NOVEMBER 18, 2024|
Photo – Server and workstations model – Courtesy networkstraining.com
The governing body of Saratoga weighed the pros and cons of replacing the town’s computer servers.
On October 15th, the Saratoga town council discussed a $25,845 quote from Pine Cove to replace three aging computer network servers. Pine Cove Consulting is a computer IT company with offices all over the Mountain West.
The council didn’t see a need to purchase new computer servers and decided not to vote on Pine Cove’s quote.
During the November 5th Saratoga town council meeting, Pine Cove representative Derrick Morse was in attendance to answer the governing body’s questions. Mayor Chuck Davis asked why the town should purchase new servers at this time. Morse explained that the current computers are no longer covered under warranty. If something goes wrong, the town will be financially responsible.
Morse urged the town to exchange its current servers for three less expensive Onyx-brand computers from Carbon Systems. The Pine Cove rep said Carbon Systems offers cheaper products than their name brand competitors.
Morse said Pine Cove will cover the new computers for five years.
Councilman Jerry Fluty mentioned that new parts are still available for the current servers and questioned why the town should spend $25,000 to upgrade its computers. Pine Cove representative Morse explained that even brand-new computer parts are susceptible to failure. Having a warranty will ensure the town does not have to pay for repairs.
Councilman Fluty asked why the town should upgrade its servers if they’re not broken.
Morse said the town could lose data, although backups are in place to prevent data loss. If a server fails, Morse said the town could lose access to its entire computer network while waiting on difficult to obtain replacement parts.
Mayor Davis asked how long it would take Pine Cove to provide Saratoga with a replacement server in the event of a catastrophic failure. Morse said Carbon Systems should be able to supply a new Onyx server within one week.
Morse suggested not waiting too long to replace the servers. The Pine Cove rep pressed the town to upgrade its network computers on a regular basis.
Mayor Davis instructed the council to consider the server purchase and prepare a decision for the next meeting on November 19th.
