[Beowulf] RAID storage: Vendor vs. parts

[Josip Loncaric]

Alvin Oga wrote:
> if you're buying parts/systems from "fries" or compusa/dell/etc..
> than one is in deep kaka ...
> 
>  	- consumer grade parts is not as good as "industrial strength"
> 	that does not necessarily mean higher prices
> 	
> 	- fries et.al carry the lower grade junk of the same parts
> 
> 	marginal mtbf parts of the same identical items, sold by
> 	higher end distributors vs retail store
> 
> 	my conspiracy theory about why the same Model xx from Manufacturer
> 	are good for some and bad for others 
> 	( it'd depend on where you bought it )

My experience with boxed drives bought from retailers was better than 
OEM bare drives from reputable sources.  Retail boxed drives often carry 
3yr warranty, so there is more at stake for the manufacturer if they go bad.

This is just one observation, possibly not statistically significant, 
but my retail store purchases worked out just fine.

Sincerely,
Josip

P.S.  You would not want to build a cluster that way (limited selection 
& higher prices) but for spare parts, retail stores are quick and 
convenient.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
  "Technical data or Software Publicly Available" or "Correspondence".
----------------------------------------------------------------------