Christopher Browne wrote:
> Martha Stewart called it a Good Thing whenmatt@ymogen.net (matt)wrote:
>
>>I'm also looking at renting equipment, or even trying out IBM/HP's
>>'on-demand' offerings.
>
> You're assuming that this is likely to lead to REAL savings, and that
> seems unlikely.
>
> During the recent power outage in the NorthEast, people looking for
> generators and fuel were paying _premium_ prices, not discounted
> prices.
>
> If your hardware requirement leads to someone having to buy hardware
> to support your peak load, then _someone_ has to pay the capital cost,
> and that someone is unlikely to be IBM or HP. "Peak demand" equipment
> is likely to attract pretty "peaked" prices.
>
> If you can find someone who needs the hardware during the day, but who
> _never_ needs it during your needful hours, then there might be an
> arrangement to be had, assuming the "someone else" trusts you to use
> what's, at other times, their hardware, and assuming you trust them
> with the financial information you're managing.
I hadn't considered this, but that's not a bad idea.
With FreeBSD, you have jails, which allow multiple users to share
hardware without having to worry about user A looking at user B's
stuff. Does such a paradigm exist on any heavy iron? I have no
idea where you'd go to find this kind of "co-op" server leasing,
but it sure sounds like it could work.
--
Bill Moran
Potential Technologies
http://www.potentialtech.com