I think a rigorous hardware/software support plan, aggressive
management of vendor support, sufficient test lab, and conservative
upgrade process are just as essential to stability.
No disagreement there, with the addition of a plan for when something
slips through all the aforementioned. I'm preaching to the choir, I'm
sure.
Of course what I really want for Xmas is a Force10 box
I'd really like one for Christmas, too; it'll be very interesting to
see if I can feel love for an input-buffered cross-bar switch again.
Stephen