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I need to assess if it is time to replace our server hardware. I am trying to see if I need to find some stats to determine if it is time for replacement. I am new to the servers area and looking for some pointers from the experts on which parameters to evaluate (like hardware support availability, OS support etc?) in general and in my case as well.

Here is our Hardware / OS spec from prtdiag -v & uname -a:

System Configuration: SUN MICROSYSTEMS SUN FIRE X4170 SERVER          
BIOS Configuration: American Megatrends Inc. 07060215 06/19/2009
BMC Configuration: IPMI 1.5 (KCS: Keyboard Controller Style)

SunOS 5.10 Generic_142901-04 i86pc i386 i86pc

My question is from the Stats standpoint. Precisely:

  1. Is the following OS still supported (don't worry about whether we need to obtain support or not) - SunOS 5.10 Generic_142901-04 i86pc i386 i86pc;

  2. Is there a similar support parameter from the hardware perspective ie., is it possible to evaluate if my hardware is out of support?

techraf
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user1549605
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  • Do you still have a support contract on this server ? – user9517 Nov 02 '16 at 15:27
  • http://serverfault.com/q/524883/126632 – Michael Hampton Nov 02 '16 at 17:53
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    Regarding the support status of the hardware: Check your purchase documents. The warranty period and possible extended service contracts will be listed there (at least they should be). This is the relevant information and that's not something you can learn by posting a model number to a Q&A site. – Sven Nov 02 '16 at 19:03

3 Answers3

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Essentially, there are 4 points at which you might replace hardware:

  1. If it's broken (either with or without support)
  2. If you are out of warranty and/or support contracts and extending them is either impossible or not economically reasonable.
  3. You have outgrown the hardware and scaling horizontally (e.g. adding more servers) is not possible or reasonable.
  4. Whenever you feel you no longer can take the risk of run aging out-of-support hardware.

1) and 2) are clearly defined points in time, but 3) and 4) are entirely up to you and your specific situation. Especially regarding point 4), you could decide you don't want a single day without support or you could take the stance: Replace it when it's broken. We can't decide this for you.

Sven
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  • Thanks for the answer Sven. I understand the reasoning behind the decision. My question is from the Stats standpoint. Precisely - 1) Is the following OS still supported (Don't worry about whether we need to obtain support or not) - SunOS 5.10 Generic_142901-04 i86pc i386 i86pc; 2) Is there a similar support parameter from the hardware perspective ie., is it possible to evaluate if my hardware is out of support? – user1549605 Nov 02 '16 at 17:25
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    Sorry, you're saying *don't worry about obtaining support* **and** *how can I find out if I can get support*. This should tell you already that Sven is right; hardware which is out of support should be retired from production use, with neither ifs, ands, nor buts. – MadHatter Nov 03 '16 at 08:36
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SunOS 5.10 is better known as Solaris 10. Support lifetimes for that OS can be found in Oracle’s Lifetime Support Policy: Oracle and Sun System Software and Operating Systems (PDF) document. The short answer is that Oracle is offering Premium Support until January 2018 (just over a year away now), and Extended Support until January 2021, so while it’s supported now, the end of that support is in sight. Support lifetimes for Sun/Oracle hardware are more complicated and are covered in Oracle Hardware and Systems Support Policies.

alanc
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142901 was released in 2009. You shouldn't be running a 7 year old (at the time of your question) patch level. You're way behind on security fixes. Oracle will never support an OS that old. Any question you had would almost certainly be answered with "upgrade to current patch level".

Your hardware bios update is also 2009. Oracle might sell you a support contract for something that old, but it would probably be more expensive than buying a new system.

Doke
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