Clusters vs standalone servers with a SAN?

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Hello,

Anyone got an opinion on the real-world benefits of clusters vs
standalone servers with a SAN?

I've read that of you have a SAN, then standalone servers are largely
disposable and using good quality servers will give you the same
high-availability as a cluster. Plus you need special versions of MS
and third-party software, which is invariably released after the
standalone server versions.

We're planning a system for 4,000 heavy users and MS is pushing a
cluster. We'll have a very good SAN infrastructure in place though,
plus we use very good quality servers as standard. Clusters just appear
too complicated.

I can't remember when we've had a server hardware failure that wasn't
related to software or storage.

Thanks,

- Alan.

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