Tag: Xserve

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Xserve Enclosure Key (2003)

The Xserve Enclosure Key shipped with Apple’s Xserve line of racked mounted servers, beginning with the Xserve (Slot Load) model. (The “Slot Load” refers to the slot-loading optical drive built into the server.)

The purpose of the Xserve Enclosure Key was to unlock the physical enclosure (case) of the Xserve. The enclosure lock and status light were located in the upper-left corner of the Xserve over the far-left drive module and next to the power button/light.

According to page 11 of the Xserve User’s Guide: “The lock secures the enclosure and drive modules in the server. It can be locked and unlocked with the enclosure key supplied with the server.”

The Enclosure Key is also pictured on the page of the User’s Guide (page 16) that shows detailed drawings of the Mounting Hardware for the Xserve. This one-color illustration includes various braces, brackets, and screws necessary to mount the Xserve in a rack.

Later in the manual (page 49), the directions specify:

“To secure the drive modules in the server, use the enclosure key to lock them in place.”

Further, when the Security lock was engaged using the enclosure lock tool, further security measures were also in place, namely:

“When the enclosure lock is locked (the light is on), the server may not recognize peripheral devices such as a keyboard and mouse or a storage device. Unlock the lock to use those devices.”

The Xserve Enclosure Key measures 1.5 inches long and the cylinder has a diameter of 0.5 inch.

In my experience, Network Managers who worked in Mac environments in the early-2000s regularly carried an Xserve Enclosure Key with them on their keychain using the handy loop included on the tool. While certainly practical, I also felt like the tool was considered a “badge of honor” among a very specific subset of techies.

Sources: Apple (manuals)

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Xserve brochure (2003)

This brochure provides information about Apple’s Xserve line of rack-mounted servers, produced between 2002–2011. According to Apple, Xserve was a:

“powerful 1U rack-mount server designed with Apple’s legendary ease-of-use for groundbreakingly simple set up and remote management. Designed from the ground up as the perfect complement to Apple’s UNIX-based Mac OS X Server software, Xserve is ideal for business and education customers. Xserve provides exceptional performance in a compact 1U rack-mount server… Xserve includes an unlimited user license to Mac OS X Server software, offering users a perfect combination for file/print service, video streaming, database applications, computational clustering and web and mail serving.”

Three basic Xserve models were sold: Xserve G4, Xserve G5, and Xserve Xeon.

This brochure is 9 x 12 inches, printed on matte paper, and features a side pocket on the back cover in which current product data sheets could be inserted. The brochure profiles several uses for Xserve including mission-critical applications for fraud prevention, UNIX development, public school network services, and fast file sharing in a creative environment.

My brochure included education-oriented materials in the back pocket, including Apple Remote Desktop, Mac OS X Server, Xserve, and Xserve RAID. In the various school districts where I served, I have used all of those products in the past.

Sources: Wikipedia, Apple

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Product brochures collection (2003)

These product brochures were available in Apple Stores and elsewhere in the early 2000s. They measured 4.25 x 6.5 inches folded, and designs were sometimes stapled and folded out into different layouts. All of these brochures feature a photo of the product on the front panel and specifications on the back panel.

Apple Displays (January 2003)
This stapled Apple Displays brochure features a 3-up fold out section showing three models: 20-inch Apple Cinema Display, 23-inch Apple Cinema HD Display, and 17-inch Apple Studio Display. The next 2-up layout includes:
10 reasons why Apple all-digital LCD displays are clearly superior.
All-digital active-matrix LCD.
Pure digital interface.
Wide viewing angle.
Fast pixel response.
Save on energy bills.
Color fidelity.
Uniform color.
Stable colors.
Easy to calibrate.
Clutter-free.
The final pages include product specifications.

Power Mac G4 (January 2003)
This stapled 8-page brochure features a Power Mac G4 (mirrored drive door) on the cover. The next 2-page spread shows the Power Mac G4 with the door open and the copy:
“Power Mac G4. Super fast. Super affordable. Supercomputer.
The new Power Mac G4 features faster performance, more expansion, and the highly efficient Xserve-based dual processing architecture.”
The center spread features the headline, “The ultimate system for the digital pro.”
The last pages contain Technical Specifications and Power Mac G4 configurations.

iPod+iTunes Mac and Windows (October 2003)
The cover of this brochure is bright yellow and features the iconic “silhouette” iPod imagery—a black silhouette of a person holding a white iPod wearing white earbuds connected by white wires. The opening copy reads:
“iPod and iTunes. Perfect harmony. Together, iPod and iTunes changed the way Mac users listen to music. Now everyone can join the digital music revolution, because iTunes now works on Windows PCs—the same way it does on a Mac. So no matter what computer you use, you can enjoy the most acclaimed portable digital music player and jukebox software ever created. And go anywhere with up to 10,000 songs in your pocket.”
The remainder of the brochure features iPod and iTunes features and specifications.

Power Mac G5 (July 2003)
The Power Mac G5 brochure opens to a 2-up layout with the headline “Power Mac G5 The worlds fastest personal computer.” along with a “hero” photo of the product. The next 4-up horizontal layout features four stunning photographs, each representing one of four disciplines: color graphics, video production, scientific research, and music production. It fully opens to an 8-up mini poster with the headline, “The Power Mac G5. Unprecedented everything.”

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Xsan 2 box (2008)

This Xsan 2 retail box from 2008 includes the software to set up Apple’s SAN (Storage Area Network) solution on a Mac with a G5 processor with an Apple Fibre Channel card running Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server 10.5 or later.

The box uses the tagline, “Share terabytes of storage. Zero bottlenecks.”

The four key technologies highlighted on the box include:

  • Simplified setup
  • MultiSAN
  • Full-throttle performance
  • Spotlight

The Xsan 2 setup guide is not for the faint of heart. It lists “Equipment You’ll Need” and specifies, “To set up a SAN using the instructions in this guide, you need:”

  • RAID storage devices for SAN storage
  • Two computers running Mac OS X Server v10.5 to act as SAN metadata controllers
  • One or more SAN client computers running Mac OS X v10.5 or Mac OS X Server v10.5
  • An Intel or PowerPC G5 processor and at least 2 GB of RAM in each SAN computer
  • An additional 2 GB per SAN volume in each metadata controller that hosts more
  • than one SAN volume
  • An Apple Fibre Channel PCI, PCI-X, or PCI-E card installed in each SAN computer
  • A Fibre Channel switch and cables for all storage devices and computers
  • An Ethernet switch and cables for the private SAN metadata network
  • A second Ethernet switch and cables for public intranet and Internet access
  • An equipment rack for your RAID storage systems and Xserve computers
  • A list of qualified RAID systems and Fibre Channel switches is available on the Xsan website at www.apple.com/xsan

Source: Apple

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Xserve Power Cord (2003)

This short (11-inch) power cord shipped with a later version of the Xserve or the Xserve RAID, a rack-mount server from Apple produced from 2002–2009. This short power cord was ideal for a rack-mounted server to conserve both rack space and weight.

The Apple Xserve had the ability to house two power supplies so there was redundancy in the event one power supply failed. According to one of the Xserve User Guides:

Power supply and power supply bays—A removable power supply for the Xserve. The power cord connects here. You can install two 750- watt power supplies for redundancy; either supply can take over the full load for the Xserve if the other supply fails or is removed.

The original Xserve User’s Guide specifies that it only ships with a long power cord: “You can use the long power cord supplied with the server, or another cord…” Thus, this power cord likely shipped with a later Xserve model. The Xserve RAID User Guide acknowledges that the Xserve RAID may have shipped with more than one type of power cord (“If you received more than two power cords, use the ones with plugs compatible with the electrical supply for your location.”)

Source: Apple (Xserve, Xserve RAID)