Apple introduces Xserve with Quad 64-bit Xeon chips

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Apple Computer at its World Wide Developers Conference on Monday announced the new Xserve, a quad Xeon, 64-bit server featuring Mac OS X Server Tiger on two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz, resulting in performance that is over five times that of its predecessor.



"With an industry-leading high bandwidth server architecture that includes PCI Express, independent 1.33 GHz front side buses with 4MB of shared L2 cache, and fully-buffered DIMMs (FB-DIMMs), the new Xserve delivers up to four times the I/O bandwidth, up to three times the memory bandwidth and twice the storage bandwidth of the Xserve G5," the company said.



The new Xserve is Apple's most customizable server yet with over one million possible build to order configurations, including faster processors, larger hard drives and dual power supplies.



"Xserve has always been the perfect server for Mac workgroups and now it will run over five times faster for the same breakthrough price," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With new Intel processors, a redesigned hardware architecture, and an unlimited Tiger Server client access license, no one can offer better price performance and manageability in a 1U server."



Xserves can be configured with two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running either 2.0, 2.66 or 3.0 GHz. It also supports up to 32GB of 667 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM memory with twice the capacity and three times the bandwidth of the Xserve G5. Two eight-lane PCI Express expansion slots provide up to 2GB/s of throughput each to support the next generation of fibre channel, networking and graphics cards.



Apple is offering vast storage flexibility with support for up to three 3Gb/s SATA or SAS drives that can achieve an unrivaled 2.25TB of hot-plug storage in a 1U server while advanced thermal management capabilities take advantage of the low power of the Intel processors, running as low as 65W.







Apple has made the system even easier to manage with quick deployment rails for rack mounting, a new lights out management system that lets administrators control the hardware from a remote location and by including Apple's Server Monitor software and Remote Desktop agent.



The new Xserve ships with internal graphics that can drive up to a 23 inch Cinema Display as well as industry standard VGA devices and offers an ATI Radeon X1300 256MB PCI Express graphics card for professional graphics and video applications as a build to order option.



The Intel-based Xserve will be the first system to ship with a preinstalled unlimited client edition of Tiger Server software that is optimized to run on Intel-based systems. Tiger Server integrates over 100 leading open source projects and standards-based software applications with easy-to-use management tools that make it easy to deploy for Mac, Windows and Linux clients.



Apple is offering a choice of services and support programs for Xserve including AppleCare Premium Service that offers four-hour on-site response and 24x7 technical support. For self servicing customers, Apple is offering complete Service Parts Kits to address the majority of potential field problems.



Pricing & Availability



The new Xserve is scheduled to be available in October 2006 through the Apple Store and Apple Authorized Resellers.



The Xserve base configuration includes two 2.0 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors with 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM RAM, a single 80GB 3Gb/s SATA Apple Drive Module, dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board, internal graphics, three FireWire 800 and two USB 2.0 ports, and an unlimited client license of Mac OS X Server version 10.4 Tiger for a suggested retail price of $2,999.



Build to order options and accessories include dual 2.66 or 3.0 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors; up to 32GB of 667 MHz FB-DIMM RAM; 80GB and 750GB 7200 rpm 3Gb/s SATA or 73GB and 300GB 15,000 rpm SAS Apple Drive Modules; ATI Radeon X1300 graphics card with 256MB SDRAM; Combo or SuperDrive; and 650W redundant power supply.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 29
    chris vchris v Posts: 460member
    I was 100% accurate
  • Reply 2 of 29
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider


    Apple Computer at its World Wide Developers Conference on Monday announced the new Xserve, a quad Xeon, 64-bit server featuring Mac OS X Server Tiger on two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz, resulting in performance that is over five times that of its predecessor.



    "With an industry-leading high bandwidth server architecture that includes PCI Express, independent 1.33 GHz front side buses with 4MB of shared L2 cache, and fully-buffered DIMMs (FB-DIMMs), the new Xserve delivers up to four times the I/O bandwidth, up to three times the memory bandwidth and twice the storage bandwidth of the Xserve G5," the company said.



    The new Xserve is Apple?s most customizable server yet with over one million possible build to order configurations, including faster processors, larger hard drives and dual power supplies.



    ?Xserve has always been the perfect server for Mac workgroups and now it will run over five times faster for the same breakthrough price,? said Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ?With new Intel processors, a redesigned hardware architecture, and an unlimited Tiger Server client access license, no one can offer better price performance and manageability in a 1U server.?



    Xserves can be configured with two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running either 2.0, 2.66 or 3.0 GHz. It also supports up to 32GB of 667 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM memory with twice the capacity and three times the bandwidth of the Xserve G5. Two eight-lane PCI Express expansion slots provide up to 2GB/s of throughput each to support the next generation of fibre channel, networking and graphics cards.



    Apple is offering vast storage flexibility with support for up to three 3Gb/s SATA or SAS drives that can achieve an unrivaled 2.25TB of hot-plug storage in a 1U server while advanced thermal management capabilities take advantage of the low power of the Intel processors, running as low as 65W.



    Apple has made the system even easier to manage with quick deployment rails for rack mounting, a new lights out management system that lets administrators control the hardware from a remote location and by including Apple?s Server Monitor software and Remote Desktop agent.



    The new Xserve ships with internal graphics that can drive up to a 23 inch Cinema Display as well as industry standard VGA devices and offers an ATI Radeon X1300 256MB PCI Express graphics card for professional graphics and video applications as a build to order option.



    The Intel-based Xserve will be the first system to ship with a preinstalled unlimited client edition of Tiger Server software that is optimized to run on Intel-based systems. Tiger Server integrates over 100 leading open source projects and standards-based software applications with easy-to-use management tools that make it easy to deploy for Mac, Windows and Linux clients.



    Apple is offering a choice of services and support programs for Xserve including AppleCare Premium Service that offers four-hour on-site response and 24x7 technical support. For self servicing customers, Apple is offering complete Service Parts Kits to address the majority of potential field problems.



    Pricing & Availability



    The new Xserve is scheduled to be available in October 2006 through the Apple Store and Apple Authorized Resellers.



    The Xserve base configuration includes two 2.0 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors with 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM RAM, a single 80GB 3Gb/s SATA Apple Drive Module, dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board, internal graphics, three FireWire 800 and two USB 2.0 ports, and an unlimited client license of Mac OS X Server version 10.4 Tiger for a suggested retail price of $2,999.



    Build to order options and accessories include dual 2.66 or 3.0 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors; up to 32GB of 667 MHz FB-DIMM RAM; 80GB and 750GB 7200 rpm 3Gb/s SATA or 73GB and 300GB 15,000 rpm SAS Apple Drive Modules; ATI Radeon X1300 graphics card with 256MB SDRAM; Combo or SuperDrive; and 650W redundant power supply.



    The good, the bad, and the ugly.



    The market is already reacting negatively.
  • Reply 3 of 29
    I want one of these so bad...



    ...but I think I'm going to play it ubersafe and wait for Rev B. I've waited this long another 6-8 months ain't gonna kill me.
  • Reply 4 of 29
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    The Mac Pro is now in the current hardware section.



    Its label has Intel Xeon. Who would have ever thought.



    Two optical drives and four HDD sounds great. Four 750GB HD is 3 TB of storage. But Apple did not mention the ability of RAID configuration.



    The DIMM slot slide out trays are a great idea.



    Five USB 2 ports, two firewire 400, and two firewire 800. For those of you accusing Apple of abandoning firewire. Dual Gigabit ethernet.



    A pretty solid machine, I still feel Apple should offer a lower cost desktop model however.
  • Reply 5 of 29
    crees!crees! Posts: 501member
    Rock and F'ing Roll \\m/
  • Reply 6 of 29
    silenciosilencio Posts: 134member
    A shame about the shipping delay of a couple of months, but the new Xserve has got two very important new features: dual redundant power supplies and lights-out management hardware are two huge features that will greatly increase the Xserve's appeal in the enterprise.
  • Reply 7 of 29
    The shipping delay is probably to get Tiger Server for Intel out for general seeding/testing.
  • Reply 8 of 29
    ~ufo~~ufo~ Posts: 245member
    I wonder if they are now quiet enough to reside in a music studio's rack....



    probably not.

    how cool would it be if they'd make a 2U workstation version with either passive cooling or some nifty ultra quiet fan system..... how cool... how cool...
  • Reply 9 of 29
    dstranathandstranathan Posts: 1,717member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ~ufo~


    I wonder if they are now quiet enough to reside in a music studio's rack....



    probably not.

    how cool would it be if they'd make a 2U workstation version with either passive cooling or some nifty ultra quiet fan system..... how cool... how cool...





    I already created a thread for this topic a long time ago. Please use it.
  • Reply 10 of 29
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Finally! Production Level hard drives.



    SAS support!
  • Reply 11 of 29
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Oh, never mind the great news about the Xserves, Shaw Wu will still cry like a baby about no new iPods introduced. Good Lord, Charlie Brown.
  • Reply 12 of 29
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich


    Oh, never mind the great news about the Xserves, Shaw Wu will still cry like a baby about no new iPods introduced. Good Lord, Charlie Brown.



    It's not iPods. The market dropped Apple's shares today, you might have noticed. They were expecting the same thing many here predicted ( which most people will now forget). New iMacs, new MBP's, and possibly even an upgrade to the Macbook. Maybe even a newer Mini.
  • Reply 13 of 29
    The market is frakked up then. Those Mac Pros and XServes are pretty hot.



    I wouldn't be surprised to see Leopard Server make major gains, and then we see Apple pick up noticeable back-end marketshare (only a few percent more, but on the board as a server system).



    And I would be surprised if Apple doesn't double its workstation sales. I mean, even if you wipe OS X, install Windows, and add more RAM, you're still cheaper than the equiv Dell.



    And that boosts software sales, because it's more pro machines that can run FCS.



    This was a great day for Apple, market be damned.
  • Reply 14 of 29
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ZachPruckowski


    The market is frakked up then. Those Mac Pros and XServes are pretty hot.



    I wouldn't be surprised to see Leopard Server make major gains, and then we see Apple pick up noticeable back-end marketshare (only a few percent more, but on the board as a server system).



    And I would be surprised if Apple doesn't double its workstation sales. I mean, even if you wipe OS X, install Windows, and add more RAM, you're still cheaper than the equiv Dell.



    And that boosts software sales, because it's more pro machines that can run FCS.



    This was a great day for Apple, market be damned.



    Well, investors look a bit more deeply than we usually do here. They have more familiarity with the industries needs. It's their business, after all.



    But, a lot of this is Apple's fault. It all goes back to the secrecy. Apple, by their silence, leads people to believe that they will introduce many things at these public events, because they so often do. When they don't, they get hurt. That's why I've always argued that Apple should just release products when they are ready, and not hold special events. That way, no one will expect more than they have a right to at any particular time. And Apple's stock won't go bumpiddy bump.
  • Reply 15 of 29
    franksargentfranksargent Posts: 4,694member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross


    Well, investors look a bit more deeply than we usually do here. They have more familiarity with the industries needs. It's their business, after all.



    But, a lot of this is Apple's fault. It all goes back to the secrecy. Apple, by their silence, leads people to believe that they will introduce many things at these public events, because they so often do. When they don't, they get hurt. That's why I've always argued that Apple should just release products when they are ready, and not hold special events. That way, no one will expect more than they have a right to at any particular time. And Apple's stock won't go bumpiddy bump.







    And whom might they be?



    Just imagine what would have happened if Apple had announced the much rumored iToilet!



  • Reply 16 of 29
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by franksargent






    And whom might they be?



    Institutions that own hundreds of thousands of shares, or even millions.



    Quote:







  • Reply 17 of 29
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross


    Institutions that own hundreds of thousands of shares, or even millions.







    Whoda thunk?



    But more importantly, what you ascribe to Apple's secrecy, I'd ascribe to normal stock trading patterns surrounding ANY company's product announcements. My quick look at AAPL suggests that neither the price fluctuation or volumes traded are unusual from yesterday versus almost any other typical trading day of AAPL stock. Much ado about nothing!



  • Reply 18 of 29
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by franksargent






    Whoda thunk?



    But more importantly, what you ascribe to Apple's secrecy, I'd ascribe to normal stock trading patterns surrounding ANY company's product announcements. My quick look at AAPL suggests that neither the price fluctuation or volumes traded are unusual from yesterday versus almost any other typical trading day of AAPL stock. Much ado about nothing!







    Well, that's not really true. you have to look more broadly. After Apple's events, stock prices often dip, after they had risen beforehand. Expectations build up, and then are let down.
  • Reply 19 of 29
    festefeste Posts: 17member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross


    Well, that's not really true. you have to look more broadly. After Apple's events, stock prices often dip, after they had risen beforehand. Expectations build up, and then are let down.



    Yes, but you can't have it both ways. Either these nebulous expert investors to whom you refer actually do know things--in which case they would have known for a fact that Apple wouldn't have introduced new iMacs and upgraded MacBooks at a pro-oriented event when they wanted their new professional hardware and Leopard to be the focus--OR they're the same idiots that invest in all the other stocks on the market and that make it the utterly irrational crapshoot of an institution that it is.



    BTW, one of the standard truisms of investing is "buy on the rumor, sell on the news" when the market actually IS impressed by a product announcement, the stock in question usually goes down as a result. For it to go up would be an anomaly.
  • Reply 20 of 29
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Feste


    Yes, but you can't have it both ways. Either these nebulous expert investors to whom you refer actually do know things--in which case they would have known for a fact that Apple wouldn't have introduced new iMacs and upgraded MacBooks at a pro-oriented event when they wanted their new professional hardware and Leopard to be the focus--OR they're the same idiots that invest in all the other stocks on the market and that make it the utterly irrational crapshoot of an institution that it is.



    BTW, one of the standard truisms of investing is "buy on the rumor, sell on the news" when the market actually IS impressed by a product announcement, the stock in question usually goes down as a result. For it to go up would be an anomaly.



    That's not what I'm saying, that they know things about what Apple is doing. I'm saying just the opposite, that Apple should let us, and them know.



    What they know, is what Apple has to do to get sales in many places. They then expect that Apple will be making certain moves, based on past actions by Apple unser certain cercumstances, and react accordingly. If Apple doesn't meet those expectations, they react accordingly again, like today so far.



    Your last paragraph is again, only partly correct. when the market is impressed by an announcement, the stock goes up, not down.



    Companies go from peak to peak, or trough to trough.



    Up until this year, Apple has been going from peak to peak. A counter example is GTW, which has (and still is) going from trough to trough.
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