JBOD
"with VMware software and cheap JBODs"
It's not a JBOD if it's RAID.
EMC's VMware unit is taking on HP with a Virtual Storage Appliance (VSA), building a small and medium business mini-SAN from servers' direct-attached storage. The vSphere 5 launch included the in-house developed VSA, which combines storage directly attached to just three physical servers and combines it into a single (iSCSI) …
There's a lot more VSA solutions out there that are getting taken on by VMware. companies such as Datacore, Falconstor, Starwind and ourselves StorMagic.
It's harder to swallow for companies who have aligned themselves with VMware as Partners or Certified Partners who have had to jump through flaming hoops in order to pass VMwares Certification tests and theye'll have to do it again for vSphere 5.
It will be interesting to see what comes of it, currently there is a VMware online event http://vshow.on24.com/vshow/vmware2011/?l=en#home where you don;t see VMware getting alot of love for vSphere 5.
also feel free to visit our site: www.stormagic.com