Retired Hardware

[John Swanson_5]

Can someone provide me with documentation, as to what retired hardware means to us, the consumers (or direct me to where I can find it). When HP/Compaq lists a Proliant server as retired, does that mean that hardware (memory, harddrives, processor...) will no longer be made available? Will we have to go to a third party to get replacement parts? Will support be limited, or not available at all?
ex. - Microsoft states that at the end of 2004, they will no longer provide patches for NT4, and support will be limited. The OS will be retired.

[Tom Mucha_1]

I don't have a list for you, but from personal experiance, you will have to get parts from Compaq Spares. The parts, unfortunatly, do cost a little more. If you can find third party parts, you might want to try those since you don't have a warranty to worry about. BUT... I'll put in the disclaimer about Compaq parts being tuned and approved for servers.

To get spares parts, the easiest way is to go through a HP/COMPAQ certified dealer.

[Frank Kaufman]

Retired simply means that the server is no longer manufactured and is not available through distribution or direct. That does not mean that parts, support or service is not available for them.

Parts or assemblies that can be repaired/refurbished are often available on an exchange bases at a very reasonable price from Compaq parts, even for rather old servers.

Compaq tech support will help with servers that are long discontinued.