Xbox clusters?

[Patrick Geoffray]

Brian,

Brian LaMere wrote:
> Why pay any premium at all?

Because people have different needs. You are confortable to buy the nodes 
and build your cluster yourself ? Go ahead. You are even happier by buying 
each components and assembly them to save a little bit more ? That's the 
best way to get more bang for your bucks. 

But, there is people in this world with different problems: 
* They don't know how to install a cluster, hardware or software. 
* They don't want to waste their time to do it.
* They want to legally cover their bottom if something goes wrong.
* They have to publish a public offer because it's public money.
* They want to choose a big name for peace of mind.
etc...

Why would you like to take you car to a mechanic to change oil 
when you can easily do it yourself for less money ?
Well, money is not always the big problem. 

All of the vendors, large or small, use commodity components 
these days. The difference in price is in the service. Ok, 
the service of big vendors is not always worth it, but usually 
it's a good added value.

I have seen many customers choosing small local companies jumped 
on the "cheap cluster" bandwagon by stacking boxes in racks for 
a minimum cost. In my experience, it's always a failure if the 
customers is not technically an expert.
Fortunately, with Darwin's help, only the ones knowing what they  
are doing will survive, and clueless customers will not choose 
big vendors only to avoid clueless integrators.

Patrick

----------------------------------------------------------
|   Patrick Geoffray, Ph.D.      patrick at myri.com 
|   Myricom, Inc.                http://www.myri.com
|   Cell:  865-389-8852          685 Emory Valley Rd (B)
|   Phone: 865-425-0978          Oak Ridge, TN 37830
----------------------------------------------------------