Apple offers new Mac Pro Server configuration to replace Xserve
Apple on Friday added a new server option to its Mac Pro lineup Friday, with a $2,999 system that is designed to replace the Xserve hardware which will be discontinued in early 2011.
The Mac Pro Server comes with one 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor, 8GB of RAM, and two 1TB hard drives. It also has Mac OS X Server unlimited with a client license, and an ATI HD 5770 graphics card with 1GB of GDDR5 memory.
The new configuration starts at $2,999 and ships in 2 to 4 weeks. Apple's previously available quad-core and 8-core Mac Pro systems ship within 24 hours, while the 12-core model takes 3 to 5 days to ship.
The new Mac Pro Server can also be upgraded, with custom build-to-order options offering up to two 2.93GHz six-core Intel Xeon "Westmere" processors, for a total of 12 processing cores at an added cost of $3,475. Users looking for the best possible system can also add $3,400 to the price and get 32GB of RAM.
The new hardware became available Friday after Apple quietly announced on its website that it would no longer offer its Xserve rackmounted servers after Jan. 31, 2011. New Xserver orders will be accepted through that date, and the hardware will be backed by Apple's standard one-year warranty.
Apple also issued documentation aimed at helping customers transition from Xserve to Apple's remaining server options, the Mac mini Server and Mac Pro Server. Apple's guide notes that the 12-core Mac Pro with Snow Leopard Server meets or exceeds the performance of the baseline Xserve hardware.
However, while Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server is much less powerful than Xserve, Apple's smallest desktop footprint has been the company's most popular server system since its introduction in the fall of 2009.
The Mac Pro Server comes with one 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor, 8GB of RAM, and two 1TB hard drives. It also has Mac OS X Server unlimited with a client license, and an ATI HD 5770 graphics card with 1GB of GDDR5 memory.
The new configuration starts at $2,999 and ships in 2 to 4 weeks. Apple's previously available quad-core and 8-core Mac Pro systems ship within 24 hours, while the 12-core model takes 3 to 5 days to ship.
The new Mac Pro Server can also be upgraded, with custom build-to-order options offering up to two 2.93GHz six-core Intel Xeon "Westmere" processors, for a total of 12 processing cores at an added cost of $3,475. Users looking for the best possible system can also add $3,400 to the price and get 32GB of RAM.
The new hardware became available Friday after Apple quietly announced on its website that it would no longer offer its Xserve rackmounted servers after Jan. 31, 2011. New Xserver orders will be accepted through that date, and the hardware will be backed by Apple's standard one-year warranty.
Apple also issued documentation aimed at helping customers transition from Xserve to Apple's remaining server options, the Mac mini Server and Mac Pro Server. Apple's guide notes that the 12-core Mac Pro with Snow Leopard Server meets or exceeds the performance of the baseline Xserve hardware.
However, while Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server is much less powerful than Xserve, Apple's smallest desktop footprint has been the company's most popular server system since its introduction in the fall of 2009.
Comments
Yet another boneheaded move in a string of boneheaded moves by Apple...
I think the actual plan is to take Mac Pros and have customers run them through the Reality Distortion Field to shrink them to a 1U format.
They have shifted their focus back to what they are actually good at: disposable consumer electronics.
Yet another boneheaded move in a string of boneheaded moves by Apple...
Yes... and because of it they are doing so poorly. Best you give them a call to make them aware of their failures.
Yes... and because of it they are doing so poorly. Best you give them a call to make them aware of their failures.
Enjoy playing Bejeweled on your iPhone when you're forced to switch to Windows when Apple drops their PC business altogether....
And I'm going to jam that into the 2U space in my rack how????
Yet another boneheaded move in a string of boneheaded moves by Apple...
Boneheaded? Apple doesn't think so. And their record is pretty good since Jobs returned.
I really hoped that the Xserve would do well in the enterprise environment, but it never took off. My experience has been that the people who are running large enterprise server environments aren't likely to change. Furthermore, the value of Mac OS X Server is ease of use and ability for even non-geeks to use it effectively. That has no value at all to the geeks who run the Enterprise server rooms.
Mac OS X Server may do better in small business environments or in the departmental server market (where the rack mounted design is a negative rather than a positive). The success of the Mini server supports that.
It just doesn't look like customers were willing to buy a Mac in rack server format. Apple is smart enough to recognize that they can't win every battle.
This isn't clear for me... Why on the hardware that is intended to work as a server there is a video card with 1Gb of RAM ???? Looks like the new server standard for installing OS
Has anyone told you about OpenCL?
Does anyone else think that the discontinuation of the XServe product is a harbinger of Apple's push into cloud computing? While a Mac Mini or a Mac Pro is great for typical office networking needs, it isn't a great solution for large-scale hosting. But if Apple is moving in that direction with it's new data center, perhaps that should be less of a concern. Thoughts?
Moving to the cloud? How about moving to iOS? There will never be an OS X 11. Apple will eventually move everything to iOS.
The last step will be announcing iOS development tools that run under Windows. It won't happen for awhile though. I would guess OS X will go the way of OS 9 by the end of 2012, maybe 2013.
-kpluck
Yes... and because of it they are doing so poorly. Best you give them a call to make them aware of their failures.
It wasn't long ago Apple was touting the infinite scalability of OS X server and how it was the best choice for grids. Being the best in the consumer market does not make them a success in the enterprise as you infer. Their servers are a miserable failure throughout education and enterprise clients, regardless of your snotty attitude.
Yes... and because of it they are doing so poorly. Best you give them a call to make them aware of their failures.
It's funny that you think people will still make applications for OS X or use it at all if they don't have servers to run their business or computers to test them on.
Boneheaded? Apple doesn't think so. And their record is pretty good since Jobs returned.
I really hoped that the Xserve would do well in the enterprise environment, but it never took off. My experience has been that the people who are running large enterprise server environments aren't likely to change. Furthermore, the value of Mac OS X Server is ease of use and ability for even non-geeks to use it effectively. That has no value at all to the geeks who run the Enterprise server rooms.
Mac OS X Server may do better in small business environments or in the departmental server market (where the rack mounted design is a negative rather than a positive). The success of the Mini server supports that.
It just doesn't look like customers were willing to buy a Mac in rack server format. Apple is smart enough to recognize that they can't win every battle.
Has anyone told you about OpenCL?
xserve's don't scale up
HP/Dell servers can take more hard drives and RAM. with Apple you have to buy more servers which is a lot more expensive
and profit margins are dropping on servers. the profits are in services now.
Moving to the cloud? How about moving to iOS? There will never be an OS X 11. Apple will eventually move everything to iOS.
The last step will be announcing iOS development tools that run under Windows. It won't happen for awhile though. I would guess OS X will go the way of OS 9 by the end of 2012, maybe 2013.
-kpluck
iOS is OS X
at work we've started to identify personal crap that people bring in and iPad's come up as OS X 10.5 devices
It wasn't long ago Apple was touting the infinite scalability of OS X server and how it was the best choice for grids. Being the best in the consumer market does not make them a success in the enterprise as you infer. Their servers are a miserable failure throughout education and enterprise clients, regardless of your snotty attitude.
Who the hell inferred anything about success in the enterprise.
I guess you're inferring that Jobs and his team make their decisions by throwing darts at a board.
It's funny that you think people will still make applications for OS X or use it at all if they don't have servers to run their business or computers to test them on.
Like I said... let Jobs know what a shitty Job he's doing at Apple.
xserve's don't scale up
HP/Dell servers can take more hard drives and RAM. with Apple you have to buy more servers which is a lot more expensive
and profit margins are dropping on servers. the profits are in services now.
The only thing nice was the 19" mount.
What was the reason for putting everything on a single box?
Just buy more Mac minis.
They do fit nicely on 19" shelves.
Enjoy playing Bejeweled on your iPhone when you're forced to switch to Windows when Apple drops their PC business altogether....
I don't think you know what you're talking about. Apple leaves the room when there is no money to be made. As long as desktops are around and selling, Apple will be making them. They will also likely be making the "best of class" in that market and capturing the top-end money as they do in most markets they play in.
If Apple is leaving the server hardware market, they are leaving it because it makes no money for them and doesn't fit into their strategic plans to the point where it's worth losing the money they aren't making. Did it ever occur to you that maybe the server hardware market is kind of a dying market anyway? IMO all indicators from the last five years or so are that virtualisation is the way forward and that server hardware has become commodified.
Like I said... let Jobs know what a shitty Job he's doing at Apple.
Nope, desktop app developers will do that on their own after the death of the XServe. I give it three to five years before Apple is forced to make a new XServe and Mac Pro with obscenely competitive specs/pricing to get people back before the OS becomes a graveyard.
Does anyone else think that the discontinuation of the XServe product is a harbinger of Apple's push into cloud computing? While a Mac Mini or a Mac Pro is great for typical office networking needs, it isn't a great solution for large-scale hosting. But if Apple is moving in that direction with it's new data center, perhaps that should be less of a concern. Thoughts?
Apple is definitely moving to the Cloud in light of the ongoing "free" mobileme and, as you mentioned, the new data center. Amazon is earning money for offering computing power, why don't Apple do the same business? (especially Mac OS Server is more user friendly and easier to maintain) As the most successful mobile device company, cloud computing is definitely a way to enhance what an App can do in the future. I am looking forward to it, actually.
"IF" Apple became one of the players of cloud computing business, there will be increasingly no need to buy Xserver. Two things left to do are sync and backup.
Plus, Apple does have pretty impressive streaming Technics embedded in Safari and Apple TV. Better streaming, better cloud computing experience? ~ huh ~ This is full of imaginations.
But ,... the purpose of a business is not to protect sacred cows but to make money.
How much cash do they have in the bank now?
Market cap 2nd on the globe only to Exxon/Mobil?
Sure ..MS has 90% of the globes operating system usage share ...but ... who is bigger now?
Says something about tough decisions that piss people off but get results.