If I need to buy 5x20TB Crucial SSD what is the best way and why?
External, internal, portable, required for data center operations, storage regulated data & information, etc?
Crucial does not list any 20TB SSD of any type or form factor on its website.
Did you mean 2TB SSDs?
Western Digital, SeaGate, others list external/NAS 20TB SSD drives in their product line-ups.
I would pick & choose enterprise-grade SSD (e.g. Micron) with warranties greater than 3 years. 5 years is better.
Check, double-check, and triple-check that the model, features, support options, repair & servicing options, and warranty meet your operational needs (perform both a vendor and product risk assessment). Ask a lot of questions.
1) Should we buy everything from the same shop or buy 2 pieces from 3 different shops?
If being sourced for business or data center operations, then you need business/enterprise support features in the case of issues and should purchase direct from Crucial or an authorized reseller.
For the storage of regulated data there typically are drive encryption and other specification/capability requirements.
Don't purchase from your typical Indian digital hardware street or small established (brick and mortar) vendor. The same goes with eBay and Amazon.
Definitely do not be unwise by putting the lowest cost as your top priority. Popular platforms for cheap drives such as eBay - particularly eBay - should not be used to make purchases as there is usually no warranty. If it is OEM direct on eBay then that would be acceptable. Amazon, Newegg, Migros, Teknos, etc are acceptable if there is at least a 30 day return privilege and consumer/SMB reviews of the Seller are good.
Never buy refurbished unless the OEM will provide a full device warranty.
Pay close attention to exclusions of warranty. Get copies of the warranties and read before making a purchase. Make sure that there is local/regional support for the drive warranties should you experience problems. This is nasty surprise for many. They learn too little, too late that there is no in-country, regional, or local support and that they have to ship the drive to an authorized repair depot on the other side of the world.
2) Following from Q1 above, should I buy all in one day or buy 2x SSD first, then add the rest some months later?
Generally, all on the same purchase order (PO) but buyer protections vary from nation to nation. What makes sense in Europe or India might not apply anywhere else. Then there is the logistics of purchasing and getting the drives delivered which can be linked to various problems or considerations (such as lead time, delivery time, cost, availability of common carriers in the region, etc) dependent upon where you are located.
If it is going to take more than the return privilege time window (typically 30 days to get the product in the mail) to test and determine if one (1) of the drives will meet your needs, then purchase only one (1) to start. The rest later.
Insure the drives against loss or broken functionality (total breakage, bad sectors, theft).
