Specifications

©
2002, David K. Z. Harris
23
Pg. 23
© 2002
David K. Z. Harris
New or old? New or used?
Ø Do you need support?
Ø Do you need software?
Ø Are you trying to expand an
existing deployment?
Ø Can you afford to learn and
deploy something new?
Ø Do you need new features
² SSL? SSH V2? Sun-safe?
Synopsys had a working installation, based on Xylogics Annex hardware. Even
though it sent Serial BREAK on power-off, they kept it. Even after the product
line was bought by Bay Networks, they kept it, because they could still buy
compatible hardware. Only when Nortel Networks bought Bay Networks, and
killed off the product did Synopsys move to the costlier Cisco hardware, and
then they retrofitted the Cisco gear across the entire enterprise, replacing all of
the older units.
Many folks have been buying older units cheaply, on eBay. But the units didn’t
come with their software media (floppy disks, or PCMCIA flash cards), so they
wouldn’t boot. If you don’t get the software, and manuals, the unit probably
costs too much!
iTouch Communications will still support older Xyplex terminal servers, for
the cost of a support contract. Ask yourself how much your hardware is worth
if it doesn’t work…and how much is it worth to keep it working.
For larger organizations, buying new is probably worth the cost. You’ll want
on-site spares, or a service contract. You’ll want a consistent user interface and
features across your enterprise network. And you’ll want to be able to buy more
of them next year…