late development rackmount pic

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
I guess we won't know if they spiffed up the design for the shipping version until the 15th, but here's a picture of one of the pretty late testing servers sent out in March. This one has a single 1.0 Ghz G3 CPU, I guess from IBM. The design isn't final, but seems close. The power and reset buttons (and network and power LEDs) are still on the back, but i assume they will be on the front for the final version. Also, i assume either front-mounted NIC or the modem will go (not worth having both, other than for developmental testing convenience. They're both used basically just for quick system diagnostics from a laptop.) The back doesn't look nearly as finished as the front. It looks more 'hand made', with somewhat rough cutouts for ethernet, power, switches etc. This seems to imply that the front has been 'designed', and thus the final version might be quite similar. BTW - no pics of the back, as each one is slightly different (being 'hand cut') and thus recognizeable.





-robo
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34
    roborobo Posts: 469member
    Oops.. forgot to link the pic:



    <a href="http://robo.cx/ai/G3-server.jpg"; target="_blank">G3 server</a>





    BTW - to clarify. There is a gigabit NIC in the back. The front ethernet port is a 100BaseT for diagnostics.



    [edit by Amorph: Changed picture to link to restore board formatting.]



    [ 05-07-2002: Message edited by: Amorph ]



    [edit by robo: Fixed Amorph's link ]



    [ 05-07-2002: Message edited by: robo ]</p>
  • Reply 2 of 34
    roborobo Posts: 469member
    and yes, the Apple logo lights up.
  • Reply 3 of 34
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    How long time have you known this? Before or after yesterday?
  • Reply 4 of 34
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    That's the kind of question that can give away sources, Anders...
  • Reply 5 of 34
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    [quote]Originally posted by Amorph:

    <strong>That's the kind of question that can give away sources, Anders...</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Oh I had 10-20 questions that would probably totally pin point the source So I went with the only binary one.
  • Reply 6 of 34
    eddivelyeddively Posts: 74member
    would this Sahara Processor also use the 200 MHz (DDR) bus? an Anemic 1 GHz may not work too well for that kind of work. right?
  • Reply 7 of 34
    roborobo Posts: 469member
    I had seen the machines before yesterday, but didn't know how close Apple was to release (or announcement, at least) until Jobs mentioned it. I figured i could spill a few beans after that.



    BTW - i'm not the one with the machines, in fact, the ones I have seen are not even geographically close to me at the moment. My connection to the actual engineering firm with the test slabs is pretty convoluted (and not really computer related) so i'm quite certain Apple can't trace anything. Also, I've been assured that the front of the machine is not unique and is not identifiable from others sent out.





    -robo
  • Reply 8 of 34
    Hmm...



    Looks very much like a good photoshop-job to me. The ports are the same ones I can see at the back of my PowerBook G3 FW and the shadows around that area a very clear compared to the sorroundings. The black color inside the ports doesn't even match the depth of the shadow below and the apple-logo seems like a down-scaled PR-picture.



    Not very convincing to me.



    I may be wrong though and arguing about that doesn't make any sense: We'll all see in about a week from now. Nonetheless, I'd be very surprised to see this very machine on apple.com next week...



    Yours,



    Micheal
  • Reply 8 of 34
    overtoastyovertoasty Posts: 439member
    [quote]Originally posted by robo:

    <strong> This one has a single 1.0 Ghz G3 CPU, I guess from IBM. -robo</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Oh Gawd No!!! NOT A G3 ?!?!?!?!



    I really hope that was only in the demonstration model ... cause we here in the video rendering and bioinformatics realm (yeup, I've stuck my foot firmly in both row-boats ... ouch) we wunder-weenies aren't going to see much point in a render-farm or a BLAST station without SIMD.



    Duh.



    Hey, maybe it's some sort of all new boffo G3 with some kind of SIMD on it ... otherwise, it's just a file server ... BFD ...



    Talk about letting a new market slip thru it's fingers ... "Hey, it's a G3 that's what CISCO uses right? So why don't we? It's perfect for embedded stuff and besides, all people wanna do off the thing is serve files, WebPages and NetBoot anyway ...".



    Oooooh, if THAT was the essence of whatever conversation convinced the PTB ("Powers That Be") to go with a G3 ... over something the scientific and creative communities actually need ...



    ... it'll be another case of Apple afraid of being Apple, and in the process, winding up being a half-assed version of somebody else, which never works.



  • Reply 10 of 34
    macjunkiemacjunkie Posts: 35member
    I cannot see the picture...!?!



    For that matter, ALL the graphics on the AI Forums are not loading for me...



    Help! Someone host/post the pic somewhere else, and put a link in this thread, please...!
  • Reply 11 of 34
    thegeldingthegelding Posts: 3,230member
    the metal rim or lip is slightly thinner at the port portion of the rack....why would that be?? is this a photoshop error or would apple have the rim metal be different thickness?? g
  • Reply 12 of 34
    percolatepercolate Posts: 14member
    It's quite possible that they'll offer a G3 and a G4 version. The G4 doesn't have much to offer normal servers and from SJ's description of features added to the server OS (improved "server" JVM, support for Ruby, python, et al) it sounds like these may well be initially intended as regular old file and application servers. The G3 is great for that. Either to start or later on they'll add a G4 render farm type of version for a few hundred more and perhpa s without the extra software. BTW, the photo looks fake to me, too. Still, I wouldn't doubt the G3 at least being an option for the new servers, although I'd expect multiprocessor versions. Maybe even make dual procs the minimum on the line.
  • Reply 13 of 34
    slick501bslick501b Posts: 54member
    Fake! Fake!



    Why would the ports be raised off of the casing and not flush? They wouldn't. Not apple's style at all, and more importantly they are photoshoped on. Look at the drop shadow. I can almost guess the distance and size probably 3,5 respectively.



    Also the apple logo is wrong. The apple logo is crisp and has pointed corners in the bite. This logo is rounded. Probably some rookie who doesn't know how to copy and paste from ill to pshop with out cropping part.



    I'd take the time to blow it up and show you but this weak representatin isn't even close.





    <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
  • Reply 13 of 34
    apple.otakuapple.otaku Posts: 590member
    They flashed a picture of the server on the big screen during they keynote. It supposedly had a brushed metal finish. Didn't anyone see this? Come on now!
  • Reply 15 of 34
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Yup, Pismo ports...I'm sure all rackmounts need an RJ-11 too.



    Anyway, I love the rugged uneven, unfinished look on the edge of the face...and the jpeg burn marks around the vents...



    And VGA too, oh yeah...nothing like a step backward...You should have photoshopped a DVI on there...it *does8 carry an analog signal...



  • Reply 16 of 34
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    What are the supposed prize of the rackmount servers.

    Considering that the chip is a one ghz G3 from IBM costing less than a one ghz G4 (less silicium), that the graphic chipset will be basic, the rackmount case will not cost more than a tower, this machine should not cost more than the tower.

    Is anybody know if the rackmount will have ECC memory ?
  • Reply 17 of 34
    overtoastyovertoasty Posts: 439member
    [quote]Originally posted by Eugene:

    <strong>Yup, Pismo ports...I'm sure all rackmounts need an RJ-11 too.



    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Whew!



    We can now worry just a tad less about it getting stuck with a pokey G3.
  • Reply 18 of 34
    roborobo Posts: 469member
    Heh!



    I wanted to see how long that one would last. It's fake.



    It's a bunch of pics of my Pismo patched together in Photoshop.



    However, at least some of the reasons people claimed it was fake were wrong.. ie. the Apple logo is 'genuine'.. straight from the top of my Pismo. The shape is correct.. it's not 'rounded' due to bad Photoshopping, as slick501b claimed.



    Also, the RJ-11 isn't out of place. The Google rackmount box has an RJ-11 for diagnostics, which is why i left it on there. I did edit out the sound-in/out and S-video ports, though.





    Cheers,



    -robo
  • Reply 19 of 34
    junkyard dawgjunkyard dawg Posts: 2,801member
    LOL, a G3!



    This reminds me of the AI report that the new iMac would have a G3. Obviously pulled out of someone's arse, he he.
  • Reply 19 of 34
    willoughbywilloughby Posts: 1,457member
    Heh

    My first question was going to be:



    "Why in the hell would you want a video port on the FRONT of a rack mount server!?!!"



    Too bad this isn't april 1st.
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