>Richard,
>
>I totally agree with you, but if I tell you that my current situation
>happened due to the "help" from IBM support, what would you answer ? ...

I'd agree with your frustration, Arnaud, given the premium price being
paid to a top vendor.  Generally, though, unless a vendor specialist is
one I know, who is familiar with my site, I accept the advice as
suggestive, and thereafter check it to the extent possible for
usability in my site, and test it if at all possible first, as for
example deploying new drive microcode on just one drive first.  Some
technician on the other end of the phone line knows nothing about your
site and is just rendering an isolated suggestion - which we *expect*
has been reasonably tested by the product specialists.  For new
products, we can often look to the various industry reviews for the
worthiness of offerings, and do web searches for customer experiences.
As for chronic problem areas like certain software or 8mm drives -
well, that's its own story, which we know painfully well.

>...but I'm really bored getting white hair for problems that would not
>exist if some people had done their job properly...

Hah!  I'm way ahead of you: vendor exasperation started giving me
gray hair when I was about 34!

   Richard Sims, BU

    "Most vendors have a view of time that would amaze Albert Einstein."