We got stung by this one. About a year or so ago, board upgrades on all 5 of our HP3000s were done. The HPSUSAN numbers did not change. My predecessor called all 3rd party software vendors except one. There was inadequate documentation of the upgrade in the files, so I was unaware of what transpired since I was not working here at the time.

We recently bought a new 979/400 box and traded in one of our older ones. We contacted all the 3rd parties again and upgraded the software. Again, on all but this one vendor. Reason? A "Lifetime License Upgrade" was purchased so the licenses were fine....no need to upgrade the licensing.

However, we began getting a peculiar message everytime we ran this product. I called the vendor to eliminate the message with no knowledge of what had transpired earlier and discovered that the support agreements had never been upgraded with the "new" machines (even though it was strictly a board upgrade on each). Because of my call, we've been hit with close to $80k in support increases some of which I suspect are "back support." 

The support for this product increases with the increased "horsepower" of the box. This particular vendor has around 30 price "tiers" --- our 979/400 box is some huge number of price tiers above the 979/300 box, etc. The price was astounding.

My advice? Call your vendors....all of them......before you upgrade. At least that way you've covered all your bases and don't get caught off guard like we were.

Cindee Bridges-Fowler
IMC Global, Inc.
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>> Barry Durand <[log in to unmask]> 11/17 1:08 PM >>>
Does anyone know if the HPSUSAN number will change on a chip upgrade from a
959/400 to a 979/400?  This is not a box swap but a board replacement.  I am
concerned about my 3rd party software running.

Thanks in Advance,


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Barry Durand        [log in to unmask] 
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