[PLUG] Remote work on downed server ( Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: March PLUG Meeting: Anatomy of a Mailing List Meltdown )

[Paul Heinlein]

On Mon, 27 Feb 2023, Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:

> The Dell and HP systems require an extra license fee be paid to 
> enable the remote tools and most of my customers are smaller. 
> Their tendency is to try to press workstations into use as servers, 
> it's a big stretch to get them to actually buy a real server like a 
> Proliant, [...]
>
> Once I get them setup with real server hardware and they notice wow 
> - the server isn't going down every week - then they start to become 
> believers. [...]

Caveat lector: I was Ted's editor long ago at the long-defunct 
Computer Bits magazine, and his articles became a key foundation for 
my jump from Windows to *nix systems.

IT systems, like every other business asset, are assessed primarily 
from a risk-management POV, not a technological one. And, frankly, 
this is appropriate. Business owners need justifications for expenses. 
If spending ($cheapGear + ($serviceCall * 3) + $downtimeRisk) is lower 
than ($bestGear), then the argument for the best gear is dicey.

That's not to say that the business owner's risk assessments may not 
change or even mature over time, but I've given up pretending I always 
understand a customer's overall risk profile.

So Ted is perfectly right: the best gear fits a certain risk 
assessment. Perhaps an experienced consultant understands what the 
owner will only see at a later date. Perhaps.

-- 
Paul Heinlein
heinlein at madboa.com
45°22'48" N, 122°35'36" W