Apple pulls plug on Xserve for Mac Pro Server

NEW YORK, USA: Apple Inc is transitioning away from Xserve and has decided not to develop any future version of this Apple server, as per an update on its site.

"Xserve will be available for order through January 31, 2011. After that date, customers looking to upgrade, replace, or supplement existing Xserve systems with new Apple hardware have the following two server solutions to choose from.Mac Pro with Snow Leopard Server," says the site.

The company says that it had found the Mac Pro systems' performance and expandability equal to or surpassing Xserve. Moreover, now preloaded with Mac OS X Server, the Mac Pro tower form factor can be deployed in an office environment on or under a desk, or in a data centre environment on a shelf in a rack with two units per 12U.

Apple will honour and support all Xserve system warranties and extended support programmes. Apple intends to offer the current shipping 160GB, 1TB, and 2TB Apple Drive Modules for Xserve3 through the end of 2011 or while supplies last, says the Xserve Transition Guide.

The most recent Mac Pro, which introduced 12-core Intel Xeon “Westmere” processing and the fast 512GB solid-state drive (SSD) to the most configurable Mac, now surpasses Xserve in processor performance.

Mac Pro now is available in a configuration preloaded with Mac OS X Server. It comes with a 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor, 8GB of DDR3 memory, two 1TB 7200-rpm hard drives,3 and an unlimited-client license of Mac OS X Server, as per the guide.

Mac Pro can be configured beyond the current Xserve, supporting 12-core processing; four internal drive bays that support 512GB solid-state, 1TB, or 2TB drives; and more powerful graphics processors.