Xserve
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xserve is the name of Apple Inc.'s 1U rackmount line of server computers. When the Xserve was introduced in 2002, it was Apple's first designated server hardware design since the Apple Network Servers of 1996. It initially featured one or two PowerPC G4 processors, but was later switched over to the new PowerPC G5, and now runs on two quad-core Nehalem CPUs[1]. The Xserve can be used for a variety of applications, including file server, web server or even high-performance computing applications using clustering - a dedicated cluster Xserve, the Xserve Cluster Node, without a video card and optical drives was also available.
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[edit] Xserve G4
 The original Xserve G4  The second-generation Xserve G4  The Xserve G4 Cluster Node |
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| Developer | Apple Inc. |
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| Type | Rackmounted Server |
| Release date | May 14, 2002 |
| Discontinued | January 6, 2004 |
| CPU | single or dual PowerPC G4, 1GHz - 1.33GHz |
Apple introduced the Xserve on May 14, 2002. Originally, it had one or two PowerPC G4 processors running at 1.0GHz and supported up to 2GiB of PC-2100 memory on a 64-bit memory bus. Three FireWire 400 ports (one in front, two in rear), two USB 1.1 ports (rear), an RS-232 management interface (rear), and a single onboard gigabit port (rear) were provided for external connectivity. Two 64-bit/66MHz PCI slots and one 32-bit/66MHz PCI/AGP slot were provided; in the default configuration the two PCI slots were filled with an ATI Rage video card and an additional gigabit ethernet card. Up to 4 UATA/100 hard disk drives (60 or 120GB) fit into hot-swap bays in the front, allowing software RAID-0 and 1 arrays to be created. A tray-loading CD-ROM drive was mounted in the front.
Initially, two configuration options were available: a single-processor Xserve with 256MiB of memory at $2999 and a dual-processor Xserve with 512MiB of memory at $3999. Both shipped with a single 60GB disk and Mac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar" Server.
On February 10, 2003 Apple released an improved and expanded Xserve lineup. Improvements included one or two 1.33GHz PowerPC G4 processors, two FireWire 800 ports (rear), faster memory (PC-2700), and higher capacity Ultra ATA/133 hard disk drives (80 or 160GB). Also, the front plate was redesigned for a slot-loading CD-ROM. A new model, the Xserve Cluster node was announced at the same price as the single-processor Xserve, featuring two 1.33GHz processors, no optical drive, a single hard drive bay, no video or ethernet cards, and a 10-client version of "Jaguar" server.
On April 2, 2003 the Xserve RAID was introduced, providing a much higher capacity and higher throughput disk subsystem for the Xserve.
[edit] Xserve G5
 The Xserve G5 The Xserve G5 Cluster Node |
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| Developer | Apple Inc. |
|---|---|
| Type | Rackmounted Server |
| Release date | January 6, 2004 |
| CPU | single or dual PowerPC G5, 2GHz - 2.3GHz |
| Website | apple.com/xserve |
On January 6, 2004 Apple introduced the Xserve G5, a redesigned higher-performance Xserve. The 32-bit PowerPC G4s were replaced with one or two 64-bit PowerPC 970 processors running at 2GHz. Up to 8GiB of PC-3200 ECC memory was supported on a 128-bit memory bus. One FireWire 400 port (front), two FireWire 800 ports (rear), two USB 2.0 ports (rear), an RS-232 management interface (rear), and two onboard gigabit ethernet ports (rear) with TCP offload provided greater connectivity. A 133MHz/64-bit and a 100MHz/64-bit PCI-X slots rounded out its expansion options. Ventilation issues restricted it to 3 SATA hot-swap drive bays (80GB or 250GB each), with the original space for the fourth drive bay used for air vents. The front plate and slot-loading optical drive (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM/CD-RW optional) were retained from the last Xserve G4.
Three configuration options were available: a single-processor Xserve G5 with 512MiB of memory at $2999, a dual-processor Xserve G5 with 1 GiB of memory at $3999, and a dual-processor cluster node model (with an unchanged appearance from the G4 cluster node) featuring 512MiB of memory, no optical drive, a single hard drive bay, and a 10-client version of "Panther" Server at $2999.
The higher memory capacity and bandwidth of the Xserve G5 as well as the stronger floating-point performance of the PowerPC 970 made it more suitable for high-performance computing (HPC) applications. System X is one such cluster computer built with Xserves.
On January 3, 2005, Apple speed bumped the Xserve G5 with 2.3GHz PowerPC 970 processors in the dual-processor configurations. 400GB hard disks were made available for up to 1.2TB of internal storage. The slot-loading optical drive was upgraded to a combination DVD-ROM/CD-RW standard, DVD-/+RW optional.
Soon after, Apple updated the Xserve and Xserve RAID to allow the use of 500 GB Hard Drives.
All Xserve G5 models shipped with Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger".
[edit] Intel Xserve
The Xserve "Xeon" |
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| Developer | Apple Inc. |
|---|---|
| Type | Rackmounted Server |
| Release date | November 2006 |
| CPU | single or dual Xeon 55xx, 2.26GHz - 2.93GHz |
| Website | apple.com/xserve |
The Intel-based Xserves were announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference on August 7, 2006, and are significantly updated compared to the XServe G5, and G4. They use Intel Xeon ('Woodcrest') processors at 2GHz, 2.66GHz, or 3GHz, FB-DIMM DDR2, ATI Radeon X1300 graphics, a maximum storage capacity of 2.25TB when used with three 750GB drives, optional redundant power supplies and a 1U rack form factor. The Intel Xserves now have their graphics cards on-board, meaning that one does not need to sacrifice a PCI slot to add video capabilities --a departure from G4 and G5 Xserves.
On January 8, 2008 Xserve was updated to use Intel Xeon ('Harpertown') processors at 2.8GHz or 3GHz, PC2-6400 DDR2 memory at 800MHz, and a maximum storage capacity of 3TB when used with three 1TB drives. The front mounted FireWire 400 port featured in previous models was also replaced with a USB 2.0 port.
The Xserve RAID was discontinued on February 19, 2008.
On April 7, 2009 Xserve was updated to use Intel Xeon ('Nehalem') processors at 2.26GHz, 2.66GHz or 2.93GHz, PC3-8500 DDR3 memory at 1066MHz, two FireWire 800 ports, Mini DisplayPort output, and a maximum storage capacity of 3TB when used with three 1TB drives (with an option to add a 128GB SSD boot-drive that does not occupy a drive bay). It was also Apple's first Xserve to use PVC-free internal cables and components and contain no brominated flame retardants.
Timeline of Macintosh servers
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Xserve |
- Apple Server Documentation
- Apple Xserve G5 Developer Note
- Apple Xserve G4 Developer Note
- Intel Xserve Complete Disassembly
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