Is it time to consider a new server? One would think this is an easy question to answer. However, given the long list of factors that should be considered and the ever changing landscape of hardware, this question needs a good bit of thought and some technical analysis. In fact, some organizations set a firm line in the sand with a 3-, 5-, or 7-year end-of-life hardware refresh cycle. IT standards are changing at the speed of light. The large majority of organizations have virtualized their server footprint, thus reducing the number of physical servers and the need to refresh often.