View Poll Results: How much more is a dedicated server with KVM/IPMI worth to you vs. one without?

Voters
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  • $0 - The server's total price is what matters to me, don't raise it by making IPMI standard

    5 22.73%
  • $10 - Throw something cheap in there, I'll pay a little extra to have this available

    6 27.27%
  • $20 - I'm willing to pay a little more to have this feature before ordering a server that doesn't

    4 18.18%
  • $30+ - Get the nicest setup for this you can, this feature's invaluable

    7 31.82%
Results 1 to 18 of 18
  1. #1
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    What's KVM / IPMI / DRAC worth to you on a dedicated server?

    KVM / remote console access has been an interesting topic in dedicated hosting for as long as I can recall, and it seems like more and more there's nothing but variation in how different providers handle it. I've seen everything from:

    • No KVM/IPMI/DRAC access is available
    • A KVM is available if you ask one of our techs to connect one
    • KVM/IPMI/DRAC access is available as a server add-on at sign-up
    • IPMI/DRAC is already on-board on the system and bundled with all packages


    As I have the awesome responsibility of reviewing how our company deals with this.. I recall a recent thread asking if it flat out mattered in choosing a host, in which it seemed the general consensus was that it was seen as at least a benefit by most people. Obviously having this feature comes at a cost to the provider though, which effects the service as a whole.. and makes me wonder what the customer's perspective is in valuing this feature as it does have some effect on the bottom line for both parties.

    So all of that said, I'm interested to see a poll of what the host's investment in this feature worth to you (whether you eat the cost as part of the overall server cost, or you request it as an add-on at sign-up). The obvious goal of most good providers is to deliver it at the lowest cost possible to you and therefore have the best product.. but that aside, if comparing the cost of two dedicated servers (one with IPMI standard and one without), what's this feature worth to you? Is it worth a few extra dollars, or is price your # priority at the end of the day?
    Last edited by qwidjib0; 08-20-2009 at 05:10 PM. Reason: snip snip
    Corey Northcutt | Electric Goat Media
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  2. #2
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    Depends on what kind of service.

    Managed = not really important
    Unmanaged = if you drop it in free, you most likely won't get as many tickets, etc (assuming you don't accept users that need way too much handholding)

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by quantumphysics View Post
    Depends on what kind of service.

    Managed = not really important
    Unmanaged = if you drop it in free, you most likely won't get as many tickets, etc (assuming you don't accept users that need way too much handholding)
    You raise a great point. Let's assume for the sake of eliminating variables then and before this gets too far along, that we're referring only to self-managed servers that the customer is in full control over.
    Corey Northcutt | Electric Goat Media
    Currently building this nifty small business ROI calculator.

  4. #4
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    I wouldn't mind paying $5-10 more for IPMI, but not really any more than that since price matters for me

  5. #5
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    For unmanaged servers it is deffinately a bonus to provide KVM etc, it will limit the number of support requests you get from the users that are trying to get you to do things. By simply replying with you can do it through KVM here: . Rather than having to do it for the customer. I know many European datacenters are now providing it as standard along with remote reboots, remote os reloads etc via some form of management panel.

  6. #6
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  7. #7
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    on months that the server is up = $0

    on one month the server has problems = $100 + depending on loss of business being down.

    Anyone taking an unmanaged server would be crazy not to have some kind of kvm card etc.

  8. #8
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    Being that the supermicro KVM cards are about $80.. I'd not pay more than $10 or so a month for it.
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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dougy View Post
    Being that the supermicro KVM cards are about $80.. I'd not pay more than $10 or so a month for it.
    Seems reasonable, I don't think the DRAC cards are too far off from that either actually (though it does require another switch on a cabinet loaded with such a setup, but certainly not a Catalyst 2960 or anything fancy). My denominations may be off a bit there up top; more than anything I suppose I'm curious more than anything at what point someone says "I'll take the server without an IPMI card", rather than what a reasonable price for a server with IPMI is (or "this is a better deal on a server that comes fit with an IPMI card", which would be interesting in all of this to talk about as well).

    Certainly by the typical ROI of dedicated hosting though you're right - $30+ would definitely be high if it were kept stocked like any other component.
    Corey Northcutt | Electric Goat Media
    Currently building this nifty small business ROI calculator.

  10. #10
    $0 - but with this being said, I don't see why you need to advertise the price. Just include it as a standard feature and raise the price of your dedicated servers by $10-$15.

    If I see a host that has IPMI insant activation, I will put them at the very top of the list when choosing a host. This feature is beyond wonderful and I can't say enough good things when hosts offer this.

    Currently at Gigenet they offer instant IPMI on every rented dedicated server as far as I know.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Dougy View Post
    Being that the supermicro KVM cards are about $80.. I'd not pay more than $10 or so a month for it.
    You need a KVM over IP capable Supermicro motherboard, which raises the cost a lot more than just the $80 for the IPMI card itself. The "normal" IPMI is simply power control and serial console (which I have never seen working yet from all the times my provisioning associates have tried to get it on). So your assumption that its so simple, is completely misconstrued.
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adam_OC3 View Post
    You need a KVM over IP capable Supermicro motherboard, which raises the cost a lot more than just the $80 for the IPMI card itself. The "normal" IPMI is simply power control and serial console (which I have never seen working yet from all the times my provisioning associates have tried to get it on). So your assumption that its so simple, is completely misconstrued.
    From my experience buying large quantities of these servers and working with them myself, it really is that simple. I'm really not aware of any recent Supermicro server motherboards that don't have IPMI (with KVMoIP) capability.
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  13. #13
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    Regarding KVM, unless you fat finger an iptables command, I don't see why you would need it?

    If the data center has an outage, KVM won't matter.
    Hardware problem? KVM probably won't matter either.

    I would do the $10 per hour of use. It would have saved me a reboot request and my 400+ day uptime. Oh well.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by skullbox View Post
    Regarding KVM, unless you fat finger an iptables command, I don't see why you would need it?

    If the data center has an outage, KVM won't matter.
    Hardware problem? KVM probably won't matter either.

    I would do the $10 per hour of use. It would have saved me a reboot request and my 400+ day uptime. Oh well.
    and you run a dedicated server company, and don't know why KVM may be needed. Eeeek.

    Sorry if that sounded harsh .

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by KarlZimmer View Post
    From my experience buying large quantities of these servers and working with them myself, it really is that simple. I'm really not aware of any recent Supermicro server motherboards that don't have IPMI (with KVMoIP) capability.
    I am sure most of these people are not referring to DP motherboards, those are easy enough.
    For the lower end machines running E5200s, E8400's, Q8200s, Q9300s, there isn't a viable solution from Supermicro. There is the newly released X7SBi (http://www.supermicro.com/products/m...3210/X7SBi.cfm) however installing the AOC-SIMSO+ KVM card will more than likely block the addition of a RAID card with BBU into the commonly used SC-512L-260B chassis. So you would have to choose between having KVMoIP or RAID, not a good choice IMO. Not to mention that the X7SBi board and the cost of the IPMI card is still a significant increase on the server cost itself equating to around $45/month increase or so.
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  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by wise View Post
    on months that the server is up = $0

    on one month the server has problems = $100 + depending on loss of business being down.

    Anyone taking an unmanaged server would be crazy not to have some kind of kvm card etc.
    Agreed 100%.


    Quote Originally Posted by KarlZimmer View Post
    From my experience buying large quantities of these servers and working with them myself, it really is that simple. I'm really not aware of any recent Supermicro server motherboards that don't have IPMI (with KVMoIP) capability.
    Actually, the new Nehalem boards either come with KVMoIP or without. The price difference is pretty negligible though, so it begs the question why anyone would bother with the versions that don't have it.
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  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adam_OC3 View Post
    I am sure most of these people are not referring to DP motherboards, those are easy enough.
    For the lower end machines running E5200s, E8400's, Q8200s, Q9300s, there isn't a viable solution from Supermicro. There is the newly released X7SBi (http://www.supermicro.com/products/m...3210/X7SBi.cfm) however installing the AOC-SIMSO+ KVM card will more than likely block the addition of a RAID card with BBU into the commonly used SC-512L-260B chassis. So you would have to choose between having KVMoIP or RAID, not a good choice IMO. Not to mention that the X7SBi board and the cost of the IPMI card is still a significant increase on the server cost itself equating to around $45/month increase or so.
    If you're not finding a viable solution then you haven't been looking. We've used about a half dozen different Supermicro motherboards in 1u systems with KVMoIP for single CPU configurations. Recently, we've been using a Supermicro board with KVMoIP that has been out for over a year. It works fine in the 512 chassis, as long as you're fine with a somewhat non-conventional setup. If you're using the cheapest chassis possible, you'll certainly face limitations, but that is because of the chassis, not the motherboard.

    Then if you're looking at anything new, like the i7's, etc. you can get basically the same board, but with IPMI on board for just ~$40 more.

    Then the IPMI card is ~$70 and the motherboard is ~$220. That is a total hardware cost of ~$290, and the system must have a motherboard in the first place, the cheapest Supermicro boards around are ~$130. You're looking at a $160 price increase and saying that will increase the price by $45 a month? I guess you guys are really looking to make your investment back quickly. It can also be done cheaper than that anyway.

    Quote Originally Posted by hhw View Post
    Actually, the new Nehalem boards either come with KVMoIP or without. The price difference is pretty negligible though, so it begs the question why anyone would bother with the versions that don't have it.
    Yes, I meant with the option of IPMI. The price difference is so small though, it really doesn't make sense not to get the one with IPMI, even if you're not planning to use it right away.
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  18. #18
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    Well it sounds like the overwhelming conclusion from clients and those here is that most would love to have this feature standard, even if it negates some ability to out-cheap a competitor. We'll likely start outfitting all new servers with DRAC and handing the feature over for free to existing clients that don't know that they have it yet based on all of this here.

    Thank you again to everyone for the input (and by all means share more thoughts if it seems I'm cutting the thread short with that ).
    Corey Northcutt | Electric Goat Media
    Currently building this nifty small business ROI calculator.

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