> Last year a client had to replace a server because > of a problem on the motherboard. So why not just buy a new motherboard? Were they afraid to open the case? It seems that if your willing to buy cheap whitebox equipment, you should have someone on staff who knows how to work with whitebox equipment. > On the other hand, in this same week I replaced the power supply to my HP DL380 > that is about 7 years old. Maybe instead, you should have thought about replacing that server that is 7 years old. Your up front savings, coupled with what you should be planning on spending for replacement equipement would practically buy you a new server today, that is twice as fast and uses half the power. How long do you want to keep nursing equipment along that is only going to become more failure prone? > I also would emphasize that the support from HP is going to be of much > higher quality than what this company can provide. Maybe if your spending millions of dollars with them. If your looking to make "small" purchases - good luck with that whole support thing. I've found that you will have much better luck with a smaller company. The smaller company needs your "small" purchases. HP couldn't care less. You don't affect their bottom line. More risk if the small company folds? Perhaps. You have to factor it in to what you are doing. > If a problem arises over the > weekend, calculate the cost of having this down on Monday waiting for a > solution as opposed to simply having it resolved and operational by Sunday. Or, alternatively, calculate the cost of paying twice as much for the equipment simply for the promise of support. If I'm following the numbers correctly - 20K for 10 TB from HP - you could buy 2 12 TB units from abernas for about 17K. Cheaper, and you now have a ready, live, hot backup. If they both fail in 5 years? And the company is out of business? Take that 3K that you saved, and use it to buy a new 100 TB system.