7 ms·

In the Enterprise space, there really isn't a solid competitor - HP and IBM equipment is, to be blunt, terrible: I had a 50% DOA rate on 20 HP servers I bought

In the Enterprise space, there really isn't a solid competitor - HP and IBM equipment is, to be blunt, terrible: I had a 50% DOA rate on 20 HP servers I bought two years ago. In contrast, I've had zero on the $4M+ worth of Dell I've bought since then. That said, it only applies to their servers - the disk arrays and networking equipment is all garbage. I hope this change won't result in making the one thing that works worse.

rdl 13y ago
It's kind of screwed up, but the #2 reliability hardware vendor I've found has been Supermicro (tied with Dell, depending on model). Supermicro is also super-cheap, and tends to make cool things like Intel developer machines. I hate Dell desktops, although I do like their monitors. Dell desktops tend to over-optimize on power supplies and other components, such that you can never really upgrade them later.
- harrytuttle 13y ago
  Dell servers are shit. Currently trying to source a disk for a 3 year old poweredge which is stupid. Pay £700 for a Dell one or £122 fir a generic one but the array won't build with the generic one as the PERC doesn't like it (even though its the same model disk). Dell modify the firmware. +1 for supermicro and they're fun to build as well as bomb proof
  - MichaelGG 13y ago
    Except Supermicro's remote management stuff locks up and requires a unit reset to get going again. That's hosed us more than once (across different servers, different timeframes, different datacenters, different providers). Dell's done some dumb stuff, and the newer gen models are a nightmare to figure out (limiting number of disks for no reason, requiring 2.5" on some models but not others). Plus they gouge you to get a functional KVM ($300+?) But they've been far more reliable than Supermicro, in my limited experience.
  - intorio 13y ago
    Are you running the newest firmware on the PERC? The firmware used to limit you to only Dell certified drives but they removed that after about a year, probably due to backlash. I know we told our rep we wouldn't buy the new cards until they got rid of that.
    - rdl 13y ago
      I really want to get into the open hardware from Facebook, etc. I'd love cost-efficient boxes with the right security features (ideally, a super-cheap HSM) built in, along with either no RAID but enough SATA (to do sw raid), or areca or 3ware chips built-in. Being able to get good 10GE or 4x bonded GE support would be a huge plus, too.
    - harrytuttle 13y ago
      The newest supported on the machines (they are quite old). We tried another vendors disk in it and the array rebuild failed.
- _exec 13y ago
  > Intel developer machines Would you care to elaborate / link? Google turns up nothing.
  - rdl 13y ago
    http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/hardware-developers/hardware-development.html http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/hardware-developers/h... Several of their new technology server motherboards were actually OEMed by Supermicro -- stuff like the boards for testing TXT, etc. Intel is actually getting out of the motherboard industry entirely. I think Supermicro was mainly involved in the server boards, not their desktop boards -- bigger manufacturers usually used intel reference designs but still made their own board, so I think it was a low volume business.
marincounty 13y ago
I am really leery of buying anything from HP. The only laptop I've ever had to repair(that wasn't 't major), and it was the motherboard. I only had a few hours of use and the fan out max out. To be honest the laptop had quality components, but designed terribly. The heat sink was too far away for the nvida video chip. They wouldn't admit anything was wrong until lawyers got involved.
bluedino 13y ago
I think the decision between Dell/HP/Lenovo is all politics. Everywhere I've been except for my current position has been a Dell shop, mostly because of low pricing, fast service, reliable products, ease of ordering. But the current place is all HP. They've been running on HP since the 80's, the core of the business still runs on an Itanium. I was literally laughed at for suggesting Dell servers or Lenovo laptops. The IT VP seems to think Dell is a joke and Lenovo is 'low quality, Chinese'. The only advantage of going with HP in my mind, is the fact that there are two fortune 500 companies in town who run all HP. That results in them having techs in the area all the time and a decent inventory of warranty parts nearby.

rdl 13y ago

It's kind of screwed up, but the #2 reliability hardware vendor I've found has been Supermicro (tied with Dell, depending on model). Supermicro is also super-cheap, and tends to make cool things like Intel developer machines. I hate Dell desktops, although I do like their monitors. Dell desktops tend to over-optimize on power supplies and other components, such that you can never really upgrade them later.

harrytuttle 13y ago
Dell servers are shit. Currently trying to source a disk for a 3 year old poweredge which is stupid. Pay £700 for a Dell one or £122 fir a generic one but the array won't build with the generic one as the PERC doesn't like it (even though its the same model disk). Dell modify the firmware. +1 for supermicro and they're fun to build as well as bomb proof
- MichaelGG 13y ago
  Except Supermicro's remote management stuff locks up and requires a unit reset to get going again. That's hosed us more than once (across different servers, different timeframes, different datacenters, different providers). Dell's done some dumb stuff, and the newer gen models are a nightmare to figure out (limiting number of disks for no reason, requiring 2.5" on some models but not others). Plus they gouge you to get a functional KVM ($300+?) But they've been far more reliable than Supermicro, in my limited experience.
- intorio 13y ago
  Are you running the newest firmware on the PERC? The firmware used to limit you to only Dell certified drives but they removed that after about a year, probably due to backlash. I know we told our rep we wouldn't buy the new cards until they got rid of that.
  - rdl 13y ago
    I really want to get into the open hardware from Facebook, etc. I'd love cost-efficient boxes with the right security features (ideally, a super-cheap HSM) built in, along with either no RAID but enough SATA (to do sw raid), or areca or 3ware chips built-in. Being able to get good 10GE or 4x bonded GE support would be a huge plus, too.
  - harrytuttle 13y ago
    The newest supported on the machines (they are quite old). We tried another vendors disk in it and the array rebuild failed.
_exec 13y ago
> Intel developer machines Would you care to elaborate / link? Google turns up nothing.
- rdl 13y ago
  http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/hardware-developers/hardware-development.html http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/hardware-developers/h... Several of their new technology server motherboards were actually OEMed by Supermicro -- stuff like the boards for testing TXT, etc. Intel is actually getting out of the motherboard industry entirely. I think Supermicro was mainly involved in the server boards, not their desktop boards -- bigger manufacturers usually used intel reference designs but still made their own board, so I think it was a low volume business.

marincounty 13y ago

I am really leery of buying anything from HP. The only laptop I've ever had to repair(that wasn't 't major), and it was the motherboard. I only had a few hours of use and the fan out max out. To be honest the laptop had quality components, but designed terribly. The heat sink was too far away for the nvida video chip. They wouldn't admit anything was wrong until lawyers got involved.

bluedino 13y ago

I think the decision between Dell/HP/Lenovo is all politics. Everywhere I've been except for my current position has been a Dell shop, mostly because of low pricing, fast service, reliable products, ease of ordering. But the current place is all HP. They've been running on HP since the 80's, the core of the business still runs on an Itanium. I was literally laughed at for suggesting Dell servers or Lenovo laptops. The IT VP seems to think Dell is a joke and Lenovo is 'low quality, Chinese'. The only advantage of going with HP in my mind, is the fact that there are two fortune 500 companies in town who run all HP. That results in them having techs in the area all the time and a decent inventory of warranty parts nearby.