Curious that the rear of the unit features the old PowerMac style ventilation holes and not the new 3D lattice holes that, according to Apple, is core to the design of the airflow system.
Any server rackers out there care to speculate why this is? Protection from dust ingression?
weird/annoying that they're releasing new Magic Mouse, Trackpad and Keyboard models, however minor, with Lightning instead of USB-C ports. Especially in light of the iPad Pro transitioning… I still get the case for Lightning on consumer products, but this is silly.
Rackmount doesn't have an option for no Keyboard or mouse.
¿Que? Maybe I'm not understanding what you're getting at, but I see two USB ports on the front that can be used to attach a keyboard and mouse.
I think what he's saying is that you can't order without a keyboard and mouse. This would be a good option for a multi-Mac Pro installation where all Macs are connected to a KVM switch with a single keyboard/mouse/monitor. (Ideally you would get a credit back for forgoing the normally included keyboard/mouse.)
Ah, that makes sense. Yeah, that is odd. Why would anyone buying a rack-mounted workstation or server want to have a separate keyboard, mouse/trackpad, and USB-C-to-Lightning cable for every machine?
Because people wanting to rack mount a computer aren't necessarily just using it as a server. Please read my comment above for all the reasons.
If the buyer doesn't want to use the keyboard or mouse then sell them. You're not paying extra for them anyway. They would only save you a couple hundred bucks and Apple would need to create special manufacturing workflows to remove them, which would end up costing Apple more money than the cost of these items.
People around here are a bit dense. This machine will commonly be interfaced inside a cabinet with other Audio Equipment. If you are upgrading your studio the Mac Pro Monitor will interface with it like a standard Mac Pro workstation. It's for the Audio Engineer or Video Compositor/Post Production FX/etc., person who sits in the mixing studio room and wants as little clutter as possible. Instead of having a stack of Audio Interfaces/Compressors/Limiters/Reverb/Power Conditioner, etc., and then a vertical tower they slide this inside the space made available for it as part of the entire set of audio hardware. Take this on tour with the band premounted inside a cabinet.
Rackmount doesn't have an option for no Keyboard or mouse.
¿Que? Maybe I'm not understanding what you're getting at, but I see two USB ports on the front that can be used to attach a keyboard and mouse.
I think what he's saying is that you can't order without a keyboard and mouse. This would be a good option for a multi-Mac Pro installation where all Macs are connected to a KVM switch with a single keyboard/mouse/monitor. (Ideally you would get a credit back for forgoing the normally included keyboard/mouse.)
Ah, that makes sense. Yeah, that is odd. Why would anyone buying a rack-mounted workstation or server want to have a separate keyboard, mouse/trackpad, and USB-C-to-Lightning cable for every machine?
Because people wanting to rack mount a computer aren't necessarily just using it as a server. Please read my comment above for all the reasons.
If the buyer doesn't want to use the keyboard or mouse then sell them. You're not paying extra for them anyway. They would only save you a couple hundred bucks and Apple would need to create special manufacturing workflows to remove them, which would end up costing Apple more money than the cost of these items.
People around here are a bit dense. This machine will commonly be interfaced inside a cabinet with other Audio Equipment. If you are upgrading your studio the Mac Pro Monitor will interface with it like a standard Mac Pro workstation. It's for the Audio Engineer or Video Compositor/Post Production FX/etc., person who sits in the mixing studio room and wants as little clutter as possible. Instead of having a stack of Audio Interfaces/Compressors/Limiters/Reverb/Power Conditioner, etc., and then a vertical tower they slide this inside the space made available for it as part of the entire set of audio hardware. Take this on tour with the band premounted inside a cabinet.
In those situations, the users often have a special keyboard with colours key overlays if they have a keyboard at all. So even in case you say maybe more than 50% of keyboards aren't required.
Naturally, the Mac Pro also includes rails for mounting it to a cabinet as part of the order, but Apple warns the rails will ship in a separate box.
I think you mean "surprisingly," and that they're not a $499 add on.
Now we have a proper Mac Pro again, how about a server version with redundant PSUs and LOM for schools and businesses? Along with a proper version of macOS Server?
Unfortunately so am I. Whilst the reliability of OS X Server was, uh... questionable; it was brilliant compared to the alternatives. It was Incredibly powerful, and easy to set up. Even the server manuals walked you through pretty much every configuration imaginable step by step. We had an 8-core (2009ish) Xserve in a school, which ran several editing suites with 20 Macs each (streaming uncompressed DV files), and several art rooms where huge PSDs were thrown around for a total of about 120 Macs. The Xserve never blinked. Can't say the same for OS X Server, but when it was running properly it was stellar; no noticeable slowdowns for users even when pretty much every Mac was in use. Now if you want to use Macs, Apple expects you to pretty much roll everything yourself.
Thanks for the link though, that looks really interesting!
Naturally, the Mac Pro also includes rails for mounting it to a cabinet as part of the order, but Apple warns the rails will ship in a separate box.
I think you mean "surprisingly," and that they're not a $499 add on.
Now we have a proper Mac Pro again, how about a server version with redundant PSUs and LOM for schools and businesses? Along with a proper version of macOS Server?
Sadly this highlights Apples biggest problem, listen to your customers but screw them over royally when you charge for the feature. A quality rack mount case doesn’t cost anymore than the quality case that is the other Mac Pro. The linear slides are an additional expenses but that might mean $75 for a pair. So why charge $500 for something that is a modest additional cost?
It would be one thing if Apple was building a dirt cheap PC case. This isn’t the issue though as Apples tower cases have often been pretty respectable.
Naturally, the Mac Pro also includes rails for mounting it to a cabinet as part of the order, but Apple warns the rails will ship in a separate box.
I think you mean "surprisingly," and that they're not a $499 add on.
Now we have a proper Mac Pro again, how about a server version with redundant PSUs and LOM for schools and businesses? Along with a proper version of macOS Server?
Sadly this highlights Apples biggest problem, listen to your customers but screw them over royally when you charge for the feature. A quality rack mount case doesn’t cost anymore than the quality case that is the other Mac Pro. The linear slides are an additional expenses but that might mean $75 for a pair. So why charge $500 for something that is a modest additional cost?
It would be one thing if Apple was building a dirt cheap PC case. This isn’t the issue though as Apples tower cases have often been pretty respectable.
Did you consider economy of scale? Let's say that you're correct about the sliding rails—which seems low when I consider the cost of quality, heavy-duty, silent, drawer slides I once used for a project—have you considered that Apple may sell simnifically more towers than the rack mounted Mac Pros, so the cost of that case isn't just about the aluminum being used, but the cost of making a much smaller number of rack cases compared to the tower cases?
Naturally, the Mac Pro also includes rails for mounting it to a cabinet as part of the order, but Apple warns the rails will ship in a separate box.
I think you mean "surprisingly," and that they're not a $499 add on.
Now we have a proper Mac Pro again, how about a server version with redundant PSUs and LOM for schools and businesses? Along with a proper version of macOS Server?
Sadly this highlights Apples biggest problem, listen to your customers but screw them over royally when you charge for the feature. A quality rack mount case doesn’t cost anymore than the quality case that is the other Mac Pro. The linear slides are an additional expenses but that might mean $75 for a pair. So why charge $500 for something that is a modest additional cost?
It would be one thing if Apple was building a dirt cheap PC case. This isn’t the issue though as Apples tower cases have often been pretty respectable.
Where do you see an extra charge for the slides (rack mounting rails)? It says they are included in the price but shipped in a separate box. Look at the bottom under What's in the box.
I finally discovered three views of the rack when going to buy the rack-mounted Mac Pro but it doesn't show the memory side so I'm assuming Apple is assuming memory will be installed before it's rack mounted while the devices on the top side might be installed or changed at a later date. I tried convincing an Apple government salesman to tell me if the memory side is easy to get to but they wanted my government email address before talking to me (and I no longer have one).
Naturally, the Mac Pro also includes rails for mounting it to a cabinet as part of the order, but Apple warns the rails will ship in a separate box.
I think you mean "surprisingly," and that they're not a $499 add on.
Now we have a proper Mac Pro again, how about a server version with redundant PSUs and LOM for schools and businesses? Along with a proper version of macOS Server?
Sadly this highlights Apples biggest problem, listen to your customers but screw them over royally when you charge for the feature. A quality rack mount case doesn’t cost anymore than the quality case that is the other Mac Pro. The linear slides are an additional expenses but that might mean $75 for a pair. So why charge $500 for something that is a modest additional cost?
It would be one thing if Apple was building a dirt cheap PC case. This isn’t the issue though as Apples tower cases have often been pretty respectable.
Where do you see an extra charge for the slides (rack mounting rails)? It says they are included in the price but shipped in a separate box. Look at the bottom under What's in the box.
I finally discovered three views of the rack when going to buy the rack-mounted Mac Pro but it doesn't show the memory side so I'm assuming Apple is assuming memory will be installed before it's rack mounted while the devices on the top side might be installed or changed at a later date. I tried convincing an Apple government salesman to tell me if the memory side is easy to get to but they wanted my government email address before talking to me (and I no longer have one).
I assume he's talking about the rack mounted case costing $500 more than the tower case.
Naturally, the Mac Pro also includes rails for mounting it to a cabinet as part of the order, but Apple warns the rails will ship in a separate box.
I think you mean "surprisingly," and that they're not a $499 add on.
Now we have a proper Mac Pro again, how about a server version with redundant PSUs and LOM for schools and businesses? Along with a proper version of macOS Server?
Sadly this highlights Apples biggest problem, listen to your customers but screw them over royally when you charge for the feature. A quality rack mount case doesn’t cost anymore than the quality case that is the other Mac Pro. The linear slides are an additional expenses but that might mean $75 for a pair. So why charge $500 for something that is a modest additional cost?
It would be one thing if Apple was building a dirt cheap PC case. This isn’t the issue though as Apples tower cases have often been pretty respectable.
Where do you see an extra charge for the slides (rack mounting rails)? It says they are included in the price but shipped in a separate box. Look at the bottom under What's in the box.
I finally discovered three views of the rack when going to buy the rack-mounted Mac Pro but it doesn't show the memory side so I'm assuming Apple is assuming memory will be installed before it's rack mounted while the devices on the top side might be installed or changed at a later date. I tried convincing an Apple government salesman to tell me if the memory side is easy to get to but they wanted my government email address before talking to me (and I no longer have one).
I assume he's talking about the rack mounted case costing $500 more than the tower case.
Ok, I can see that. Looking at the dimensions of both, it appears the inside "rack" is the same whether you cover it with an upright enclosure or a rack enclosure. Of course, Apple needed to create a second manufacturing and assembly line for the rack-mounted Mac Pro since the enclosures are definitely different. I'm guessing Apple assumes more upright Mac Pros will be purchased allowing them to maximize the manufacturing equipment while they'll have to write off some of the equipment for the rack mount version. Of course, I would like to see some large banks of Mac Pro servers.
Naturally, the Mac Pro also includes rails for mounting it to a cabinet as part of the order, but Apple warns the rails will ship in a separate box.
I think you mean "surprisingly," and that they're not a $499 add on.
Now we have a proper Mac Pro again, how about a server version with redundant PSUs and LOM for schools and businesses? Along with a proper version of macOS Server?
Sadly this highlights Apples biggest problem, listen to your customers but screw them over royally when you charge for the feature. A quality rack mount case doesn’t cost anymore than the quality case that is the other Mac Pro. The linear slides are an additional expenses but that might mean $75 for a pair. So why charge $500 for something that is a modest additional cost?
It would be one thing if Apple was building a dirt cheap PC case. This isn’t the issue though as Apples tower cases have often been pretty respectable.
Where do you see an extra charge for the slides (rack mounting rails)? It says they are included in the price but shipped in a separate box. Look at the bottom under What's in the box.
I finally discovered three views of the rack when going to buy the rack-mounted Mac Pro but it doesn't show the memory side so I'm assuming Apple is assuming memory will be installed before it's rack mounted while the devices on the top side might be installed or changed at a later date. I tried convincing an Apple government salesman to tell me if the memory side is easy to get to but they wanted my government email address before talking to me (and I no longer have one).
I assume he's talking about the rack mounted case costing $500 more than the tower case.
Ok, I can see that. Looking at the dimensions of both, it appears the inside "rack" is the same whether you cover it with an upright enclosure or a rack enclosure. Of course, Apple needed to create a second manufacturing and assembly line for the rack-mounted Mac Pro since the enclosures are definitely different. I'm guessing Apple assumes more upright Mac Pros will be purchased allowing them to maximize the manufacturing equipment while they'll have to write off some of the equipment for the rack mount version. Of course, I would like to see some large banks of Mac Pro servers.
I can see it being used by the same people using the upright version, simply choosing to install it in a desk size rack along with a rack mounted RAID and possibly a rack mounted UPS system. It's a 5U rack, while you can get 2U, 3U (and larger) RAID racks along with an APC UPS (2U/3U) meaning these three would take 10U of rack space (a quarter rack). That fits easily under a typical desk leaving the entire work surface available for displays, keyboards and other devices. A typical rack is 42U high meaning eight Mac Pros could fit in one rack. That's a lot of processing power in a small footprint, something the upright version couldn't match.
As for blades, I've asked about these for years. I don't think the current Mac Pro configuration would work for these, however, that doesn't mean Apple couldn't alter the basic Mac Pro interior, especially for the rack mount version, changing how the motherboard is mounted to allow for vertical/horizontal blades along with memory and storage (I'd move storage outside of the box except for a boot SSD, relying on external RAID with HDD or NVMe SSDs. I could see either large NVMe boards inside the Mac Pro or connected via a PCIe bus cable to a secondary box. The same for GPU racks. Of course Apple would need to come up with a viable server OS that works perfectly with Macs to justify looking at this truly modular high power server system.
We can only dream.
I the facility where I was operations manager, we had our Mac Pros rack mounted on utility shelves in the racks. The RAIDS (XServe RAIDs) for each computer were in an adjacent rack. This was all in a central machine room. The edit suites were some distance away. The KVMs we used were made by Think Logical and used fiber optic cable bundles to reach the rooms. These amazing units also extended Firewire and USB (for the mouse or Wacom tablets) to the suites. Each room had two Cinema Displays fed by the KVMs with Dual Link DVI. The farthest room was more than 200 ft from the machine room. The systems worked well with only occasional issues. Their current extension product seem very simlar with new features. Not sure they extend Thundbolt, but there are fiber optic cable systems for Thunderbolt that can extend 60 meters.
So, there is no reason for a new Mac Pro to be in the same room where you work. You <can> put them in a rack in your room, but there will always be a noise factor. Maybe not the Mac, but RAIDs are not quiet. And some audio units have audible cooling fans. Remote installation of a Mac Pro works and solves some problems. These new rack Macs will be useful. Not for everyone, but there are those who will really want these machines.
Just saw an unboxing video from MacSales that shows a trap door for the memory. It's a little tight getting the outside memory cover off but you have access to everything now. It's a good video to watch to see the differences between the upright and rack-mounted Mac Pro.
Comments
People around here are a bit dense. This machine will commonly be interfaced inside a cabinet with other Audio Equipment. If you are upgrading your studio the Mac Pro Monitor will interface with it like a standard Mac Pro workstation. It's for the Audio Engineer or Video Compositor/Post Production FX/etc., person who sits in the mixing studio room and wants as little clutter as possible. Instead of having a stack of Audio Interfaces/Compressors/Limiters/Reverb/Power Conditioner, etc., and then a vertical tower they slide this inside the space made available for it as part of the entire set of audio hardware. Take this on tour with the band premounted inside a cabinet.
Thanks for the link though, that looks really interesting!
I finally discovered three views of the rack when going to buy the rack-mounted Mac Pro but it doesn't show the memory side so I'm assuming Apple is assuming memory will be installed before it's rack mounted while the devices on the top side might be installed or changed at a later date. I tried convincing an Apple government salesman to tell me if the memory side is easy to get to but they wanted my government email address before talking to me (and I no longer have one).