[Beowulf] PetaBytes on a budget, take 2

[Hearns, John]

> _
> 
> Yes... Designing and using a giant system with perfectly reliable
> hardware (or something that simulates perfectly reliable hardware at
> some abstraction level) is a straightforward process.
> 
I think that is well worth a debate.
As Bob points out, these storage arrays do not have redundant hot-swap
PSUs, or hot swap disks.
They're made for the market for large volume online archiving - where
you would imagine that there 
are two or more copies of data in geographically separate locations.
Is it time to start looking at the cost/benefit analysis for 'prime'
storage to have the same scheme?
Don't get me wrong - I have experienced the benefits of N+1 hot swap
PSUs and RAID hot swap disks on many an occasion,
as has everyone here. There's nothing more satisfying then getting an
email over the weekend about a popped disk on an array
and being able to flop back onto the sofa.

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