Equipment Replacement Schedule
Equipment |
Life |
Notes |
Server |
5 Years |
You can expect good performance from your server for about 5 years. OS and other considerations may warrant replacing your server a year earlier or later. The more mission critical the server, the more important to stick with this timeline. |
Laptop |
3 Years |
Laptop repairs can be extremely costly, so you should always purchase a laptop with a very good warranty. After 3 years of normal use your laptop will begin to see a dramatic decline in reliability. Any major hardware failure such as hard drive or monitor will surely mean it is has now become more expensive to maintain than replace. |
PC |
3 Years |
PC repairs are fairly inexpensive and a standard warranty will meet the needs of most users. Like the laptop, reliability really drops after 3 years. |
Router/Switch |
18 Months |
Some routers and switches can last for many years, but if yours should fail after only 18 months this would not be out of the ordinary. We do not recommend replacing this equipment proactively for most users. |
Phone System |
7 Years |
Phone systems can last a long time, but the addition of new features makes most phone systems obsolete after about 7 years. |
Printer |
Varies |
The life of a printer varies so widely that we can not give you a good timeline. If you have a high end printer it is usually worth repairing, and you most likely would have a service contract for this printer if it fell into this category. For many low end printers the cost of a repair would be better spent on a replacement. Your printer may work perfectly, but have to be replaced because drivers are no longer available for a new operating system. |
UPS/Battery Backup |
Varies |
The life of your UPS can vary, but you should replace the batteries in the unit at least every 2 years and for mission critical equipment every year. Do not rely on battery indicators. The load should not be much more than 50%, and your batteries will need to be replaced even if the indicator shows a full charge. You can get batteries for any UPS at Ohio Energy Source. |
3 Easy steps to get the most value from your investment.
1. Purchase only business class equipment from a tier-1 manufacturer such as Dell.
2. Purchase the appropriate warranty.
3. Sell your old equipment on the replace date.
Technology is moving at a rapid pace
Processing Speeds double every 18 months.
Windows Operating Systems are continuously evolving:
1995 - Windows 95
1998 - Windows 98
1999 - Windows 98 2nd Edition
2000 - Windows ME
2001 - Windows XP
2002 - Windows XP 64
2002 - Windows XP SP1
2003 - Windows XP 64 Version 2003
2004 - Windows XP SP2
2008 - Windows Vista
2009 - Windows 7
Software vendors are constantly updating their software to accommodate not only new features their customers want, but also OS and Hardware changes, not to mention changes that have been made in other software that theirs interacts with.
Hardware vendors put out an endless stream of new equipment to take advantage of new capabilities. This results in the need for new OS, Software, Patches, Firmware upgrades. |
