I am beginning to hate HP

When the hell did HP start requiring an active warranty/care pack in order to download firmware and BIOS updates? Complete bs.

I bought a microserver for labbing about 18 months ago. I decided to wipe 2008 and load Server 2012 on it. Apparently there is a hardware issue with the embedded NIC that requires a bios update to be able to install Server 2012. But you cannot get said bios update without an active care pack. They want $456 for this support contract. I paid $230 for the server itself. Utter horse crap.

Ill not be buying HP for personal use any time in the near future.

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it_consultant

They started this a few years ago. I have talked to some people on the HP side and while I don't agree with the policy I understand where they are coming from. I don't normally condone going to the darknet on stuff like this but in your case, I am sure you can scare up a copy of that BIOS from somewhere...

TomkoTech

Yeah. Ill get the update. But the fact that I have to go somewhere other than the manufacturers website for this is ridiculous.

techfiend

Is this common practice among server manufacturers?

it_consultant

Nope. HP started doing this and all the sudden Dell reps had another talking point about how bad HP is. The reality is/was that when four and five year old servers start doing funny things people upgrade the BIOS and RAID controllers and then the server toasts for whatever reason and a support call was generated to HP. HP felt as if they needed to support the out of warranty server because the update toasted it. I am not a huge fan of the policy but I can see where they were/are coming from.

techfiend

Cisco has something like this too don't they? When working with companies it makes a lot of sense but for individuals it seems really unreasonable. It would be nice to if they separated corporate and personal use like a lot of software companies do.

I'll remember to never buy an hp server for personal use. It was doubtful anyways as the few HP things I've had didn't impress.

MTciscoguy

You are only "beginning" to hate HP? Heck, I have hated them for years! LOL

Nersesian

HP is one of the few companies I'll take solicitation calls from, just for the opportunity to tell them they suck. I asked the last rep that called if they've managed to set any of their customers on fire recently. My suggestion to erect one of the "days since last accident signs" was not well received.

They hosed me for $1200 when I was a broke student a million years ago over a faulty laptop power supply. I may be a little petty, but I make it my mission to remove any HP products from a prod enviro wherever I go.

Other companies I always look forward to speaking with:

Comcast (we actually use them as a backup line and I still get solicitation from them)
Amazon
Dell
Verizon (This is a personal one though. When I pay you almost $150 a month for FIOS, ESPN HD is just assumed.)

undomiel

Having used primarily Dell servers all these years I was shocked to find HP BIOS updates behind the warranty wall. It was pretty upsetting as the servers I needed to update had just gone out of warranty and the people previously supporting them never ever ran updates of any sort. Definitely has not helped move me towards being a fan of HP. Already thought poorly of them due to some crappy switches and laptops. Plus I loved WebOS.

it_consultant

I have worked with thousands of physical servers between Dell and HP. While HP has not been problem free, they have been less problematic than Dell and certainly less problematic than Cisco. My current employer is a Dell shop and we sat for the Cisco sales pitch for their UCS platform and they were explaining how you could manage all the chassis through a web portal (or whatever) to which I quipped "you mean what HP has been doing for years?". Same thing with Dell and their DRAC cards, HP's ILO is generations ahead of Dell on this.

It is important to know the difference between HP the company that sells crappy laptops at Best Buy and HP the company that sells the Compaq/Proliant line of servers. They are totally different entities within HP. If I am not mistaken, they will soon be totally different entities period.

TomkoTech

I am not talking about a crappy laptop. I am talking about a Proliant Microserver that does not work with the latest version of MS Server due to a hardware problem a little over a year after purchasing it. One would expect that "new" hardware should keep up with software for at least a few years. And while there is a fix(BIOS update) for the issue the fact that I would have to purchase a support plan at double the cost of the server itself to get said update is ridiculous. If this is how they are going to do firmware and what not for the future then they need to include at least 3 years of support on new purchases.

Verities

it_consultant wrote: »

I have worked with thousands of physical servers between Dell and HP. While HP has not been problem free, they have been less problematic than Dell and certainly less problematic than Cisco. My current employer is a Dell shop and we sat for the Cisco sales pitch for their UCS platform and they were explaining how you could manage all the chassis through a web portal (or whatever) to which I quipped "you mean what HP has been doing for years?". Same thing with Dell and their DRAC cards, HP's ILO is generations ahead of Dell on this.

It is important to know the difference between HP the company that sells crappy laptops at Best Buy and HP the company that sells the Compaq/Proliant line of servers. They are totally different entities within HP. If I am not mistaken, they will soon be totally different entities period.

They have already split into 2 companies. I have to agree with you that ILO is freaking clutch. There have been a few times I've been working with remote servers and can't get someone in front of them, only to be saved by ILO.

Tomko, that really sucks...

-Do you have a warranty still for the server?

-Have you tried arguing with them or explaining to them why you need the BIOS update?

-Have you looked around for any sort of grandfather clause for the licensing update since you bought the server not too long ago?

Just trying to come up with ideas...

it_consultant

TomkoTech wrote: »

I am not talking about a crappy laptop. I am talking about a Proliant Microserver that does not work with the latest version of MS Server due to a hardware problem a little over a year after purchasing it. One would expect that "new" hardware should keep up with software for at least a few years. And while there is a fix(BIOS update) for the issue the fact that I would have to purchase a support plan at double the cost of the server itself to get said update is ridiculous. If this is how they are going to do firmware and what not for the future then they need to include at least 3 years of support on new purchases.

Did you buy the server new or did you ebay it? if you ebay'd it then you haven't really a leg to stand on. If you bought it new then you should have been aware of the policy change from HP as they really weren't quiet about it. For a home lab I wouldn't recommend an HP server but for the fact they are extremely quiet, which is nice.

TomkoTech

I bought it new from Newegg. The policy wasn't implemented until AFTER my warranty expired. And whether they were vocal or not I wasn't aware until I had cause to update the bios. And while normally I would agree that for a home lab it usually isn't the best purchase, I paid ~450 for the server, all the drives, and the upgrade ram. So the price was right.

TomkoTech

They only offer a 1 year warranty on the microservers. It expired already. I've already plead my case to tech support on the phone as well as to the corporate executive email option. Bottom line is if I want the update officially from them I have drop $356 on a new warranty.

it_consultant

I heard about it because I have been a corporate customer of HP for years but those micro-servers fit into the hole of not really corporate, but not really home either and since you purchased it from NewEgg it doesn't really surprise me that you didn't know about the change. It ain't a great way to start a relationship on HP's part. Its fine if they want to be like Cisco and other vendors and only allow people with valid support contracts to upgrade but then you shouldn't sell it on NewEgg for $500!

Nersesian

- It is important to know the difference between HP the company that sells crappy laptops at Best Buy and HP the company that sells the Compaq/Proliant line of servers. They are totally different entities within HP. If I am not mistaken, they will soon be totally different entities period.

I'm not picking a fight here, but this is poor reasoning on HP's part and I've had the same story told to me from an HP rep. Here's the thing...I don't care what their internal structure is like. I'm not going to start buying Nikes like its 1992 again just because it was a different wing of the company who exploited children and their tiny hands. (I understand all the faults with this analogy)

"But baby, that was the old me...I'VE CHANGED, I SWEAR. I wouldn't set you on fire baby....I love you. Come back and we can fill that rack together...as a team...like Hewlett and Packard originally wanted."

it_consultant

HP has done a good job here of losing friends and alienating people. However, their server products are a totally different animal than the garbage that is sold in the consumer line. I will pay the 10% mark-up (which is how much more HP's tend to be than their competition) because my experience with them has been better than Dell, Cisco, or Supermicro. This change really only effected people like the OP who really wouldn't need a support contract based on what he is using the server for or people too cheap to keep their corporate stuff under support. HP sells a metric tonne of servers all day every day. They are tired of giving what is essentially free support, can't blame them for that, other vendors have the same approach. The problem was that this was free and that is what people have/had come to expect. If you buy a proliant and run it in prod better keep the support current, period. I would say the same thing for Dell even though their HW updates are free even post warranty expiration.