The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider

The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider

If you are in the market to purchase new servers, now, or will need to in the future, then consider the next 10 minutes reading this guide to be a prerequisite to choosing a vendor.

Youll learn the most common pitfalls that trip up too many customers when buying servers and learn exactly what you need to know to avoid them. In fact, youll know more than most experts. The knowledge you gain from this guide can ensure you avoid the following:
44 Inaccurate and/or over-inflated quotes 44 Being sold the wrong hardware for your project 44 Poorly built servers 44 Missed deadlines 44 The frustrations of outsourced tech support Myth: Buying a server or server system is as simple as collecting quotes from vendors and then going with the lowest quote. Truth: Servers are not all created equal (as you will soon find out). Servers that reliably withstand the test of time and harsh punishment are the result of expertly assembled components and finely tuned software. These features are not a guarantee with all manufacturers, thus the need for this guide.

This guide was co-authored by a qualified third party with you, the consumer, in mind. The authors qualifications include years of experience building, installing, and maintaining servers on behalf of the U.S. Navy, Department of Homeland Security, and major municipal organizations from around the country. This information is based on their thousands of hours of real-world experience, where virtually every possible scenario and condition has been encountered.

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

Familiarize yourself with the 11 key points below. Once you feel comfortable with them, you will be ready to interview vendors. The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider Tip: When talking to a vendor, avoid asking yes or no questions because they are too easy to answer. Instead, ask viewpoint questions that force them to provide quality feedback. If a vendor fails to impress you with even one of these 11 points, move on. The quality, integrity, and ongoing support you deserve exists, so dont settle for less.

1. No-Cost Pre-Purchase Consultation with an Expert in Open Source Servers and Systems If youre not a systems integrator or a server architect how do you know what products will best match your businesss needs when faced with shopping for servers or storage systems? According to Moores Law technologies shape-shift exponentially as time moves forward. CPUs, motherboards, hard drives, and all the components that make up servers and systems, literally morph overnight. Therefore, one-on-one access to an expert is a mission critical factor. You should be able to pick up the phone and get a real person on the phone within 2 minutes who is knowledgeable enough to answer all your questions, offer expert guidance, and provide unquestionably reliable recommendations for a server or system, free of charge. But why do I need to talk to anyone when a vendor offers an on-site free configurator? you ask. Most vendors in this industry offer onsite tools called configurators. They advertise their ease of use. You plug in your specs and it spits out a recommended server system in a matter of minutes. So easy a 10year old could use one. These tools are deceivingly convenient and designed to funnel customers through an automated order system. So, youre right, you never need to actually talk to anyone. But is that a good thing? The iXsystems Experience Once upon a time iXsystems offered its customers an on-site configurator similar to those of its competitors. Turns out that in the course of providing post-purchase support, iX quickly realized that some of its customers biggest problems were because of the configurator. Customers were either being fitted with systems that were too small or too big and rarely with a solution

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider

that actually fit their business needs. It ended up costing both customers and iXsystems time and money. iX learned that they could mitigate a lot of the problems by scrapping the automated configurator in favor of pre-purchase consultations with their knowledgeable Solutions Architects. An unexpected advantage was that it simultaneously permitted the company to forge much stronger customer relationships right out of the gate. Their goal became to listen, first, then develop recommendations that came closest to delivering a perfect system as cost-efficiently as possible. Get on the phone with Kevin or David, both Solutions Architects at iXsystems, and its instantly clear that youre talking to a subject matter expert. They help distill your business requirements and goals, analyze those goals in terms of server options, then develop a recommended best-fit custom configuration guaranteed to work with your Open Source system of choice. Because the company is all employee-owned, each person has a stake in delivering the very best products and customer experience. Its literally their company. iXsystems experts have guru-level experience with Open Source systems real OS champions and possess intimate knowledge of all the latest products and components being released in the marketplace, something you should demand from any manufacturer.

2. Long-Term Relationship that Benefits You, First, and the Manufacturer, Second Long-term relationships of any sort thrive on trust and loyalty. How does this apply to servers and server systems? On average a server, once past burn-in (testing) phase, is good-to-go for up to seven years. Thats a long time to try and put up with a server manufacturer or vendor if they have no reason to continue to deliver a best-in-class customer experience and expert support. Chances are good that over the lifecycle of your system you will require some level of support from your vendor. Dont you want a company that puts your needs first, particularly when youve paid them a truckload of money for their products?

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider

Manufacturers often boast of long-term relationships, but then fail to back up that promise with action. Theyre focused on the initial sale and not the followup. To get support you have to get on the phone and step through a frustrating gauntlet of menu choices. Then, when you finally get a real person on the end of the line its a Level 1 help desk technician, someone with rudimentary knowledge of servers and whose real purpose is to triage calls and keep customers from tying up the real experts valuable time. Thats a relationship that benefits who? The manufacturer, whose interest is in maximizing profit by minimizing the touch-factor. When you are evaluating server manufacturers, is it clear that a long-term relationship is even an option? 44 Do you have a dedicated point of contact? 44 Does ongoing communication and support require you pay additional fees? 44 Does the company have a proven reputation for integrity among peers? 44 What kind of customer reviews can you find? Make sure they are hosted on third-party sites and not reviews curated to pad the vendors website To get the absolute most of your system and your companys investment, its imperative that you consider the quality of the relationship available to you when researching manufacturers. The iXsystems Experience iXsystems begins its long-term manufacturer-customer relationship from the very first communication. From the first expert consultation to every single turn of a screw on the production floor, every IX employee is hard-wired to nurture customer relationships and drive toward delivery of the best possible product. This employee-owned company by its very DNA is hard-wired to attract customers who value the touch-factor and appreciate aptitude over attitude.

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider

3. Ability to Provide Accurate Quotes The investment in a server system is significantthousands, even millions of dollars are at stake in some cases. Is it too much to expect that when a manufacturer provides you with a quote it should be somewhat accurate? When an inexperienced salesperson or a configurator tool is permitted to be the brains behind your system configuration, its commonplace to end up with an unrealistic quote and in some cases, one that is completely out of the ballpark. Parts may be incompatible, prices out-dated, or you may be quoted a price for a system that will never meet your businesss needs. The ability for a manufacturer to commit to providing accurate quotes begins with the initial interaction. Companies that push the configurator tool as a means to an end, may not be able to meet the accuracy requirement you should expect. The iXsystems Experience iXsystems has a reputation for accuracy -- from its price quotes to its machinery, build processes, and workmanship. Because one-on-one consultations with experts are a recommended first step, you get a very accurate and reliable quote. Server systems as designed by iXsystems are custom configurations based on customer needs. You talk, iX listens and then develops a best-in-class solution. They have: 44 Immediate access to Silicon Valleys component manufacturers 44 Strong relationships with many of those companies 44 Finger on the pulse of the most up-to-the-minute fluctuations in price and component so customers get the best price, just-in-time. iXsystems will never quote the lowest price just to bag a sale. Solutions Architects are focused on a triad of aims: 44 Configuring as close to a perfect system they can based on customer business requirements, which may be performance, speed, size, or a combo of needs 44 Integrating the latest technology in a system 44 Providing just-in-time prices that allow them to quote as low as

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

possible in the moment Consider what you have at stake when seeking accurate quotes. The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider

4. Reputable On-Time Delivery Enterprise-level projects are often already in-flight and dependent on new server systems when a customer begins shopping. There is little wiggle room for wasted time of any kind and especially time-to-deliver estimates that completely miss the mark for one lame reason or another. When a vendor is incapable of delivering on time, your project can be dead in the water and suddenly youve gone from hero to zero around your companys water cooler. The Reality: Many server vendors make it a habit to promise unrealistic delivery timeframes just to make the sale. The risk: your project is compromised, you receive improperly tested machines, machines and components that are dead on arrival, and possibly incomplete or incompatible systems. The iXsystems Experience On-time delivery of a system is a matter of pride with this all employee-owned company. Customers sometimes come knocking at a point in their project that cannot possibly permit iXsystems to deliver a system on time. Leadership has a track record of candor turning away customers whose expectations, at that time, simply could not be accommodated. The company is opposed to industry practices that put the customer between a rock and a hard place and put projects and business at riskthe customers as well as their own. The guts to man-up on realistic delivery times has also given iXsystems a big advantage when it comes to fortifying the customer relationships it values so highly. Customers appreciate the down-home honesty that illustrates a commitment to integrity and delivery of best-inclass products and services. Some have returned at a later time to buy from iXsystems as opposed to other vendors whove burned them with unreliable delivery estimates or whose records of delivering poorly tested and even incomplete systems are not worth the risk.

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider

5. Servers Built to Meticulous Quality Standards Carefully consider the quality and reputation of a manufacturers server builds when researching. Risks are that components are poorly assembled and then improperly tested. Servers can be delivered dead on arrival or fail soon after installation, driving down-time, emergency support, and parts and machinery replacement. There are differences in construction processes, personnel assembling servers with little knowledge of servers and systems, and in quality of materials used. And then again, some vendors build nothing! They intake the customers order (can you say middleman?) and another manufacturer actually builds the systemZERO interaction with the customer. Dont let your server build be outsourced! The iXsystems Experience All server parts themselves are often the samemanufactured by the same factories in China. Its not the parts themselves that make the difference, but the quality of assembly, the expertise of the architects putting those parts together, and the rigor of the quality and performance testing. iXsystems uses a double quality check process (double QC). The first quality check occurs mid-point in the build and the second at the end of the build. Other manufacturers use a single QC processat the end of the build. Wondering why iX spends the time on this additional step? Despite iXsystems addition of the mid-point quality check, this double step process actually decreases their server build time! By subjecting the machinery to a mid-point quality check, problems are caught and corrected sooner, before they become bigger, more complicated, and more deeply embedded in a fully assembled machine. Thanks to this meticulous process, iX has significantly fewer problems to troubleshoot at the end of their server builds and arguably a better-built machine. iXsystems takes special care even in the way cables are packed into the server chassis. The companys chief systems architect has everyone trained to his specifications. Cables are meticulously packed to maximize air circulation, vastly reducing heat build-up that can fry machines. The company also spends a bit more on its CPU grease to get the brand that transfers thermal conductivity at a higher rate--just two examples that illustrate the lengths to which this company will go to perfect the quality of its products.

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Dont you wish every manufacturer were as committed to quality?

The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider

6. Time Invested on Better Built Servers Anyone can assemble a server relatively quickly once parts are onsite. But is it assembled correctly? Has it been assembled by knowledgeable systems architects who understand the duress under which most servers function? Ask a vendor, for instance, if they build their own servers. Some are only order-takers, the middlemen who outsource your order to another vendor who actually builds your machine. How are quality and integrity ensured? Are there records of test processes and proprietary build procedures? If you need support after purchase, who is going to provide it and will they know anything about your system or have the level of expertise you deserve? The iXsystems Experience iXsystems sits squarely in the heart of Silicon Valley, still ground-zero for technical masterminds. Given its proximity to all the best and brightest companies in the industry, architects can have all server parts needed for a build onsite and on the production floor within a day of a confirmed order. The companys just-in-time philosophy offers advantages to both customer and manufacturer. As a manufacturer, just-in-time translates to no need for costly warehouse space because there is no large inventory to store. As an iXsystems customer, you reap the benefit because materials are ordered as needed, at the lowest price available, at any point in time. The companys location puts it within 10 to 15 minutes of most parts vendors, eliminating long distance transport and shipping costs. But this company will tell you that they require a 7-10 day lead-time. If a server can be built so quickly with parts readily available, what takes place during this 7-10 day period? The time this company invests in building any of its servers is proof of its high quality standards. The process is detailed and time-consuming: 44 Serial numbers for every component in a build are scanned into a

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

database 44 MAC and NIC addresses recorded The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider 44 Architects with experience in Open Source, server architecture, cabling and networking assemble the parts and select only the best materials 44 Unique double quality check process is in place server build is tested mid-point, problems corrected, and then tested again at the end of the build 44 Proprietary cabling practices are utilized 44 Post-build burn-in testing is conducted for a straight 48 hours, problems corrected, and tested again 44 Test data is recorded on iXsystems own server; this serves as a historical snap-shot of performance, pass/fail data, and all component-related information, and is designed to be the ultimate go-to source for post-purchase support 44 RAID is set up and servers tested for operation with a customers OS of choice

7. Battle Tested Burn-In and QA Processes Ninety-nine percent of server mortality occurs within the first 90 days. An aggressive burn-in and QA process on the vendors part can mitigate this. Look for a vendor who is unafraid to aggressively test beyond the norm and prefers to deliver a product thats been pushed to excess, brought to failure, and improved, all to withstand the punishment it will get throughout its lifecycle. The iXsystems Experience iXsystems QA guru has written a proprietary test script that is the crux of the companys burn-in process. His code is loaded onto iXsystems own test server, affectionately named, The Overseer. The script aggressively hammers every part of a server for a straight 48 hours, vastly compressing the first 90 days of the servers lifecycle. The test stresses all components, including CPUs, motherboard, and RAM, and includes components no one else tests. If failure is going to happen, then it will in most cases happen here, on iXsystems production floor within this intensive 48 hours. The Overseer logs all test data and saves it for future reference as part of

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the support processes. Admittedly, the team occasionally discovers failed motherboards and bad CPUs, proof that there are defective components on the market and so the need for intense testing and QA process. The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider

8. White Glove Post-Purchase Support Find out beforehand what type and level of support you can expect after you purchase a vendors server system. Some companies are sadly just not that into you. You should expect that at some point in the lifecycle of your system that you or someone at your company will need to access your vendors supportwhether its for performance or hardware issues, or even simply guidance in setting up a new system. Do yourself a favor, ask vendors up front what they provide on the back-end. After dropping thousands of dollars, ask yourself if you really want support that subjects you to the following all too common support practices: 44 Fee-based support subscriptions 44 Other bewildered customers offering tips and tricks on support forums 44 A phone menu that drops you into a frustrating gauntlet of Level 1 help desk personnel and hours spent on hold The iXsystems Experience This is an example of a company that gets that their back-end support is as critical as their pre-purchase consultations, maybe even more so. The iXsystems experience comes auto-bundled with concierge-level postpurchase support that is free of charge. All support technicians start their iXsystems experience as systems architects on the production floor! Before they are authorized to serve as support personnel, they are required to learn firsthand the ins and outs of server assembly, the quality processes unique to iXsystems, and participate in the burn-in and QA phases. iXsystems support personnel are engaged, concerned, attentive, and supremely knowledgeable. Youll find no Level 1 help desk grunt here! This companys family-feel combined with experts everywhere you turn, instills confidence in customers who come seeking timely solutions to server and system problems.

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

Support resources include: 44 Detailed burn-in data and all pass/fail tests for servers and components sold is available whenever necessary 44 Support personnel are within a few hundred feet of the systems architects and able to initiate on-the-fly troubleshooting with the experts who built and tested the system 44 Systems specialists are able to replicate customer problems on servers that are exactly like those the customer owns thanks to the meticulous system specs maintained on all customer servers What kind of support are you willing to settle for?

The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider

9. Strong Guarantee and Beyond Youre planning on investing anywhere from a few thousand to possibly a million or so dollars of your companys cash on a server or entire server system. How do you begin to evaluate and compare various manufacturers guarantees? What other post-purchase assurances are important? First, make sure any vendor you are researching provides a warranty that covers parts and labor for some length of time. Also, consider the other assurances that may be availablefree post-purchase support, access to knowledgeable systems personnel who can answer questions and come up with viable solutions if ever needed, a record of thorough burn-in and QA testing processes that can offer you another level of confidence in the product, etc. Lack of any of these should be a red flag. The iXsystems Experience The company offers a 3-year parts and labor guarantee on all servers with a dedicated Solutions Architect and Support Representative assigned to your account. Considering iXsystems over the top burn-in process, malfunction on servers and systems is almost a non-issue. As part of its commitment to a superior customer experience, this employee-owned company prefers to handle customer problems on a case-by-case basis. Largely, iXsystems products are so well built and malfunction so rare that its difficult to document requests to return product. Other manufacturers experience customers who want to return servers and report failures due to a complete lack of

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

understanding of the initial customer needs and incomplete or weak assembly and testing processes. The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider iXsystems invests time in the pre-purchase stage talking to customers ensuring they get exactly the servers and systems they need to meet their business goals. They do this by pairing a customer with an expert Solutions Architect instead of driving them to an automated configurator where iXsystems believes problems first arise. 44 Additional perks of working with iXsystems is the opportunity for a company tour of its San Jose facility in the heart of Silicon Valley. 44 iXsystems customer experience, preferred products and services, integrity and overall philosophy, inherently guarantee their products and services.

10. Customer Reviews that Reveal the Real Dope Customer reviews, Facebook friends, and active Twitter feeds, have become the social proof for which companies hunger as a tactic for driving sales and boosting reputation. But does that mean you should consider every review you read to be reliable and real? Absolutely not and heres why: 44 Its a common practice among many companies to hand-pick stellar customer reviews for publishing on their website, as well as invite customers to friend them on Facebook and leave comments on Twitterall content under the control of the company. Bad reviews and off-color comments? Removed. Lets be clear: these are curated customer reviews and feedback that may not tell the whole story. How to best separate the wheat from the chaff in online consumer reviews: 44 Seek out a third-party consumer site where you can find customer reviews on a wide variety of companies as well as their products and services. An example of a popular third-party site is Angies List where reviews are aggregated without bias for any one

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

company or its service or products. You can get the real dope, so to speak, from everyday folks who have actually used products and services. The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider The iXsystems Experience iXsystems company leadership intentionally chooses not to follow in the footsteps of other manufacturers. Others hand-pick positive customer reviews that pad website content and artificially boost appeal and likeability. iXsystems, on the other hand, builds a long-term experience with its customers and puts its confidence in that relationship to create sales and referrals and an untouchable reputation, no social padding needed! For non-curated, unbiased customer reviews on iXsystems and its products and services you can visit Customer Lobby, a third-party site. The dialogue and high touch interaction iXsystems devotes to its customers is testament to their commitment to a unique customer experience an iXsystems experience.

11. Champion for Open Source Open Source is a development model and philosophy that goes far beyond the mere ability for a vendor to build a server capable of running an open source operating system. Many manufacturers can advertise to build a server for open source. If Open Source is your goaland for most enterprise level deployments, it isconsider how intimately engaged a vendor is with the Open Source world at large and how plugged in to the community they are. Can they provide you with clear guidance on Open Source solutions? Do they have architects with experience on Open Source projects? Can they provide you with post-purchase support for an Open Source system? The iXsystems Experience iXsystems specializes in building servers and systems that run Open Source operating systems of all kinds, most commonly FreeBSD and various flavors of Linux. However, this is not to say that they cannot build servers that are compatible with Windows operating systems, if thats the customers need. And they unconditionally support all Open Source systems. The open development model by its very nature attracts adherents with

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The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source

The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Server for Open Source 11 Key Traits You Must Absolutely DEMAND From Your Provider

enthusiasm for shared knowledge and a zest for collaborative development communities. These traits have permeated iXsystems business model, thanks in large part to the employees themselves, many of whom remain intimately involved in the Open Source community. The Open Source mindset, then, is hard-wired into iXsystems DNA and the company as a whole benefits. It has likely influenced their high-touch, highengagement customer experience, and their willingness to foster creativity and innovation among employee-owners. The Cost of Opportunity - Conclusion We hope this guide has helped blaze a clearer path through the serverbuying woods. The stakes are high for your business, your project, and your reputation. The opportunity cost can be high, too. * How do you successfully navigate this choice? Study this guide. Whether you ultimately purchase a server or system from iXsystems, Inc. or another vendor, we hope you are confident in your final decision. Call us today: (855) GREP-4-IX Toll-Free (USA Only) Visit our website today: iXsystems.com Copyright 2013 iXsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.

If you believe colleagues or peers can benefit from this material we invite you to share it. According to Investopedia, Opportunity Cost is what a person sacrifices when they choose one option over another.

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