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My Turn is Low End Mac's column for reader-submitted
articles. It's your turn to share your thoughts on all things
Mac (or iPhone, iPod, etc.) and write for the Mac web. Email your
submission to Dan Knight
.
There is a subtle yet upsetting murmur echoing through the IT
industry. Believe it or not, its Xserve-centric.
Apple's sleek new rack unit has many hardened systems administrators
reevaluating the Mac as a serious contender in the technology
delivery arena.
The concept of Mac servers floating out of Apple is not new at
all. Apple has sold G3 and G4 systems bundled with custom server
software, beefed up hard drives, and faster network connectivity for
quite some time. Before that, Apple offered standard models in a
server configuration, only modifying a few specifications in the
process. They even went as far as designing a massive "network
server" solution in the mid-90s. However, it would be accurate to sum
up the response to Apple's server efforts until now as, "yeah,
whatever."
You're probably thinking, "So what's great about Xserve? It sure
sounds like another joke of a server from Apple." Well, you're dead
wrong.
Apple changed four main things about their server product.
Cumulatively, one killer server was born. The Xserve is the
quintessence of Steve Jobs' unyielding perfectionism. Unlike its
bastard predecessors, the Xserve is taking the industry by storm.
Here is why:
Operating System
Apple has brewed up a killer flavor of an Open Source Unix core,
appropriately named "Darwin." When paired with the world's most
popular Web server, Apache, and Apple's stunning proprietary Aqua
interface, a surefire winner was created: Mac OS X Server.
In the past, Apple had used a standard Mac OS and additional
software to turn it into a so-called server operating system.
Although it did work, many features of a robust server operating
system were absent. Therefore, AppleShare IP and other Mac OS-based
server solutions were scarcely used outside of Macintosh
networks.
With the implementation of a Unix-core, Apple opened an
unfathomable number of doors. Not only could Mac networks be served,
but also Windows and Unix networks. A countless number of Unix server
software suites could easily be ported to run on Apple's OS.
Additionally, remote server administration and access via command
line was now available. By starting out the new breed of server
software with Open Source Unix, Apple declared they want to be a
serious contender.
Hardware
People become extremely biased towards a product simply based on
looks. Apple's previous servers, with exclusion of the Network Server
line, were essentially desktop and minitower Mac systems - visible
evidence to the average server shopper identified anything "Mac" as a
personal computer.
With Xserve, Apple has finally made a product that fits into a
standard server rack. The importance of that fact means that Apple's
product can be installed easily into datacenters that have existing
server racks. Racks are extensively used nowadays to keep hardware
organized and stored in a secure and space-saving fashion. Without
rackmountability, Apple's server product would get nowhere in
professional datacenters.
Performance
Apple has always been associated with sexy looking products and
raw power under the hood. However, an extra push would be needed to
elevate the personal Mac system architecture into something good
enough to be competitive with other server hardware. Apple did just
that with the Xserve by boosting the system bus speed and introducing
DDR memory to the Mac. With dual G4 processors running on a faster
bus and supercharged memory, Apple's hardware design is capable of
blowing away the competition.
Price
The critical make or break point of every purchase comes down to
price. No matter how good Apple's server product is, it won't take
off without a decent price.
Apple definitely scored extra points with product pricing. As far
as servers of this class go, Apple's Xserve is very competitively
priced. Many Intel-based units performing significantly poorer are
priced as much as twice that of the Xserve. I even recently read of
an IT administrator gushing about how he could get "two of these
babies for the price of one Intel."
Apple has failed before at the pricing game, but they sure nailed
it this time. Let's hope the momentum continues.
Now as Apple is being considered a major contender in the server
arena, their product is undeniably at the top of its league. The
essential points of a good operating system, innovative hardware,
excellent performance, and a good price make it a big winner.
Apple has always changed the way we think; now they're changing
the way others think about serving.
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
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