James B. Byrne wrote:
>
> I have been asked to locate a HP3000/980, either 400 or 300
> sub-series.  Memory requirements are said to be 512Mb.  This is for a
> direct business to business purchase. The used equipment  brokers
> have already sniffed this one out and are all over my colleague which
> is why he has asked me to do this.

If this is a "new" acquisition, you should really reconsider this.  Even
if this is an upgrade, let's take a pause here.  Let me elaborate:

We have a 950 and 960 (same box as 955 and 980) and I always considered
an upgrade to the 980 as a worthwhile and trivial upgrade, especially in
light of the fact the 960 is an upgraded 950 (3rd party, inexpensive).
The 980 upgrades are inexpensive (relatively speaking) from the hardware
perspective, but the 980 is in a different software support tier - the
same one as the 99x Enterprise servers.  The software upgrade costs far
exceeded the hardware cost.  The 980, given the costs to enter the tier,
is no longer cost effective when the newer 9x9 servers give greater
performance on a lower tier.  And unless things have changed, the 9x0
machines preclude an unlimited MPE license (if I'm wrong, please tell me
now to save on my own support costs!).  But then again, "trading down"
in user licenses yields no credits.

But the "killer" proposition here is that of the MPE license.  You
cannot transfer MPE licenses across physical "boxes".  I now own two
unlimited user licenses for MPE/iX for our machines (the only option at
the time we acquired them).  It cost us a considerable chunk of change
to acquire them (and the associated software licenses); but in the
upgrade I suffer considerable losses (if I downgrade to a user-limit
license) or considerable costs (if I perpetuate the unlimited license).

This is a "big deal" when the MPE license fees exceed the hardware cost.
Especially on an upgrade, when you pay the big bucks again; the
trade-ins were based on hardware, not MPE license level (again, hope I'm
wrong and this has changed).

Unless you already have software licenses in place, the 980 is not a
wise choice given you can get more bang for your buck at a lower tier
with newer hardware (even 9x7 or 9x8; you probably don't have a 9x9
within your budget).

Food for thought, but it comes back to haunt me at times, and perhaps
this may solicit some other opinions/options from others in similar
situations.

Jeff Kell <[log in to unmask]>