[Beowulf] RAID storage: Vendor vs. parts

[Jerome, Ron]

I've been running a 16 bay Maxtronix ATA raid unit on my 80 node cluster,
24x7 for the last couple of years without a single issue.

In fact I just ordered another similar SATA unit here...
http://www.raidweb.com/sata.html.  

_________________________________________
Ron Jerome
Programmer/Analyst
National Research Council Canada
M-2, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6
Government of Canada
Phone: 613-993-5346
FAX:   613-941-1571
_________________________________________

> -----Original Message-----
> From: beowulf-bounces at beowulf.org [mailto:beowulf-bounces at beowulf.org] On
> Behalf Of Steve Cousins
> Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2005 2:18 PM
> To: beowulf at beowulf.org
> Subject: [Beowulf] RAID storage: Vendor vs. parts
> 
> 
> I'm in the process of getting a couple 16 Bay 6.4 TB RAID units.  The
> vendors who have given me quotes have a SATA-SCSI version for around
> $14,000 each.  I can get a similarly equipped StorCase unit for around
> $11,000. With the StorCase I envision that I'd be more on my own if
> anything went wrong.  However, with the cheaper price, I'd be able to buy
> a spare RAID controller to have on hand in case one of them failed and
> still save a couple grand.
> 
> All three of these (the other two are Infortrend and I believe a re-badged
> Jet) use the same Intel i80321 CPU on their controllers.
> 
> All are configured the same (with spare PS module and Fan module)  except
> the StorCase doesn't include a 3 year Express Swap warranty. This is why
> I'd also want to get the spare RAID controller to share between the two
> units in case one went bad.  So, for price comparison, it is probably
> closer to $28,000 for two "Name-brand" units or $25,500 for two StorCase
> units with spares of most everything.
> 
> Does anyone have experience with any or all of these?  Is it worth the
> extra money to have a "burned-in" device supported by some company?
> 
> I know this isn't a Beowulf specific question but it seems that storage is
> a big part of Beowulfery and I'd bet that a lot of people are looking into
> similar devices.  I hope it is relevant.
> 
> I'm not after any more quotes from vendors (please don't email or call).
> I'm happy with the alternatives that I have right now.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Steve
> ______________________________________________________________________
>  Steve Cousins, Ocean Modeling Group    Email: cousins at umit.maine.edu
>  Marine Sciences, 208 Libby Hall        http://rocky.umeoce.maine.edu
>  Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME 04469        Phone: (207) 581-4302
> 
> 
> 
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