PRESS RELEASE
February 10, 2003
Apple Introduces Xserve RAID Storage System With Breakthrough Performance and Pricing
2.5 Terabytes of High Availability Storage In a Single 3U Enclosure
MARKHAM, Ontario—February 10, 2002—Apple® today introduced Xserve™ RAID, thefirst 3U rack storage system with a massive 2.5TB storage capacity, blazingperformance of up to 400 MB/s and the industry's most aggressive price pointof $6.75 (CDN) per gigabyte.
A unique architecture delivers the massive storage density and incredibleperformance of Xserve RAID. Fourteen independent ATA/100 drive channelsprovide up to 2.5TB of storage. Dual independent RAID controllers with up to1GB controller cache memory provide fully-redundant storage. And a dual 2GbFibre Channel host interface delivers unprecedented performance. Each 180GBApple Drive Module uses a dedicated drive channel, maximizing the 400 MB/sindustry standard Fibre Channel host connection. Xserve RAID scales incapacity and performance by adding more drives, or more Xserve RAID systemsfor virtually unlimited expansion. And, in an industry first, Xserve RAIDprovides RAID level 5 throughput that supports affordable real-time HD 1080ivideo editing.
“Xserve RAID is an industry breakthrough product, offering up to 2.5TB ofhigh-performance redundant storage at $6.75 (CDN) per gigabyte�a fraction ofthe cost of storage from Dell, HP, Sun or EMC,” said Philip Schiller,Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Xserve RAIDfeatures dual independent RAID controllers for redundant storage, a dual 2GbFibre Channel interface for ultra-high performance, and dual power suppliesfor peace of mind, all starting at just $9,229 (CDN)."
“No other vendor comes close to offering the compelling performance, densityand value of Xserve RAID in a 3U storage system�plus it's got Apple'strademark ease of use and set up,” said Jon Moog, CIO, RiskWise, a leadingprovider of reliable high volume, real-time risk management services formission critical operations in Internet companies, banks and other creditlending organizations. “After seeing the specifications of Xserve RAID, wewere excited and thought it would make a perfect companion to our 120 Xserveservers. After seeing the price, we placed an order.”
The unique serviceability and redundancy features of Xserve RAID aredelivered by an accessible enclosure, modular component design and continualvisual feedback for local monitoring. Redundant hot swap power and coolingmodules can be replaced in seconds without any interruption of service andin the event of a drive failure, access to data remains unaffected whiledata is automatically rebuilt on a spare drive. The indicator lights on thefront and rear panels display status at a glance for all system componentsand a built-in audible alarm provides local failure notification.
With Apple's legendary ease of use, the included Java-based RAID Adminsoftware provides detailed event information about the system and in theevent of a problem automatically sends email notification. RAID Adminprovides an intuitive interface for setting up, managing and monitoringmultiple Xserve RAID systems from anywhere on the Internet over TCP/IPthrough a secure encrypted password. In addition, using Apple's newRendezvous™ networking technology, RAID Admin can also automaticallydiscover and connect to Xserve RAID systems over any IP network.
Xserve connects easily to Xserve RAID using the dual channel 2Gb Apple FibreChannel PCI Card sold separately at an industry breakthrough price of $769(CDN) (SRP.) This high-speed industry standard storage interface offersdedicated bandwidth with a throughput of up to 400MB/s. Apple's PCI cardcomes with two high-speed 2.9-meter copper cables and accepts SFP (SmallForm-factor Pluggable) copper or optical transceivers for use withfiber-optic cables.
Apple offers a choice of world-class services and support programs forXserve RAID including 4-hour on-site response, 24x7 technical support,AppleCare® Service Parts Kits and the AppleCare Professional SupportLine andTools program.
Pricing & Availability
Xserve RAID will be available in March through the Apple Store®(www.apple.com/canadastore) and through Apple Authorized Resellers. Xserve RAID comes inthree standard configurations, or can be fully customized to meet specificcustomer requirements. Build-to-order options can include additional AppleDrive Modules, additional cache memory and cache battery modules.
Xserve RAID will be available in March through the Apple Store®(www.apple.com/canadastore) and through Apple Authorized Resellers. Xserve RAID comes inthree standard configurations, or can be fully customized to meet specificcustomer requirements. Build-to-order options can include additional AppleDrive Modules, additional cache memory and cache battery modules.
Xserve RAID for an estimated retail price of $9,229 (CDN) includes:
- dual independent RAID controllers with 128MB cache per controller and
- support for up to 512MB cache per controller;
- dual 2Gb Fibre Channel ports with 200 MB/s throughput per channel;
- four 180GB ATA/100 Apple Drive Modules;
- 720GB RAID 0 total available storage; and
- 8MB on—drive cache.
Xserve RAID for an estimated retail price of $11,609 (CDN) includes:
- dual independent RAID controllers with 128MB cache per controller and
- support for up to 512MB cache per controller;
- dual 2Gb Fibre Channel ports with 200 MB/s throughput per channel;
- seven 180GB ATA/100 Apple Drive Modules;
- 1260GB RAID 0 total available storage; and
- 8MB on-drive cache.
Xserve RAID for an estimated retail price of $16,999 (CDN) includes:
- dual independent RAID controllers with 128MB cache per controller and
- support for up to 512MB cache per controller;
- dual 2Gb Fibre Channel ports with 200MB/s throughput per channel;
- fourteen 180GB ATA/100 Apple Drive Modules;
- 2520GB RAID 0 total available storage; and
- 8MB on-drive cache.
Apple Canada Inc. is headquartered in Markham, Ontario and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apple Computer, Inc. Apple products are available at more than 450 Authorized Apple Canada Dealer locations across Canada.
- © 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac,Mac OS, Macintosh, Xserve, Rendezvous, AppleCare and Apple Store aretrademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks oftheir respective owners.