Apple; New Xserve is twice as fast as its predecessor
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Jan 8, 2008 at 10:42am
Apple has introduced the new Xserve, a 1U rack-optimized server that the company says is up to twice as fast as its predecessor and includes an unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server Leopard.
Starting at US$2,999, the new Xserve has up to two Quad-Core 3.0GHz Intel Xeon processors for 8-core performance, a new server architecture, faster front side buses, faster memory, up to 3TB of internal storage and two PCI Express 2.0 expansion slots for greater performance and flexibility.
“With the latest Intel processors and no client access licenses, Xserve offers unbeatable server performance and value for under $3,000,” says Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Xserve’s power, storage and Leopard Server make it ideal for supporting Mac clients and mixed platform workgroups.”
The Xserve is configurable with up to two Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400 series processors running up to 3.0GHz with 12MB of L2 cache per processor and features a new high-bandwidth hardware architecture, dual-independent 1600MHz front side buses and up to 32GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM memory for a 64 percent increase in memory throughput. Two PCI Express 2.0 expansion slots provide up to four times the I/O bandwidth of the previous Xserve to support the latest high-bandwidth expansion cards including multi-channel 4Gb Fibre channel and 10Gb Ethernet cards.
Xserve now includes built-in accelerated graphics to drive up to a 23-inch Apple Cinema Display and a new front-facing USB 2.0 port. Using Apple’s Server Monitor, an administrator can remotely turn Xserve on or off and manage server software from anywhere on the network. Each of Xserve’s three drive bays can be configured with 73GB or 300GB SAS drives or 80GB and 1TB SATA drives, providing a mix of high performance and vast storage capabilities for a wide range of server applications. Apple offers a hardware RAID card option that delivers hardware RAID levels 0, 1 and 5 with 256MB of cache and an included backup battery for up to 72 hours of cached data protection. The Xserve RAID card delivers up to 251MB/s RAID 5 performance without using a PCI Express expansion slot.
Apple says the new Xserve improves energy efficiency with Intel’s 45 nanometer core microarchitecture technology. The processors draw a maximum consumption of 80W, and drop as low as 4W when idle. Power supplies exceed Energy Star recommendations from the US Department of Energy.
Every Xserve ships with a preinstalled, unlimited client edition of Leopard Server software, offering 64-bit support, easy-to-use management tools and support for Mac, Linux and Windows clients. Leopard Server is fully Unix compliant.
The new Xserve is shipping today and will be available through the Apple Store and Apple Authorized Resellers. The Xserve standard configuration, with a suggested retail price of $2,999, includes:
° A single 64-bit 2.8GHz Quad-Core Xeon processor with 12MB of L2 cache and a 1600 Mhz front side bus;
° 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM RAM, expandable up to 32GB;
° A single 80GB SATA Apple Drive Module;
° Dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board;
° Internal graphics;
° Two FireWire 800 and three USB 2.0 ports;
° An unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server version 10.5 Leopard.
In addition to the standard configuration, Xserve offers numerous build-to-order options and accessories including: dual 2.8 or 3.0GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors; 80GB and 1TB 7200 rpm SATA or 73GB or 300GB 15,000rpm SAS Apple Drive Modules; internal Xserve RAID card; Gigabit Ethernet, 4Gb Fibre Channel and U320 SCSI expansion card options, and a 750W redundant power supply.
The “Macsimum MWSF 2007 Coupon Book” is available for download. You can find it here and print it as a PDF. It has discounts, special offers and promotions in conjunction with the upcoming Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.
Article Information
Comment on this Article Print this Article Email this Article Digg This
Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
