Messages in this thread | | | Date | Sun, 11 Oct 1998 07:38:18 -0400 (EDT) | From | "Mike A. Harris" <> | Subject | Re: APC, Your company is making a mistake! |
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On Sat, 10 Oct 1998, Micah Yoder wrote:
>Regarding this letter which was recently sent to APC and the RedHat >mailing list, > >I too will soon be buying a UPS for a server. One of my top concerns is >open source drivers. Unless APC changes its policy on this soon I will >almost certainly go with Best.
Just yesterday afternoon, I was at a colleague's workplace afterhours working on some computers, and mentioned my UPS problem. They have a Best Fortress UPS, I'm not sure what the exact model is but can certainly find out if anyone is interested. This thing is a very nice beast! It is quite a huge UPS, larger than my current needs require, but nonetheless it was a nice piece of equipment.
At any rate, he told me some stories of power outages, etc that they had had in the past with an APC unit, and when their server was NT, it worked fine most of the time. They did lose data on a couple occasions, and it was difficult to point fingers at either the APC software, or at NT. Due to other problems with NT, they've switched to using a Linux server, and their UPS did not work with Linux properly due to lack of support. Since they cannot afford to fiddle around, they investigated the market, and discovered Best.
Since then, they've put the Best UPS into place, and have software running flawlessly under Linux, with source code, etc... Full specifications, and helpful support on the phone as well, from Best.
He give me a demonstration of the Best Ferrups UPS by yanking the plug, etc... and showing me the software for Linux. I must say that I was impressed with what I saw, and moreso that Best directly supports Linux like they do.
I'm awaiting a reply from APC currently about info on their products, as well as Tripp Lite, but so far from what everyone is saying, "Best" seems to be the better product technically, as well as for support. I need to have support across platforms for the equipment that I buy, and when a company is flexible like Best is, that catches my eye. When I see people raving about how great their products are, and see it for myself, then my eyes open wider - and so does my wallet.
When I started out, I was leaning towards APC, however now after some investigation, I'm leaning more heavily towards Best for deployment with my customers. I mean, if I can easily support many platforms with one product, why mix and match different vendors for different customers? I personally like to stick with well known companies, ones that support their product as much as possible. Open sourcing specs and code, is surely one way to catch my eye, and my money.
Linux is a growing field of endeavour. Open source is a good thing. Companies that support open source, and support Linux, will certainly be cashing in as Linux usage explodes over the next few years.
Anyone interested in checking out the wonderful Best Power products, please visit:
http://www.bestpower.com
And more specifically:
http://www.bestpower.com/productlist/pricing/communications_and_connectivity.htm
This page shows the multiplatform support they offer. It is quite extensive. All UNIX software comes with source code.
Damned good way of doing business IMHO. I'll see what my customers think about the various options that are available, and post back.
So far, I'm practically sold on Best, unless some miracle happens or some salesman convinces me otherwise.
What are other people's experiences with Best?
-- Mike A. Harris - Computer Consultant - Linux advocate
Linux software galore: http://freshmeat.net
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