-> Protection Against Equipment Failure

"The most common cause of data loss, according to engineers at data recovery vendor Ontrack (who pick up the pieces afterwards), is hardware failure (78%)..."

-- Computer Reseller News June 21, 2004

In the computer industry, Murphy's Law is all too familar. Murphy's Law states: If anything can go wrong, it will. Equipment failure is rare but painful when it does happen. The most common equipment failure happens with parts inside of your computer such as the hard drive, processor, or power supply. These are all simple components to replace, but the main concerns are how long your system will be down, and what will happen to your data. If you have a server, we recommend that you use a system called RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks). RAID allows you to use more than one hard drive on your system so that if one dies, another will be able to take over without a loss of service.

Desktronix can advise you in determining what type of hardware is necessary to maintain the level of service that you need and when to purchase different types of warranties, extended warranties and support contracts. For example, desktops rarely fail so it is not cost-effective to purchase an extended warranty for them. On the other hand, laptops are more likely to fail because they are used heavily and subjected to greater wear and tear. We can also advise you on how to maintain your equipment so that it will not fail. The most common causes of equipment failure are dust and heat. Computers need cool air like people need oxygen. If they do not operate at a cool temperature, their lifetime significantly decreases. We also recommend that you secure your LCD "flatpanel" monitors on their desks so they are not accidentally knocked over. For exotic parts and equipment, such as routers and copy machines, it may make sense to purchase an extended warranty so you have easy access to parts and service.

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