Editing SETI@home (section)

===Hardware and database failures===
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SETI@home is a test bed for further development not only of BOINC but of other hardware and software (database) technology. Under SETI@home processing loads, these experimental technologies can be more challenging than expected, as SETI databases do not have typical accounting and business data or relational structures. The non-traditional database uses often do incur greater processing overheads and risk of database corruption and outright database failure. Hardware, software and database failures can (and do) cause dips in project participation.

The project has had to shut down several times to change over to new databases capable of handling more massive datasets. Hardware failure has proven to be a substantial source of project shutdowns, as hardware failure is often coupled with database corruption.