Date: Mon, 1 Apr 1996 18:22:11 -0700 (MST) From: Terry Lambert <terry@lambert.org> To: cat@ghost.uunet.ca (Cat Okita) Cc: current@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Advice/Recommendation needed Message-ID: <199604020122.SAA14932@phaeton.artisoft.com> In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.960401143608.9710x-100000@ghost.uunet.ca> from "Cat Okita" at Apr 1, 96 02:39:56 pm
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> Marc writes: > > Main thing to consider is that I have a partner that is against > > FreeBSD (cause its free) and would like to get our main server as rock-solid > > as possible so that she can't use instability as an argument against me :( > > ...and his partner responds: > > It's not the stability/lack thereof (although running a production environment > on the latest and greatest always makes me nervous - couldn't possibly > imagine why...). Much of my quibble has to do with responsiblity and > support. > > I *need* to know that I've got a support contract for the OS, and have > someone to hang out the window if things aren't working. (Hell - someone > to sue, if it comes to that). I've never really fully understood this argument; oh sure, if you were going to install lots of commercial packages yourself, and were likely to call for support on the install process, I could see it. I could also see it if you were installing mission critical commercial software and didn't want to use a compatability mode (validation suite and vendor support availability for third party packages, among other reasons: why "there's a BSDI version" or "there's an SCO version" isn't a good enough answer). But: "...Implied fitness or merchantability..." I think the best you can get is your money back. I have not seen a successful suit. I have seen a threat of a suit kick an otherwise abominable support staff into action, though this is rare. It depends on how much it would cost them to support you vs. how much it would cost them to give you the money back. I believe the break-even on Solaris is 2.6 support calls, so you can get your money back on the third call on your insolvable problem. Generally, they have a 3-6 month lead wherein they try to fix all outstanding problems (or reclassify them as non-problems). So say 3-6 months an 3 phone calls until you are back where you started. > Free OS's are a wonderful thing - they let people use UNIX that might never > otherwise be able to afford to do so; they offer source so that people can > learn about how things work...but they don't offer a place for the buck to > stop. The point for me is the ability to do research and share the results, and source availability. If you are a commercial shop with MIS, and no available programmer, then commercial becomes much more attractive. Terry Lambert terry@lambert.org --- Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present or previous employers.
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