Blade Runner Redux

aphelionaphelion
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Will or should Apple capitalize on the "burgeoning market" for blade servers (see CNet link) along with IBM? Could anyone here see what benefits such a product by Apple to be the next step in it's server strategy? Could anyone here speculate how the as yet unrealized new technologies i.e. GigaWire, Apple Pi, UMA-2 might work in this scenario?



<a href="http://news.com.com/2100-1001-959067.html?tag=fd_top"; target="_blank">CNet: IBM Blades</a>



ClearCube, an Austin, TX start-up has some interesting products in this sphere. How would an Apple product improve upon this concept?



<a href="http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-958819.html"; target="_blank">ZDnet: Blades to the desktop</a>



If Apple developed a blade for it's server products where else might these be put to use in the product line-up to achieve economies of scale? Low cost pizza-box? New Cube? Next iMac?



discuss in this thread ~

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    flashgordonflashgordon Posts: 284member
    I live about 5 minutes from clear cube's offices you want me to go ask them? Maybe they will know when the new powerbook is coming out. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />
  • Reply 2 of 16
    aphelionaphelion Posts: 736member
    [quote]Originally posted by FlashGordon:

    <strong>I live about 5 minutes from clear cube's offices you want me to go ask them? Maybe they will know when the new powerbook is coming out. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>



    ~ Well as they are a wintel developer i doubt if they would have much info on things Apple ~
  • Reply 3 of 16
    flashgordonflashgordon Posts: 284member
    That is too bad b/c I was seriously on my way over there. <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />
  • Reply 4 of 16
    vinney57vinney57 Posts: 1,162member
    This is a personal requirement and may not tally with Apple's plans but I would very much like, and could sell several cartloads, a Mac computing 'brick' or indeed 'blade'. Something like a 1/2 Ti Powerbook without the screen, keyboard, speakers, optical drive and PC slot. Useable for semi-permanent 'embedded' functions such as kiosks, museum AV playbacks, video/MP3 servers etc. Slide sixteen of them into a rack for render farm/server. Probably a bit elaborate and specialised for Apple 'lean' production principles but it would float my boat.
  • Reply 5 of 16
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    like a cheap Xserve
  • Reply 6 of 16
    junkyard dawgjunkyard dawg Posts: 2,801member
    Drop a GPUL in the Xserve and that's all that Apple needs to sell mountains of of them. But if they wait until a year from now then it will only catch up to other servers.
  • Reply 7 of 16
    overhopeoverhope Posts: 1,123member
    [quote]Originally posted by vinney57:

    <strong>Something like a 1/2 Ti Powerbook without the screen, keyboard, speakers, optical drive and PC slot. Useable for semi-permanent 'embedded' functions such as kiosks, museum AV playbacks, video/MP3 servers etc. Slide sixteen of them into a rack for render farm/server.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Perhaps something a little like <a href="http://homepage.mac.com/overhope/16_cubes.jpg"; target="_blank">this?</a> (23kb JPEG).



    That's the little farm of Macs that Paramount use (or at least, did when the picture was taken) to run the bridge displays on Star Trek: Enterprise...



    Don't ask me for any more information on it, or I'll get someone in trouble...



    (edit: freaky formatting. Where's the vbb? )



    [ 09-24-2002: Message edited by: Overhope ]</p>
  • Reply 8 of 16
    aphelionaphelion Posts: 736member
    [quote]Originally posted by Junkyard Dawg:

    <strong>Drop a GPUL in the Xserve and that's all that Apple needs to sell mountains of of them. But if they wait until a year from now then it will only catch up to other servers.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Read the IBM link JYD ~ that's what they plan to do with their GPUL ~ 'gotta find a place to put the East Fishkill fab's production.



    [ 09-24-2002: Message edited by: Aphelion ]</p>
  • Reply 9 of 16
    miami craigmiami craig Posts: 172member
    [quote]Originally posted by Junkyard Dawg:

    <strong>Drop a GPUL in the Xserve and that's all that Apple needs to sell mountains of of them. But if they wait until a year from now then it will only catch up to other servers.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Well looks like you know exactly what they should do. Im sure if apple can't manage to get a GPUL into an Xserve, it will be because they elected to go that way



    When the GPUL is available and apple finds a profitable way to get it into a computer, we'll see it. It wont be because apple is just waiting, there is a good reason for everything apple does. It wasnt their choice they were stuck at 500mhz for an eternity, dont blame apple.
  • Reply 10 of 16
    junkyard dawgjunkyard dawg Posts: 2,801member
    [quote]Originally posted by Miami Craig:

    <strong>



    Well looks like you know exactly what they should do. Im sure if apple can't manage to get a GPUL into an Xserve, it will be because they elected to go that way



    When the GPUL is available and apple finds a profitable way to get it into a computer, we'll see it. It wont be because apple is just waiting, there is a good reason for everything apple does. It wasnt their choice they were stuck at 500mhz for an eternity, dont blame apple.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I never blamed Apple for anything. All I said was that a GPUL Xserve would be a VERY desirable product, that's it. It's a prop for Apple, not a dis. It's only a figure of speech that I said "if Apple waits until a year from now". Obviously it's not directly Apple's fault if IBM drags their ass on the GPUL, however, Apple can STILL be blamed for not making arrangements for an alternative to the G4 sooner.



    Basically what I'm saying is that the Xserve is a FINE product, and it will be even better with the GPUL--thus there is no need for some sort of "half-Powerbook" server. Apple already has a bitchin' server.



    [ 09-24-2002: Message edited by: Junkyard Dawg ]</p>
  • Reply 11 of 16
    aphelionaphelion Posts: 736member
    [quote]Originally posted by Overhope:



    Perhaps something a little like <a href="http://homepage.mac.com/overhope/16_cubes.jpg"; target="_blank">this?</a> (23kb JPEG).



    That's the little farm of Macs that Paramount use (or at least, did when the picture was taken) to run the bridge displays on Star Trek: Enterprise...



    Don't ask me for any more information on it, or I'll get someone in trouble...

    <hr></blockquote>



    Nice link! as a cube owner I gotta love it. And yes, imagine those 12 Cube mainboards slotted into a 3U rack chassis. That's the concept!



    And JYD ~ Apple could do quite well with the G4 here, no need to wait for GpuL or Godot ~ the needed parts are already here.



    I'm thinking a reusable module, sort of an Apple UMA that cuts costs by being in multiple products to bring costs down. I'll leave it to others to imagine how it would incorporate all the anticipated next generation Apple technologies (GigaWire, USB-2, FibreChannel, DDR-II, ect. ect.) And put it in:



    ~ iBook ~ iMac ~ eMac ~ TiBook ~ PizzaBook ~ Apple PVR TiVo ~ Xpippin ~ iAnything ~



    Plus, BladeRunner ~ ModularMac, a vertical tower which allows you to plug in more modules as needed. Need more power in your tower? Just add more CPU modules!
  • Reply 12 of 16
    vinney57vinney57 Posts: 1,162member
    Overhope, dude! Killer link. Yes exactly like that. I was starting to use the cube in exactly this sort of situation.. and then they canned it. I've also used CRT iMacs in the 1U Marathon rack but they were a pain to make (and Marathon could never deliver in time). I've also seen Ti Books used like this with their screens closed due to a lack of space. Of course the great thing with the Cube was that it was silent. (the heat on that set must be horrendous...well, more than usually horrendous).



    I don't think it matters to Apple particularly but the number of Blue and Bondi 15" LCD monitors you used to see on film and TV sets was incredible. Due to the styling and easy rear fixing mounts.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    vinney57vinney57 Posts: 1,162member
    Oh and JD misses the point yet again.
  • Reply 14 of 16
    aphelionaphelion Posts: 736member
    [quote]Originally posted by vinney57:

    <strong>Oh and JD misses the point yet again.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Well JYD just doesn't know what a blade server is and he didn't bother to read the links ...
  • Reply 15 of 16
    aphelionaphelion Posts: 736member
    IBM is making a big push into the Blade form factor space. It occurs to me that Apple could ride the crest of this wave on IBM iron.



    With the announcement yesterday of its "Xcalibur" BladeCenter blade servers, IBM Corp has introduced a new family of products under its eServer umbrella. IBM earlier this year hinted that it would deliver BladeCenter blades based on its own Power line of 64-bit RISC processors.



    When IBM's press release about the upcoming Microprocessor Forum mentioned that the new GPUL processor would run on "small servers" this "Xcalibur" blade could very well be what they were referring to.



    In today's <a href="http://theregister.co.uk/content/53/27278.html"; target="_blank">Register</a> article IBM was coy on when the PowerPC version of this new architecture would be out. Could this mean that Apple could collaborate with IBM to produce an OSX version of Xcalibur?



    Think of it ~ if the R&D and production of this product was handed to Apple for the next step in their server plans we might have Xserve, Xraid, and Xcalibur in the Apple server line up.
  • Reply 16 of 16
    altivec_2.0altivec_2.0 Posts: 995member
    Could very well be true.
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