Non-profit infrastructure upgrades
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@Danp said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
The server is ~$5400 with another $5000 for server licenses. I know they could likely save some money with refurbed equipment. I also think they may be able to get some of the licensing through TechSoup.
What is any of it being used for? Not knowing the use case, all we know is that this feels wrong and the type of equipment is clearly someone looking to milk the non-profit because they think that they can pull a fast one on them - and they are probably right. The last guy did, they probably can too. Non-profits rarely take money seriously and are great targets to take advantage of. I can't tell if the hardware is spec'd well, but I can tell that the drives are ridiculous, the memory and the storage don't match the procs for normal usage and that the networking gear is clearly inappropriate.
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@Danp said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
I think they are overdoing the number of licenses required. The quote is for 32 2-core packs for a total of 64 cores. They have two servers, so if you assume 16 cores each, then that would mean they only need half of the proposed licenses.
Core packs for Standard or Datacenter?
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What are the actual workloads?
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We need to know what load the server will be under to provide a better solution. It already right off the bat feels all wrong. But we need to know what the server and network will be doing.
You could be much better off with an R730 and some SSDd with some Ubiquity networking gear. But again, need lots more info.
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If you have not, take a look at Tech Soup.
My last physical server I bought I bought from dell directly, but I got the server os from TechSoup and with software assurance, got it at extremely discounted prices.
I picked up two 48 port Cisco managed smart switches for about $300 each,..
As for the server,.. RAID 10,...
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I rather enjoyed working the NFP/ NPO angle,.. a frustrating yet satisfying challenge
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@Danp said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
Cisco SG200
That's not a managed switch. That's a POS entry level Linksys smart switch. That's below the home line IMHO.
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@gjacobse said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
I rather enjoyed working the NFP/ NPO angle,.. a frustrating yet satisfying challenge
Frustrating for IT, satisfying for salesman
Horrible tech and business decisions, but really easy to make big profits on if you are willing to do the sales to them. -
@scottalanmiller said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
@gjacobse said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
I rather enjoyed working the NFP/ NPO angle,.. a frustrating yet satisfying challenge
Frustrating for IT, satisfying for salesman
Horrible tech and business decisions, but really easy to make big profits on if you are willing to do the sales to them.I was the sole it person,.. not sales... my last place of employment - also an NPO hired four people to support the 19 counties I did by myself, they also had just two people for a help desk,....
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Holy cow... all kinds of bad seems likely here.
They can probably save a ton.
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A sign of things to come from the relationship.
I would look into getting a new MSP.
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@scottalanmiller said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
Core packs for Standard or Datacenter?
2016 Standard
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Appreciate all the input. I'll have to get back to you on the exact server usage.
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@Danp said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
@scottalanmiller said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
Core packs for Standard or Datacenter?
2016 Standard
For 2016 Standard in order to be able to move the VM's between the hosts (at will), both host have to be equally licensed. So if you only need 16 licenses for a single server, you have to double it for a 2 server setup.
Each license pack is dedicated to the hardware, to operate the VM's on that rack or tower.
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Everyone has pretty much summed it up nicely. Lots of bad decisions that will cost more then it should. I will echo one of the other posters. What is the load that you currently have?
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Something else to ask them, how much does downtime cost them? Do they really need failover at this level?
If they don't need that amount of uptime, then use the second server as a DR only platform. Then you don't have to license it at all. You replicate to it, but all VMs only run on one hosts and only in the case of a disaster do you spin them up on the other one. Then you wait 90 days before moving them back to the original host.
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@Dashrender said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
Then you wait 90 days before moving them back to the original host.
No, you can move them back under DR. We just had this discussion with link to the MS document.
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@JaredBusch said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
@Dashrender said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
Then you wait 90 days before moving them back to the original host.
No, you can move them back under DR. We just had this discussion with link to the MS document.
Oh, that's right, DR is a special case.
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@Breffni-Potter said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
A sign of things to come from the relationship.
I would look into getting a new MSP.
Or getting an MSP at all. Leave the VARs behind. You didn't get IT there, you got sales.
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@scottalanmiller said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
@Breffni-Potter said in Non-profit infrastructure upgrades:
A sign of things to come from the relationship.
I would look into getting a new MSP.
Or getting an MSP at all. Leave the VARs behind. You didn't get IT there, you got sales.
Exactly - What they need to look for is someone who will make recommendations but not sell them those recommendations.
Oh, and they can't recommend who to purchase from either, unless it's someone like Amazon or Dell/HPE direct. If they are pushing you toward a specific reseller, chances are there is back end money there.
