Apple Introduces Xserve G5

MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO—January 6, 2004—Apple® today introduced Xserve® G5, the most powerful Xserve yet, delivering over 30 gigaflops of processing power per system, about 60 percent more than the PowerPC G4-based Xserve. Xserve G5 features the same revolutionary PowerPC G5, 64-bit processor used in Virginia Tech’s cluster of Power Mac® G5s—the world’s third fastest supercomputer. With unparalleled performance and manageability in a 1U rack-mount enclosure, Xserve G5 is the perfect server for today’s UNIX-based applications.

Xserve G5 includes a new system controller with up to 8GB of PC3200 error correcting code (ECC) memory; three hot-plug Serial ATA drive modules that deliver up to 750GB of storage; optional internal hardware RAID; dual PCI-X slots, supporting 133 MHz PCI-X cards with over 1 GBps of throughput; and dual on-board Gigabit Ethernet for high-performance networking.

“Xserve G5 delivers just what our customers have been asking for,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With dual G5 processing power and up to 8GB of ECC memory, Xserve G5 is affordable, easy to manage and easy to cluster. Starting as low as $2,999, no one can offer better price performance in a 1U rack-mount design.”

Available with either single or dual 2.0 GHz PowerPC G5 processors, the Xserve G5 architecture is based on an execution core that features massively parallel computation for an unprecedented 215 in-flight instructions, full symmetric multi-processing, two double precision floating-point units and an optimized Velocity Engine. Xserve G5 has the industry's fastest front side processor bus—running at up to 1.0 GHz and delivering 8 GBps per processor.

Building on the engineering feats first introduced in the Power Mac G5, Xserve G5 squeezes the incredible performance of dual PowerPC G5 processors into an ultra-thin 1U enclosure. An innovative copper heat sink design effectively removes heat from the processors while eight high-performance fans provide airflow for cooling the system. The fans are individually managed and monitored by a dedicated fan control processor; if a single fan fails the others speed up to compensate. The 1U enclosure has an array of over 30 sensors, including eight dedicated to temperature control, that continually monitor all critical system functions throughout the server.

Xserve G5 is the ideal server solution for cross-platform file and print, workgroup management, video streaming, database applications, high-performance computing, and web and mail serving. Apple also offers a cluster node configuration specifically designed for high-performance computational clustering that delivers the compute performance of dual G5 processors without the cost of additional components, such as a CD-ROM drive.

Xserve G5 features new capabilities designed to make server setup and remote management easier than ever before. Server Monitor, Apple’s hardware remote monitoring application, provides both high-level red/yellow/green status on all key subsystems, as well as detailed information on server status. Xserve G5 includes an updated Server Monitor that now provides information from over 30 sensors, including power supply voltages, temperature sensors, fan speeds and Ethernet and hard drive performance.

Xserve G5 ships with an unlimited client edition of Mac OS® X Server version 10.3 “Panther” software pre-installed. Panther Server integrates leading open source and open standards software with easy-to-use management tools that make it easy to deploy popular open source solutions for Mac®, Windows and Linux clients.

Apple offers a choice of world-class services and support programs for Xserve including 4-hour on-site response, 24x7 technical support, AppleCare® Service Parts Kits and the AppleCare Professional SupportLine and Tools program.

Pricing & Availability
Xserve G5 will be available in February through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com) and Apple Authorized Resellers. Xserve will come in three standard configurations or can be fully customized to meet specific customer requirements. The three standard Xserve G5 configurations include:

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