Off-Warranty Support Information

DUL recognizes that older, out-of-warranty computers are often still highly functional and thus can still have business value. In some cases, this can be broadened by moving a machine to a “lower-power” role, e.g. a high-end data-vis workstation may see additional life as a mid-range QC station or even a low-end staff desktop. Overall, this kind of re-use can significantly reduce DUL’s computing expenses. But if we’re not careful, it can also lead to greatly increased staff support costs. To limit the total cost of ownership of computers, we propose that some limits be placed on the support of those older, out-of-warranty machines.

General principles or factors to consider:

• Computers being used in a “Production” role must be kept under warranty.
• Core Services staff do not have control over the repair-time for off-warranty computers; the end-user department should assume that an off-warranty computer can be down for 1-2 MONTHS; if that is not acceptable, then the department should keep it under warranty
• Operating system vendors can sometimes drop support for old hardware. Regardless of the (low) cost to repair a system, it must be capable of running a modern, supported operating system (this is an ITSO requirement; the machine will be automatically quarantined if not compliant)
• Occasionally hardware vendors will drop support for old equipment -- so repairs may just not be possible.
• The cost of the repair versus the cost for a new, replacement machine should be considered -- note that this should be with respect to the functionality or role that is actually being performed
  • E.g. for a $4000 machine that is being moved into a QC station role, we should look at repairs vs. the cost ($2000?) of a QC station
• The cost of the repair versus the potential extension to the useful lifetime should be considered, again with respect to the functionality/role
  • E.g. a $300 repair to a $4000 machine may make sense; the same repair to a $2000 QC station may not make sense
• At 6 years old, almost any computer is likely to be considered sluggish or slow, and slower computers are often frustrating for users to interact with (leading to more support calls). We should consider whether any staff member would really want to use the old computer, independently of whether it is operational or can be repaired.

Support Expectations:

• For straightforward hardware repairs such as memory and hard drives, it may be cost-effective to purchase and install a replacement and keep the machine going. 
  • E.g. a small hard drive can cost $100 to replace; that could make sense if it extends the lifespan of the device by a year or two
  • E.g. a large SSD hard drive can cost $500 to replace; but that is also a significant fraction of the cost of a new machine -- we would likely NOT replace that
  • We have very few computers with separate network cards -- most of them are soldered onto the motherboard -- so while those are technically replaceable, it is very unlikely that a given computer is “fix-able” in that way
• As computers age, they can exhibit “flakiness” or phantom errors -- something works, then doesn’t work, then works again (and is always working when the tech team comes to look at it). There is no particular fix for this -- the components are simply wearing out, leading to voltage fluctuations, improper control signals, etc. that randomly trigger the “bad” issues. If we see a computer exhibiting this kind of behaviour, we will need to remove it from service.