{"id":4755,"date":"2014-02-12T12:30:35","date_gmt":"2014-02-12T17:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=4755"},"modified":"2014-02-12T12:30:35","modified_gmt":"2014-02-12T17:30:35","slug":"hp-starts-charging-for-server-firmware-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/02\/12\/hp-starts-charging-for-server-firmware-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"HP starts charging for server firmware updates"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PC owners probably don\u2019t give firmware updates much thought and rarely, if ever, seek them out directly. Enthusiasts and small businesses running low-end servers, on the other hand, have a keener interest in firmware since sometimes skipping an update can be fatal for their investment.<\/p>\n

But getting those firmware updates for Hewlett-Packard\u2019s servers are about to get a little more difficult. HP says that beginning next Wednesday, February 19, it will effectively start charging for access to firmware updates through the company\u2019s support center. Only customers with an active warranty, an HP Care Pack subscription, or support agreement will be able to download the updates directly from HP.<\/p>\n

Previously, HP firmware updates were freely available.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision reinforces our goal to provide access to the latest HP firmware, which is valuable intellectual property, for our customers who have chosen to maximize and protect their IT investments,\u201d HP\u2019s Mary McCoy vice president for technology services said in a blog post.<\/p>\n

“\u201cWe are in no way trying to force customers into purchasing extended coverage. That is, and always will be, a customer\u2019s choice.\u201d”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear if HP will restrict access to critical firmware updates that are sometimes necessary to keep a device from misbehaving.<\/p>\n

As ZDNet\u2019s Ed Bott\u2014who first reported this story\u2014pointed out, a flaw in ProLiant servers prevented them from running Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2, and resulted in the system hanging when it tried to boot with those operating systems installed. A firmware update eventually fixed the issue, but under the new HP policy, the critical fix would only be available to new ProLiant owners and people paying for an extended updates, as HP’s ProLiant software warranty is limited to 90 days after purchase.<\/p>\n

Another issue in 2011 saw ProLiant servers tossing up data transfer errors when used with certain hard drives. Again, a firmware update was required to fix the critical flaw.<\/p>\n

Pay to play<\/p>\n

Paying for access to support services is nothing new for enterprises, but the ProLiant line offers cheaper MicroServers that appeal to small businesses and PC hobbyists running their own servers at home.<\/p>\n

At this writing, for example, you could get a ProLiant N54L MicroServer for less than $350 that comes with a 2.2GHz AMD processor, 2GB of RAM, and space for four hard drives. On top of the cost of the server box and extra hard drives, you\u2019d have to tack on at least another $126 for the cheapest three-year Care Pack subscription available if you want access to future firmware updates\u2014at least after your warranty runs out.<\/p>\n

That extra $126 may not break your wallet, but why bother paying at all when, say, Dell offers free access to firmware updates for its entry-level server?<\/p>\n

In her blog post, McCoy says HP\u2019s decision to restrict access to firmware updates was not about beefing up the company\u2019s bottom line. \u201cWe are in no way trying to force customers into purchasing extended coverage,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is, and always will be, a customer\u2019s choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

via HP starts charging for server firmware updates | PCWorld<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PC owners probably don\u2019t give firmware updates much thought and rarely, if ever, seek them out directly. Enthusiasts and small […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[479,963,1042],"class_list":["post-4755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hardware","category-technology","tag-hewlett-packard","tag-servers","tag-storage"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-1eH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6660,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/10\/17\/microsoft-rolls-out-surface-2-firmware-updates-promises-wi-fi-update-for-surface-pro-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":4755,"position":0},"title":"Microsoft rolls out Surface 2 firmware updates, promises Wi-Fi update for Surface Pro 3","author":"NCCT","date":"October 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Microsoft may well be close to launching a new version of its Windows RT tablet, but it's continuing to roll out improvements to its current one in the meantime. 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Plus, how do you know if your devices are getting regular firmware updates.","rel":"","context":"In "Networking"","block_context":{"text":"Networking","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/networking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/ESqqAf3IGok\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6169,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/08\/04\/researchers-uncover-fundamental-usb-security-flaw-no-fix-in-sight\/","url_meta":{"origin":4755,"position":2},"title":"Researchers uncover fundamental USB security flaw, no fix in sight","author":"NCCT","date":"August 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A pair of security researchers from SR Labs have uncovered a fundamental flaw in the way USB devices work. It affects every single USB device out there and worse yet, there's no line of defense short of prohibiting USB stick sharing or filling your USB ports with superglue. The flaw\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hardware"","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5864,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/07\/01\/some-surface-pro-3-users-complain-of-wi-fi-woes-after-first-day-firmware-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":4755,"position":3},"title":"Some Surface Pro 3 users complain of Wi-Fi woes after first-day firmware update","author":"NCCT","date":"July 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Ten days after launch, Microsoft is still trying to squash the bugs in its Surface Pro 3 tablet. As Ed Bott at ZDNet reports, some users have been complaining of connectivity problems over 802.11ac Wi-Fi networks. Complaints have also popped up on Microsoft's support forums, with users noting slower\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hardware"","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6322,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/08\/29\/does-the-internet-of-things-leave-you-vulnerable-to-cyber-attack\/","url_meta":{"origin":4755,"position":4},"title":"Does the Internet of Things leave you vulnerable to cyber attack?","author":"NCCT","date":"August 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"At the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, researchers demonstrated how a Nest thermostat can be hacked, to show how easily connected appliances\u2014the household technologies that make up the Internet of Things\u2014can be compromised. 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