX vs a loop architecture in EMC).

There is nothing new or exciting on a CX--the Clariion code hasn't changed since it was puchased from Data General in 1999. Half the commands still start with DG.

EMC neds to move over. There's a lot of new ideas in this field.