Hey IBM, can I just buy the fucking server please?

[buttonjockey308]

Ironically timed this topic, considering the board snafus of late...

I've been in the midst of a project to determine the best way to create a high availability server configuration. Since we currently have an IBM p520 only 2 years old, with plenty of space and memory for the apps we're running, and since the aggregate uptime is in the +95% range, we've opted to go with another p520. This one will have a LOT more memory and a LOT more storage, as will the devices that will serve as NAS. We've decided on the HACMP cluster configuration, which seems simple enough. Problem is, I'm on a TIGHT time budget. I need to spend the money dedicated to this by the 25th at the latest. So, off I go to the IBM website, look up the part numbers and whatnots, call IBM, talk to the configuration guy, give hime the particulars, including my hot rush, and he says, "ok, I'll kick this up the chain for you, you'll hear from us shortly".

OK, I says.

One day passes and nothing.

Next morning I get a call from Dingleberry McFuckstick at the local Major Computer Reseller...

DM: "Hey, we're working on your quote for that server you're looking for, just so you're aware, we'll have that to you right away"

Me: "Uh, you're who with the what now? Why are you calling me? What quote are you talking about"

DM: "The quote for the IBM server"

Me: "I didn't call you, why are you working on it? Is this an IBM thing?"

DM: "Yes, we're handling that for them now, so I'll have that to you right away, ok?"

Me: "Uhh, OK"

The next day...

DM: "Hey buddy, I'm working on that quote and it looks like I'm not allowed to sell you this machine so.."

Me: "Wait, first, buddy? Second, what do you mean you can't sell it?"

DM: "Blah, blah, blah I'm not allowed to see the part numbers, so I'm referring you to the other company we own to deal with this high end server"

Me: "Fuck me, I need this RIGHT NOW"

DM: "They're quick about it, I'll put a rush on it for ya, they're pro's"

Me: "sigh---OK"

Today...

DM: "Hi there! I've got Ayoob Dum Fookar on the line, and he needs to come out for a site visit so he can determine your needs and configuration, so I wanted to introduce you so you can..."

Me: "Wait, what? I need a server, I don't need a site visit, I know what I need, why can't I just buy it like I bought the one I have now, which is the same one with more guts and brains?"

DM and ADF: "It's an IBM thing, so when can I come out today because I understand you're in a hurry?"

Me: "No shit! Fine, come out, but if I can't buy because of this process, I'm gonna foot someone's ass."

ADF: "OK, I'll see you this afternoon"


How bloody hard is it to tell a company "I'd like that model, right there, with the blinky lights and the sides that are bulging out from all the storage and memory, that's the one, now who do I make this giant check out to?" and for the company to say "OK Sir, here ya go, you need someone help you to your car?"

Fuckers. Just sell me the server already, christ.

[black rabbit]

Welcome to the wonderful world of IBM purchasing.

Sometimes, the resellers are a giant pain in the ass. Sometimes, they're worth their weight in gold. It's pretty much random which one they're going to be on any given day.

[Cheesesteak]

Since when is the p520 high end?

The p520 is the cute little entry-level server, that gets it's cheeks pinched by the mainframe, and sand kicked in its face by the p595.

[buttonjockey308]

Originally Posted by Cheesesteak

Since when is the p520 high end?

The p520 is the cute little entry-level server, that gets it's cheeks pinched by the mainframe, and sand kicked in its face by the p595.

This is all I'm sayin! It's a simple little 4u server that I need to run my apps, I don't need all these feckin people, just a box ferchrissakes.

[gotpasswords]

Ah, but which p520? There seem to be at least ten permutations of the basic server - processor speeds, amout of RAM, desktop or rackmount, etc.

If you don't mind used, there are a couple up on eBay.

[drachillix]

Originally Posted by buttonjockey308

This is all I'm sayin! It's a simple little 4u server that I need to run my apps, I don't need all these feckin people, just a box ferchrissakes.

If yer so smrt bild it yerself

[begbert2]

Originally Posted by drachillix

If yer so smrt bild it yerself

Harsh criticism from someone who can't fucking spell.

[drachillix]

Originally Posted by begbert2

Harsh criticism from someone who can't fucking spell.

Note the smilie, I own a computer shop and I can build a server. I can also spell just fine thank you very much.

[begbert2]

Originally Posted by drachillix

Note the smilie, I own a computer shop and I can build a server. I can also spell just fine thank you very much.

Dude, I think some 'leet' kid snuck in and posted on your account minute ago. After all, all spelling aside, an owner of a computer shop wouldn't be telling somebody else to 'build it yourself' - that's a habit that's bad for business!

[Jurph]

Originally Posted by begbert2

Dude, I think some 'leet' kid snuck in and posted on your account minute ago. After all, all spelling aside, an owner of a computer shop wouldn't be telling somebody else to 'build it yourself' - that's a habit that's bad for business!

He also does maintenance and repairs, too. So telling people to "build it yourself" may actually be good for business.

[E-Sabbath]

Oh, god, tell me about it. We've gotten a new AS/400, an i5, at work, and for the life of us, we can't figure out how to order a rack-mountable console unit, we're stuck with these things from 1996. Anyone know what goes there?

[gotpasswords]

Originally Posted by E-Sabbath

Oh, god, tell me about it. We've gotten a new AS/400, an i5, at work, and for the life of us, we can't figure out how to order a rack-mountable console unit, we're stuck with these things from 1996. Anyone know what goes there?

If this is the line I think it is, I think you can pop in any ol' rack-mountable Windows PC and then you install the i5 Operations Console software on it.

Just be glad you don't have a System z9. You may as well add the IBM people into your family tree permanently when you get one of those.

[Tuckerfan]

This is what you should get.

[KneadToKnow]

Originally Posted by buttonjockey308

"more guts and brains"

"I'm gonna foot someone's ass."

Thank you for your contributions to my repertoire.

[buttonjockey308]

Originally Posted by gotpasswords

Ah, but which p520? There seem to be at least ten permutations of the basic server - processor speeds, amout of RAM, desktop or rackmount, etc.

If you don't mind used, there are a couple up on eBay.

The p520 Express, I'm only looking at 8GB ram, 1TB of storage and a POWER6 dual and an HACMP license (or 2) This isn't a huge deal, really.

I can't do used though. Wish I could.

[buttonjockey308]

Originally Posted by Tuckerfan

This is what you should get.

Great Vaulting Christ! That's one big sumbitch!
Believe me, if I could find a way to make that work, the Sun truck would be pulling up in front of my place tomorrow. Not that I'll EVER need that much juice, but that would be freakin cool.

[buttonjockey308]

Originally Posted by drachillix

If yer so smrt bild it yerself

I would, except I can't get the part numbers from my sales rep, he's not allowed to sell 'em, which means I'd still have to have Dum Fookar out to talk about it anyway. Dammit, now I'm irrationally mad all over again.

[buttonjockey308]

Originally Posted by KneadToKnow

Thank you for your contributions to my repertoire.

Just doing my part

[tdn]

I think these people are giving you a hard time because they have emotional issues brought on from having really weird names.

[Ponder Stibbons]

Originally Posted by Tuckerfan

This is what you should get.

That is totally the server that we need to move the SDMB onto.

[Stranger On A Train]

I sympathize. Because of both security and corporate requirements, we're limited with regard to the vendors and operating systems we can run. (Going outside the standard choices involves a tortuous process that makes the siege of Troy seem like a mere lark in comparison.) However, the vendors we are required to deal with often work through a network of resellers that resemble less a system of professional salesmen and application engineers than an Amway gangbang of dyspeptic monkeys. In one instance, turf arguments between two resellers over who had rights to sell what to whom and for how much delayed receipt of a quote by almost three months, by which time I had already implemented a workaround that was, shall we say, outside of the bounds of corporate policy but functionally expedient. In others, I've had surveys, consultations, discussions, and near-inquisitions in trying to order hardware that I've already fully specified and merely need a price quote to submit to our purchasing system (which itself is a medieval process powered by the sort of machinery ordinarily seen in the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet). There are some vendors I've just given up even dealing with or asking for support.

Stranger

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Ponder Stibbons

That is totally the server that we need to move the SDMB onto.

I think we should upgrade to this.

[E-Sabbath]

Originally Posted by gotpasswords

If this is the line I think it is, I think you can pop in any ol' rack-mountable Windows PC and then you install the i5 Operations Console software on it.

Yes, that would work, except that what we really want is to use the old funky IBM keyboard. You know the one I mean? It _looks_ normal, except it's... well, got all these extra keys and...

You know, these.
http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-1390876-KEYB...ayphotohosting

On the other hand, if you can tell me how the Operations Console software can emulate those keys using a standard keyboard, that'd probably work too. (This is probably my project next week, this week, someone else is effing with it and will give up shortly. I will then get the frustration.)

[Voyager]

Originally Posted by buttonjockey308

Great Vaulting Christ! That's one big sumbitch!
Believe me, if I could find a way to make that work, the Sun truck would be pulling up in front of my place tomorrow. Not that I'll EVER need that much juice, but that would be freakin cool.

I went right by one of them this very day. You must need a big enough space in your parking lot, and some cables.

Big cables.

[Sunspace]

Originally Posted by buttonjockey308

The p520 Express, I'm only looking at 8GB ram, 1TB of storage and a POWER6 dual and an HACMP license (or 2) This isn't a huge deal, really.

Heck, that's a Mac Pro high-end desktop these days _{well, except for the software, and the I/O, and...}

[Derleth]

Originally Posted by E-Sabbath

a new AS/400

A contradiction in terms if ever I heard one, much like 'maintainable COBOL' and 'readable RPG'.

[E-Sabbath]

I know, but it's quite nice, fits in a... is it 2U or 4U slot? About a foot tall, so 4U. Compared to the old beast I'm still working with that's, you know, the size of a Honda.

And, unlike everything else in the (nonprofit organization), it _works_. Reliably.

[buttonjockey308]

Originally Posted by Sunspace

Heck, that's a Mac Pro high-end desktop these days _{well, except for the software, and the I/O, and...}

I know, and if I could use a Mac for this app, I could cluster three of 'em together for the budget I have to buy this one IBM. And now that I have the quote back, I'm getting schtupped for any number of things that I shouldn't be. The HACMP software that is on the quote for $6,400 comes INSTALLED AS PART OF THE CONFIGURATION ON THE NEW SERVER.

Oh IBM how I have come to loathe thee.

[1010011010]

You know how at one point consumer level engineered products demanded a premium based on the quality, fit, and finish of the parts making the product as a whole?

And those companies that made the finest, highest quality parts and sold the most expensive finished products were bought out by the average guys because the average guys' crap wore out and they had huge incomes from the repair parts and other aftermarket streams?

So, now, pretty much everything isn't as good as it once was because there is no long term economic incentive for quality commodity product.

The same basic idea applies to the computer world only the after market is services and support. IBM doesn't want to be a business machine company. They want to be a services and support company. Their goal isn't to sell you a quality piece of electronic computer equipment... their goal is to create an ongoing monetized business relationship with you.

If you want computer hardware, go to a hardware vendor, not a service company.

[buttonjockey308]

Originally Posted by 1010011010

You know how at one point consumer level engineered products demanded a premium based on the quality, fit, and finish of the parts making the product as a whole

...

If you want computer hardware, go to a hardware vendor, not a service company.

I thought I was, but you're right. Still, their name is International Business Machines, silly me.

[1010011010]

Originally Posted by buttonjockey308

I thought I was, but you're right. Still, their name is International Business Machines, silly me.

IBM still makes and sells excellent machines and equipment (for now). That's just not their future plan. They're selling off bits and pieces of their hardware operations and focusing on services, services, services with their remaining hardware. As you found out.

[Derleth]

Originally Posted by buttonjockey308

I thought I was, but you're right. Still, their name is International Business Machines, silly me.

Try and get American Telephone and Telegraph to help you send a telegraph.

[Tuckerfan]

Originally Posted by Derleth

Try and get American Telephone and Telegraph to help you send a telegraph.

With or without them selling your personal information? Because if you're wanting the latter, then you're probably out of luck.