As others said, reach out.
Some things to keep in mind.
Long term costs! How much is support for this device, per year? How much to add X feature to the box? How much per TB to add to this(yes, you said 20T, but next year, you will be thinking about adding more, trust me). All of these play as big, or bigger a part than the upfront costs.
Personally, I use IBM and EMC exclusively, though I've used a lot of others in the past. I hate the software of EMC, but their hardware is top notch, and fast to boot. IBM, I really like their software, but I'm not the biggest fan of the hardware( I don't think I should have to bring down the hosts to do a firmware upgrade, even on high end of the midrange gear. I'm used to EMC where you keep rocking no matter what. Now, that in mind, you will have to decide what level to get your gear at, and most likely it will be midrange(do you need an enterprise frame for a lab?), so most any of these will be good vendors
Edit to add, "fast to boot", is a colloquialism, southern US. "to boot", means in addition to, or an extra benefit...I only say this because I didn't want anyone to think an EMC boots up fast, because it does not, by any stretch of the imagination.....
Message was edited by: williambishop
--"Non Temetis Messor."
