Hardware vendors (was: Just when you think you've seen it all...)

Ben Scott dragonhawk at gmail.com
Tue Jun 27 12:05:01 EDT 2006


On 6/27/06, mike ledoux <mwl+gnhlug at alumni.unh.edu> wrote:
>> So who do you recommend for servers?  Compaq I've had too many bad
>> experiences with gratuitous incompatibility to go near.
>
> I'm very happy with the HP branded Proliant servers ...

  Hmmmm.  I've always been impressed with the Compaq Proliant and
DeskPro design and build quality -- the things are built like tanks.

  What turn(ed|s) me off is that Compaq owns the patents on gratuitous
incompatibility.  If there is any way possible that something can be
changed, Compaq will change it, just because they can.  In the bad old
days, it meant that they almost weren't IBM compatible anymore (i.e.,
some software wouldn't run), and as recently as a few years ago,
everything I saw from them still seemed full of goofy, odd-ball
designs.

  I suppose, is the server space, that's largely irrelevant, as
servers are mostly going to be proprietary designs anyway.  But
multiple bad experiences with this has left a really bad taste in my
mouth.  I *HATE* being held hostage by my hardware.

> Dell servers are, well, Dell.  We have a couple dozen, and hate
> them.  More problems with these, more frequently, than everything
> else combined, including the VERY old (10+ years) Compaq branded
> servers still out in the field.

  Are we talking problems as in faulty design, or hardware failures?
Or both?  :)  I would pretty much expect that Dell's hardware wears
out sooner and more often than HP or IBM stuff.  Design issues, on the
other hand, can't be fixed by swapping parts...

  The one thing that *does* really sour me on Dell is that they refuse
to give me a service contract on any server that's more than 5 years
old.  Anyone here have active contracts on older servers from IBM or
HP/Compaq?  (Keep in mind that I'm in the "small business" space --
I'm sure if I had a few hundred servers, I'd have more options.)

-- Ben



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