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  5. Spares Beat Service Contracts Hands Down: Page 2 of 2
Networking

Spares Beat Service Contracts Hands Down: Page 2 of 2

I'm sometimes amazed at how much of my clients' IT budgets go to pay for service and support contracts they don't really need. Too many IT guys can only sleep soundly under the security blanket provided by a 24-7 service contract with guaranteed four-hour response times, so they just have the vendor include gold-plated service on everything they buy. I've found that, in many cases, a few spares and next business-day service can save my clients a bundle.
Howard Marks
December 23, 2010

Now don't get me wrong: Spares and reduced service make sense only for those devices in your network and your data center that you buy in quantity and use with relatively consistent configurations. When I'm having a configuration problem with my core switch, firewall, load balancer or disk array, I want support on the line at 2:00 a.m., and I'm willing to pay for it.  However, when a server power supply or disk drive fails, I don't need to explain that I know what's wrong before the guy on the phone will organize dispatch, and I really don't want to wait four hours till the guy shows up to plug in the disk. Don't even get me started about the tech who yelled at me for swapping in a spare drive before he got there.

The spares plan also requires discipline.  If spare switches end up being used when the 27th floor needs more ports, and spare switches get used for test and dev than they're not spares and you're living dangerously.

I'm sure some of you are aghast at the thought of not having 24-7 protection for the switches in the wiring closet that support a 9-5 workforce. Me, I'd rather have the cash to replace another wiring closet full of switches from this year's budget than have the extra-thick support Snuggie.

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