Re: Need help with 8.4 Performance Testing - Mailing list pgsql-performance

On Sat, Dec 13, 2008 at 1:03 PM, Joshua D. Drake <jd@commandprompt.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 2008-12-13 at 12:57 -0700, Scott Marlowe wrote:
>> On Sat, Dec 13, 2008 at 12:47 PM, Joshua D. Drake <jd@commandprompt.com> wrote:
>> > On Sat, 2008-12-13 at 12:45 -0700, Scott Marlowe wrote:
>> >> On Sat, Dec 13, 2008 at 11:37 AM, Joshua D. Drake <jd@commandprompt.com> wrote:
>> >> > On Sat, 2008-12-13 at 07:44 -0800, david@lang.hm wrote:
>> >> >> On Sat, 13 Dec 2008, Robert Haas wrote:
>
>> > Note: HP can beat Dell, every time on an apples to apples quote. At
>> > least when I have done it.
>>
>> Aberdeen inc, the one I listed in my previous response.
>
> Sorry didn't see it.
>
>>  Their on site
>> price for a single quad core xeon, 8 gig 800MHZ ram and 24 15k5 SAS
>> drives is $10,080 or so.  I've never had to tell them I was getting a
>> better price anywhere else.  They just give me a great quote each
>> time, they have very fast and efficient customer service, and they
>> give a 5 year warranty on everything they custom build for you.  I'm a
>> very satisfied customer.
>
> Well that would work for CMD but CMDs customer's would say, "Who the
> heck is Aberdeen?"

For me, it's the company I recommend.

Here's the point I make.  If there's any problem, whatsoever, with
aberdeen equipment when I'm putting it in, I'll come fix it and
interface.  If you pick someone else, YOU get to interface and replace
parts, I'm not doing it.  Their time versus my time.  The same is true
with anything else I that I recommend.

>> Few places have made me so happy with a decision to spend $22k on
>> servers as these guys have.
>
> Well that is definitely a solid testimony. I don't have any experience
> with them but I know that the smaller companies always provide better
> service so I have no reason to doubt you. The larger the company gets
> the harder it is to get through the muck of bureaucracy.
>
> I have to be honest though, unless the customer explicitly states we
> don't have a problem with white box, its going to be HP, DELL or IBM,
> occasionally SUN but once they see how ridiculous the initial quotes
> from Sun are they generally don't want to deal with them anymore.

I've made it quite clear to bosses in the past that if they stick me
with dud hardware (i.e. dell 2650s with adaptec RAID controllers, et.
al.) that I will not be handling the long, drudging fight with the
vendor.  I'll just sell it on ebay if it won't work and we'll order
what I said the first time.  One or two times of that happening and
they don't second guess me much anymore.  My current boss is much more
progressive, and while he had his doubts, he too is now sold.

Isn't it amazing how many small businesses won't buy from other small
businesses?  They'd much rather give their money to a company they
don't like because "they'll be around a while" (the big company).