Open Sourcing
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2020 5:51 pm
Just a thought... perhaps netonix could consider open sourcing its firmware/hardware if it needs extra resources to resolve outstanding issues...
Umm the only issues we have is the fact that we were repairing OLD units far beyond the warranty period. Each year we operated the # of units sent in for repair grew exponentially. And since we repaired units at an average loss of $50+ this made no sense. If we charged enough to break even or profit then repair made no sense, there simply is not a lot of profit on the units. Our gross profit margin via disti sale is approx. 20%+/- depending on model as we build in North America verses say China which our competitors build in so we have to price to market. SO on most switches if we repaired it at a loss of $50 that is our profit from the original sale.
And to be honest the thing that turned me off the most was those that were dishonest about it. Do you know how many people send in units claiming DOA which is DEAD ON ARRIVAL which means the unit did not boot ever yet the unit had configuration, firmware was upgraded, and or many hours on the internal chronometer.
Most damage was from poor grounding and ground loops which is almost impossible or so it seems to get people to understand. However as of April last year we did significant design changes to better protect our switches from poor grounding behavior which has GREATLY reduced RMAs from ground damage, like a 90% reduction.
Next most common cause was shorted cable/port damage which with our new models coming out SOON (I know I have been saying this for a long time but you can ask Mike99 they do exist and he is helping shake out the firmware as we speak) have a new shorted cable protection that will prevent damaging the unit even if you try by say cutting a live 48VH cable and shorting it out. It will also survive a fat finger of say turning on 48VH to a 24V airmax device, it will still fry the airMAX unit but safely disable POE fast enough to protect the switch.
As far as providing our source code to the public that would be insane as our IP [intellectual property] is our value, hardware designs can be copied easy enough as we all know about UBNT struggle with counterfeit products years ago.
But we fix bugs pretty quickly and we develop new code all the time.
I did not get into this to become the next Robert Pera or I would build in China and hire developers in developing nations. Like RF Armor I got into it to provide a needed piece of equipment and make a decent dollar at the same time but I am not getting rich.