nother useless update for most - but Xserve servers are EOL

Apple - Xserve - Resources

for those of us that care Apple is discontinuing the Xserve rackmount servers. if you are needing one you have until Jan 31.

a side note, Apple Please make another rackmount and not force people into minis or Pros to act as a server, the buisiness and graphics minions are rather annoyed by this announcement

 

I don't think Apple's Xserve units were very successful. Although a rackmount form factor is convenient, people can just install the OS X Server on any Mac and use that as a server instead.

 

very true but using mac minis takes more space than a rackmount and no fibrechannel, Mac Pros take even more space .... and for a large server cluster its a pain to have to redesign a cluster or node away from rackmounts. Yes it is more convienience but hey space and simplicity is nice for some of us lazy admins.

 

Given the undoubtedly low sale volumes of XServes compared to other Macs and the disproportionate development effort needed to design a good stable server, I can see why Apple would want to drop the XServe. However, I agree that the Mac Mini or Mac Pro are hardly direct replacement options for the XServe's use case. The lack of Lights-Out Management has been pointed out as a key missing feature. Personally, I'm confused with this move after the recent push to get OS X Server into business due to the cost effectiveness of unlimited seat licenses and as an Exchange alternative as a halo effect of business iPhone adoption. I thought this was going well with Apple signing a contract with Unisys to help businesses integrate Apple products, now this is looks like they are tying a hand behind their back.

 

thats what some of the businesses I deal with with Mac backends are thinking. many are starting to think Apple is actually backing OUT of the business market again like they did in the mid 90's and even the hard core mac AV crowd is getting worried as they have no interest in setting up mac pro clusters for rendering and feel that Apple is leaving them for the consumer gizmos.

 

Well, no server system is going to be a big time seller. But it does suck for the companies that used them. I'm not sure what Apple is thinking even if they were not making lots of money on it, they have enough spare cash laying around that they could afford to keep them. Some people are even fearing that there will not be another Final Cut. At this rate, I could believe it.