NetApp operates no differently than other vendors -- hardware maintenance pricing ratchets up on aging systems as newer models begin to deliver in volume.

However, third parties can usually provide hardware maintenance contracts for older systems that provide significant savings to the user in the range of 30-50%. As part of these contracts, spare parts and/or complete (unlicensed) "failover" filers/systems are often kept on-site; this paves the way for "mean-time-to-repair" and "availability" that are actually superior to what the manufacturers' field engineering organizations can deliver.

Scott

Scott Fischmann
Union Computer Exchange, Inc.
6233 Idylwood Lane
Minneapolis, MN 55436
email: scott@unioncomputer.com
phone: 952 935 7282 | fax: 952 935 5056

Subj:NetApp Gripe.
Date:9/17/2002 5:53:04 PM Central Standard Time
From:devnull@adc.idt.com
To:toasters@mathworks.com
Sent from the Internet

Toasters,

Not really amused about the hike in NetApp maintenance prices, which seem
to have doubled.

Is this a disturbing trend ya'll are seeing with other vendors also ?

Anyways, i just wanted to bitch about it.

/dev/null

devnull@adc.idt.com