Hi, Habr! Judging by our past articles, the question of choosing a server in the context of economic stagnation is clearly not the least important in IT circles and in any other field. Today we will touch on the burning topic. We often encounter disputes between adherents of the troika and Supermicro — which is better. Also, we often hear the question - why buy servers of expensive vendors, if there is a budget Supermicro. Facing this controversy often, we have prepared a small comparison about the features of the products of the Big Three vendors and the proven Supermicro, and offer to understand the pros and cons of both sides.

Three whales - why we love them

• Reason # 1: Reliability - We will not prevaricate and we will tell directly - reliability is a fad for all three vendors - HP, DELL, IBM. Reliability is subject to all other pros and cons of these servers. And it is for reliability and reliability that we all love them so much, and they rightfully took a leading position among the Tier1 manufacturers. By purchasing the server of one of the manufacturers listed above, you acquire non-killed iron, the purpose of which is to serve and protect work as long as necessary;
• Reason # 2: Service and support - In an emergency, the expense goes to the minutes and a simple server is fraught with losses. Therefore, one more indisputable plus of the “Big Three” is a guarantee with on-site service installation + detailed documentation + support line. Sometimes, for the opportunity to do it in a matter of minutes, many are ready to give anything;
• Reason # 3: Components - There are also no questions to the quality of the HP, Dell and IBM server components. All these are specialized server solutions with a very long resource that have been pre-certified and tested;
• Reason # 4: Hot swap - Almost all HP, DEL, IBM servers have the option of hot swapping in the basic configuration of items such as power supplies and hard drives. Even in entry-level servers, you can optionally add this feature;
• Reason # 5: Firm options - Remote installation of the operating system, remote tracking of updates, including BIOS, an abundance of sensors that control all aspects of the server and other iLO, iDRAC and IMM - all this greatly facilitates the maintenance of these machines and the system administrator's life;
• Reason # 6: Scalability - Each server of the “Big Three” is flexible and has many upgrade options without unnecessary compatibility issues, since, again, the hardware of large vendors is standardized;

What we dislike the "Big Three"

• First, for the price - For the pleasure, as well as for the high quality you have to pay. In the case of servers HP, DELL, IBM pay very well. What, of course, few people happy;
• Secondly, for limitations - Alas, but to get the perfect server in stock, for example, HP, it is practically unrealistic for your tasks. As experience shows, most stock solutions have either redundant or insufficient performance, but not the golden mean. This again leads to unnecessary expenses;
• Thirdly, difficulties with components - Only a component that has been certified by the manufacturer with appropriate markings can be installed on the Big Three servers. And this little detail translates into a pretty penny .;
• Fourthly, warranty response - In terms of the guarantee of the Big Three, a point on distance from the official service center is registered, as a result, not everyone can use the service at the server installation site;

SuperMicro - 3 reasons to fall in love

• Reason number 1: price - Here SuperMicro is the complete opposite of the Big Three. Compared with new HP, DELL, IBM, these servers are significantly more accessible;
• Reason number 2: designer - SuperMicro are constructors. And you, using any components of third-party manufacturers, can "sculpt" from such a designer everything that your heart desires. So, you can really get the perfect server for solving your problems;
• Reason number 3: a wealth of options - In this regard, SuperMicro, perhaps, ahead of the rest. The choice of options for chassis is huge, including a 4-server solution in a two-unit server, as well as other forms of factors that HP, Dell and IBM cannot boast;

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Objective Cons Supermicro

All the disadvantages of these servers are direct consequences of their merits. And the most important of them is often lower reliability than the products of the Big Three. Although this question remains controversial, since the products SuperMicro is quite a good workhorse and the opinion of reliability is purely individual.
But with another drawback of this brand can not argue. And this is a low quality service.
The fact is that SuperMicro does not have a representative office in Russia. So, all warranty obligations and server maintenance issues are covered by the distributor. Do I have to say which delay in the end often results in this?

What is the result?

And in the end it turns out, an ambiguous situation. On the one hand, there are reliable servers of the big three, to which, perhaps, there are no questions on quality, but with a high price. On the other hand, quite good-quality SuperMicro servers, however, without a glorious history behind, but with a very affordable price and a lot of options for performance and content. Agree, the choice is not easy.
But, often, SuperMicro is used for solving non-critical tasks as backup machines, although on the other hand, many companies have all IT infrastructure at this manufacturer. But the servers of the big three work where compromise is unacceptable.

How things are changing in the market of recovered servers

Of course, you already know that we specialize in server recovery . So let me add to this review our “5 kopecks”.
We are engaged in the restoration of the Big Three servers - HP, IBM, Dell. Our refurbished servers are distinguished by:
- The price is 20-70% lower than that of new solutions
- 3-5 years warranty
- Service and repair in the territory of the client.
- Reliability
- The maximum age of our restored servers is 4 years, the average is 2 years.
What does it mean? At a minimum, what we offer to the client is recovered HP, Dell, IBM servers with impeccable reliability and high level of support at a favorable price. If the question is: why buy HP, Dell, IBM, if there is SuperMicro, then we will put it differently. Why buy SuperMicro, if you have a restored HP, Dell and IBM at the same price.

Where is the restored SuperMicro?

Not with us. We do not deal with these machines. Why? The main reason for this is the manufacturer’s lack of standardized iron. This does not allow us to give a full-fledged guarantee for such servers and carry out their repair on the client’s territory.

Which servers do you prefer and why? We are interested to learn about the experience of using this or that vendor, so share your opinion in the comments!