Upgrade License DSS to DSS V6?

[pfeifferl]

Hello,

the license upgrade from old DSS V5 to new DSS V6 is not free ??

I think open-e has free minor and major updates for his customers? My OEM reseller already called me and said it will be free ...

[Ke-S]

Open-E provides for free: 'updates' within one version!
Improving quality, removing bugs, adding some functionality, etc
This is why, we were never charging for updates within DSS v.5 or
iSCSI-R3... etc.

'Upgrade' is usually related to creating a new product!
Similar to other software manufacturers:
windows 2000 -> windows xp,
adobe cs2 -> adobe cs4
vmware vs3 -> vmware vs4
oracle 10 -> oracle 11
etc, etc...

Open-E does charge when deliver a major (!) change in technology, additional
functionality, different interface, installation media,...
Such upgrade charge is nothing new at Open-E, we did it in past by major
technology changes as well:
NAS -> NAS-XSR
NAS-XSR -> DSS
DSS -> DSS V6

Sorry for inconvenience caused.

[nleyendecker]

I am very disappointed in this. I have only been an Open-E customer for 120 days, if I had realized that there was going to be a cost associated with keeping my virtually NIB product up to date I might have waited.

Also, I checked the comparison, you only offer 6 new features. This doesn't look like a "major upgrade" to me. I accept that the cost of doing business is increasing, and I also accept that it might be necessary to pay for your support contracts. But if those contracts are current then I don't see any point in charging for upgrades.

Also, you might offer free upgrades for anyone who bought the product recently (since 1/1/2009 for example).

My $0.02
Neal Leyendecker

[To-M]

I see where you are coming from but what DSS V6 will have in the future releases the DSS V5 could not do. Similar to Microsoft products,... try to upgrade from WSS 2003 to 2008, you will be amazed and the cost and not to mention the upgrade issues. I purchased a Windows XP many moons ago and then Vista came out. I asked them to give me this for free as if I waited 3 weeks more I could have received it and never got a reply..... but that is MS.

With DSS V6 we will be able to much more then DSS V5 and DSS V6 has been in development for 2 years now. Under the hood is allot more development then the DSS V5. Just like MS (but with free support), it is part of the sw evolution.

[nleyendecker]

I won't argue with your logic, but in an apples-to-apples comparison this isn't like going from 2003 to 2008, the feature list upgrade for those product is hundreds of items deep.

Neal Leyendecker

[Robotbeat]

Todd, the difference between dss and windows server is that the customer has some idea of when the End of Life (EOL) of the product is. Same for Linux distros or Firefox. The different linux kernels don't stop all maintenance releases once a new major kernel version is released. They keep providing maintenance and security updates for years afterwards. With Open-E, we have no idea what the EOL is. It could be a month, it could be two or three years. There needs to be some sort of release plan, some sort of contract with the customers.

Speaking of comparing to Windows: What if I buy a system with Windows Vista on it two weeks before Windows 7 comes out? I get a free upgrade voucher. There needs to be some framework, some level of trust between Open-E and the customer. Sure, we can whine to you, Todd, until you give us a free upgrade, but that's not how to build a successful, international business.

[To-M]

We have done much research on this and can argue the same. Many will just say that all sw manufactures should give their products for free for the life of the company not the life of the product and then it will end for the updates and so on. Anyway, your message is being viewed by many in the company and we thank you for your opinions. Please send any comments to info@open-e.com and let's use the forum for more technical needs to help others.