Hi-ho, Havn't had any experience with 'current' generation compaq rack gear, but did a bit of work with Proliant rack gear at AirNZ in '96-'01 and they are solid as a rock.. Linux wasn't a problem on them, and I imagine the newer gear is fine as well. I'd be sticking with the distro's they support for drivers (Redhat, suse, Caldera) as proprietary hardware without easy to install drivers can be a nightmare.
As for direct importing one.. Never tried it, but I know a chap who brought in a bunch of Proliant DL380's from the US to for a customer. I know he had problems getting warranty support initially from the vendor in the US, but got around it by sending the dead unit back to the US. Not really an option when you've only got one unit though.. My preference would be to price both import and 'Kiwi' purchase of the server, and give your boss the option.. Ask them how much the business is worth, do they want to save $1000 but risk a weeks downtime? The saving might not be all that big either by the time you take freight for a heavy lump of computer.. You could also look at a clone rack mount machine, Dell do some nice rack servers now, and they'd go in the compaq rack just as well.. Although the colour wouldn't match. Also a non-rack machine if you've got the space... Or largest linux box here is a big clone ATX case with high-spec hardware which would easily be as reliable as the compaq, would only cost ~$12k to build compared to $20k for the equivalent compaq. All depends on the scale of your business, and how much money you want to spend for piece of mind. Cheers, Chris Hellyar. Selwyn District Council Phones: X 831 (03)324 5831 (021) 350 603 <This message has not been inspected by the Chief Censors office> -----Original Message----- From: Bill Wilson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, 15 February 2002 10:53 a.m. To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Linux Servers This question maybe OT but here goes. At my place of work we are going to (at long last) install a Linux Server - we run Unix(SCO & Solaris),W98,W2000 and NT . The first thought was just to go out and buy 'another box', but on 2nd thoughts I suggested we could use an old (but in good robust condition) Compaq 19" cabinet and install one of these new 19" Servers that are advertised in Linux magazines. Question 1 : Do any of the LUG group members have experiences (good and bad) with such units? Question 2 : Has anyone imported any unit from a magazine 'not suppoted in NZ'- what experience? Look forward to reading the replies. Bill Wilson ###################################################################### The contents of this e-mail message may be privileged and/or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient please delete the message and notify the sender. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Selwyn District Council ######################################################################
