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County IT warns core server reaches vendor end-of-life; replacement quoted at $106,000
Summary
The county's NetData server that runs payroll, court records and other core services reaches vendor 'end-of-life' this year; IT director presented a $106,000 on-site replacement quote and also reviewed cloud options and recurring software license costs (~$120,000/year).
Daryl Hullberg, the county's IT director, told the commissioners the main NetData server that hosts county systems is moving to vendor "end-of-life" status and that vendor support — including parts and software updates — will stop on the machine in November.
"I kind of reached out and said, 'Hey, by the way, when is the end of life?' And it turns out it's November 2nd of this year," Hullberg said, explaining that unsupported hardware raises risk because replacement parts may not be available and vendor assistance could be limited.
Hullberg said a like-for-like replacement seven-and-a-half years after the last purchase might once have cost roughly $65,000, but the recent vendor quote for the NetData on-site server replacement was $106,000. He also said the county pays an annual NetData license and maintenance fee of roughly $120,000 for countywide usage and that a cloud migration remains an option, though commissioners expressed a preference for an on-site server.
Hullberg recommended staff ask NetData for typical failure modes and consider purchasing a small stock of critical spares (power supplies, controller boards) to reduce downtime risk if a component fails before a full replacement can be executed. He also requested the commission let IT investigate whether the NetData environment can run on non-IBM hardware or a mixed cloud/on-site solution to reduce costs.
Commissioners asked IT to return with more vendor comparisons, a parts-sparing plan and an updated pricing window; no final appropriation was made during the workshop.
The server replacement and potential spares purchases will be evaluated during final budget adoption; Hullberg said he would report back at the July 13 court meeting with vendor guidance and options.
