“For most long-time Linux users, the homegrown method will
almost always be preferred. Because these Linux users probably
learned the operating system through hours of server tweaking and
operating system fine-tuning, there is no other way to do it. …
For others, building a Linux server is sometimes done as a form of
creative cost-cutting when extra network gear is needed.”
“One of the nice things about having your Linux box shipped from
a manufacturer is the security blanket of support that comes with
it. Most Linux server vendors offer 24-7 support programs and
warrantee protection for their machines. Support for your Linux
whitebox, on the other hand, is more likely to come from in-house
expertise, the Web or mailing lists. Warrantees may or may not be
available for specific hardware components put into a custom-built
system – but certainly not for the server as a whole…”
“In addition to support offerings and system warrantees,
Linux server vendors have the resources to optimize the operating
system to run on the hardware they use before shipping. For users,
this eliminates a lot of the headaches involved with building
a Linux server, such as searching for compatible hardware drivers
and recompiling the Linux kernel several times.”