PRESS RELEASE 10 February 2003

Apple Introduces Xserve RAID Storage System With Breakthrough Performance and Pricing

2.5 Terabytes of High Availability Storage In a Single 3U Enclosure

CUPERTINO, California - February 10th, 2003
Apple today introduced Xserve RAID, the first 3U rack storage system with a massive 2.5TB storage capacity, blazing performance of up to 400MB/s and the industry's most aggressive price point of just over £3.50 per gigabyte.
A unique architecture delivers the massive storage density and incredible performance of Xserve RAID. Fourteen independent ATA/100 drive channels provide up to 2.5TB of storage. Dual independent RAID controllers with up to 1GB controller cache memory provide fully-redundant storage. And a dual 2Gb Fibre Channel host interface delivers unprecedented performance. Each 180GB Apple Drive Module uses a dedicated drive channel, maximising the 400MB/s industry-standard Fibre Channel host connection. Xserve RAID scales in capacity and performance by adding more drives, or more Xserve RAID systems for virtually unlimited expansion. And, in an industry first, Xserve RAID provides RAID level 5 throughput that supports affordable real-time HD 1080i video editing.
“Xserve RAID is an industry breakthrough product, offering up to 2.5TB of high-performance redundant storage at just over £3.50 per gigabyte — a fraction of the cost of storage from Dell, HP, Sun or EMC”, said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Xserve RAID features dual independent RAID controllers for redundant storage, a dual 2Gb Fibre Channel interface for ultra-high performance, and dual power supplies for peace of mind, all starting at just £4,999 including VAT”.
“No other vendor comes close to offering the compelling performance, density and value of Xserve RAID in a 3U storage system — plus it's got Apple's trademark ease-of-use and setup”, said Jon Moog, CIO, RiskWise, a leading provider of reliable high volume, real-time risk management services for mission critical operations in Internet companies, banks and other credit lending organisations. “After seeing the specifications of Xserve RAID, we were excited and thought it would make a perfect companion to our 120 Xserve servers. After seeing the price, we placed an order”.
The unique serviceability and redundancy features of Xserve RAID are delivered by an accessible enclosure, modular component design and continual visual feedback for local monitoring. Redundant hot-swappable power and cooling modules can be replaced in seconds without any interruption of service and in the event of a drive failure, access to data remains unaffected while data is automatically rebuilt on a spare drive. The indicator lights on the front and rear panels display status at a glance for all system components and a built-in audible alarm provides local failure notification.
With Apple's legendary ease-of-use, the included Java-based RAID Admin software provides detailed event information about the system and in the event of a problem, automatically sends email notification. RAID Admin provides an intuitive interface for setting up, managing and monitoring multiple Xserve RAID systems from anywhere on the Internet over TCP/IP through a secure encrypted password. In addition, using Apple's new Rendezvous networking technology, RAID Admin can also automatically discover and connect to Xserve RAID systems over any IP network.
Xserve connects easily to Xserve RAID using the dual channel 2Gb Apple Fibre Channel PCI Card sold separately at an industry breakthrough price of £399 (inc VAT). This high-speed industry-standard storage interface offers dedicated bandwidth with a throughput of up to 400MB/s. Apple's PCI card comes with two high-speed 2.9 metre copper cables and accepts SFP (Small Form-factor Pluggable) copper or optical transceivers for use with fibre-optic cables.
Apple offers a choice of world-class services and support programmes for Xserve RAID including 4-hour on-site response, 24x7 technical support, AppleCare Service Parts Kits and the AppleCare Professional SupportLine programme.
Pricing & Availability:
Xserve RAID will be available in March through the Apple Store and Apple Authorised Resellers. Xserve RAID comes in three standard configurations, or can be fully customised to meet specific customer requirements. Build-to-order options can include additional Apple Drive Modules, additional cache memory and cache battery modules.
Xserve RAID for an estimated retail price of £4,999 (inc VAT) 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;
  • 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 £6,199 (inc VAT) 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;
  • 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 £8,999 (inc VAT) 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.
Press Contacts:
Apple UK and Ireland Public Relations
Email: media.uk@apple.com
Phone: +44 (0)20 8218 1440
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