Supermicro Deserves Some Respect: Page 2 of 2

The big boys still have some hardware tricks up their sleeves that Supermicro can’t match, like IBM’s lightpath LEDs on the motherboard that point out the failed component to your server techs. the Max 5 massive shared memory expansion device or Cicso’s expanded memory feature for UCS blades.

One problem many users have is that Supermicro still operates as an OEM supplier. While the other vendors sell their servers complete with processors, memory disk drives and the like, Supermicro just sells the parts it makes--primarily, the chassis and motherboard.

That means those willing to do a little assembly--like me, when we needed more servers in the lab recently--can save a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per server because they don’t have to pay the vendor’s markup on commodity parts such as memory and disk drives.

It also makes those less-geeky people uncomfortable, as they have to assemble their systems and choose parts. HP may send you the memory, disk drives and additional processor in separate boxes, but at least they all say HP on them. As a result, Supermicro systems are seen more in technology companies and universities than banks and brokerages, though some resellers have seen they can assemble and test systems, and still sell them at a competitive price.

Do I think every organization should put Supermicro on its server short list? No. But I think more self-reliant users can save some money and still have reliable, high-performance systems in their data centers or home labs.