Any good resources for building a data center applicance?

Question

Years ago, I remember my employer buying a Google mini. This was a search appliance that you installed in your datacenter. You configured it to crawl a local website, and you basically got local Google web search results you could style and serve up.I was thinking about a similar model for another product, where you sell the hardware as well as the integrated software, the user plugs it into their rack, configures it and is done.Maybe I'm looking for the wrong search terms, but I can't seem to find anything illustrating this process.Does anyone have any pointers?

brudgers · Accepted Answer

I think you "just" build a prototype using an off the shelf system, say a Dell server, put it in the back seat of your Civic, and hit the road to see potential customers.
The right customer doesn't care about it being off the shelf hardware they could buy themselves. Because that's not the value proposition.
And for you, a Dell server means that your hardware is backed by a Dell warranty. Perhaps even Next Day on Site. And that's great because hardware isn't your priority.
Sales is.
The big idea in computing appliances - at least in my mind (which might not be a good metric) - is hardware is a useful abstraction.
Good luck.