Selecting a replacement laptop DVD drive

I have a Dell latitude C600 and am looking to buy a non-Dell branded media bay/modular DVD drive. There are a few out there such as the Toshiba Model #SD-c2402 that are very similar to Dell drive in both look and specs.

How would you determine if they are indeed compatible? In fact I think it would be of great knowledge to learn how to determine the compatibility for any components on any Laptop/notebook. Are there sites that address these kind of questions?

Thank You for any suggestions you may have