Affordable, Scalable Storage

Technology Overview

Xserve G5

Up to 750GB of storage

Each Xserve G5 has three drive bays for

up to three hot-plug Apple Drive Modules.4

Exponential growth in the creation and distribution of digital content is driving the need for high-capacity storage in business and education. Large databases, digital video footage, immense scientific data sets, and uncompressed audio all place enormous demands on server storage resources.

Xserve G5 addresses these growing requirements by providing up to 750GB of afford- able internal storage capacity.1 With each Apple Drive Module on an independent Serial ATA (SATA) drive channel and connected to a high-speed I/O system, the Xserve storage subsystem scales without compromising performance. This unique architecture delivers the best balance of performance, reliability, capacity, and price.

Internal storage comparison

Server	Apple	Dell	IBM	Sun
	Xserve G5	PowerEdge 1750	eServer x335	Sun Fire V60x

Maximum internal	750GB	438GB	292GB	219GB
storage capacity	(three 250GB drives)	(three 146GB drives)	(two 146GB drives)	(three 73GB drives)

Onboard disk controller	Three independent	Ultra320 SCSI	Ultra320 SCSI	Ultra320 SCSI
for internal drives	SATA

Hot-plug drives	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Cost of additional	$499	$699	$899	$500
drives*	(250GB)	(146GB)	(146GB)	(73GB)

Cost per GB	$2.00	$4.79	$6.16	$6.85

* Based on suggested retail prices published on manufacturers’ websites as of December 21, 2003.

Xserve G5 offers affordable internal storage that scales to nearly twice the capacity of most other 1U servers on the market.

SATA Drive Technology

Xserve G5 features sophisticated 150MB/s SATA drive controllers, each with a dedicated SATA bus to a single Apple Drive Module. In the original Xserve—and before Serial ATA became available—Apple pioneered a point-to-point storage architecture using Parallel ATA. This innovative design eliminated the single-threaded operation of the typical ATA master/slave configuration and delivered superior performance at a much lower cost than that of SCSI-based systems.

Xserve G5 advances to a SATA-based storage subsystem that provides the same multi- threaded system operation. Multithreading enables the system to send commands to multiple drives at once for the fastest possible throughput. An independent drive architecture also isolates the drives electrically, preventing a single drive failure from causing unavailability or performance degradation of the surviving drives—a common problem with multidrive SCSI implementations.

Xserve G5 specifications

The Apple Xserve G5 was a powerful rack-mounted server that was introduced by Apple in 2004. Built on the robust PowerPC architecture, it marked a significant entry into the enterprise server market for the company, reflecting its commitment to high-performance computing and advanced technology solutions.

One of the main features of the Xserve G5 was its dual dual-core PowerPC G5 processors, which allowed for exceptional computation performance. This configuration enabled up to 8 processing cores in a single server unit, significantly enhancing multitasking capabilities and making it suitable for high-demand applications. With support for up to 16GB of DDR SDRAM, the server ensured ample memory for intensive operations and large-scale data processing tasks.

In terms of storage, the Xserve G5 featured a versatile design that supported up to four hot-swappable Serial ATA (SATA) drive bays. This capability enabled users to easily replace or upgrade hard drives without downtime, which is crucial in enterprise environments. The server also supported RAID configurations, offering options for increased reliability and data redundancy.

Networking capabilities were another highlight of the Xserve G5. It came equipped with dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, providing robust network throughput and redundancy. This feature was particularly valuable for mission-critical applications where uptime and performance were essential. Additionally, the Xserve G5 was compatible with various networking protocols and featured built-in support for Active Directory, simplifying integration into existing IT infrastructures.

The operating system of choice for the Xserve G5 was Mac OS X Server, which offered a user-friendly interface along with powerful server management tools. The software provided a wide range of services, including file sharing, web hosting, and email services, tailored for small to medium enterprises and education institutions.

For those seeking expandability, the Xserve G5 boasted a PCI-X expansion slot, allowing users to add various hardware components such as additional network interfaces or specialized processing cards.

In terms of its physical design, the Xserve G5 had a sleek, 1U form factor, making it easy to integrate into existing server racks while maintaining a modern aesthetic. The efficient cooling system was designed to keep the unit running optimally, ensuring reliability during extended periods of use.

In conclusion, the Apple Xserve G5 represented a significant advance in server technology with its powerful dual G5 processors, ample memory and storage options, and robust networking capabilities. Its combination of performance and user-friendly Mac OS X Server made it a notable choice for organizations seeking reliable computing solutions in the mid-2000s.