What can Xserve and Mac OS X Server do that Mac OS X and .mac cannot?

Question

What can Xserve and Mac OS X Server do that Mac OS X and .mac cannot?

After repeatedly bumping up against internal and external hard drive storage limits (easy to do with photography and HD video) I am considering an Xserve for storage space and easy access to files. Some of the features of Leopard Server such as iCal Server, email, and IM sound interesting as well. However, I know nothing about server admin, so I am equally worried about 1) getting in over my head and 2) that an Xserve is overkill. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Powerbook 12 G4, Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Posted on Jul 12, 2007 6:46 AM

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Answer 1

Camelot

Level 9

58,581 points

Jul 12, 2007 9:49 AM in response to ~prime mover~

If your concern is storage I'm not sure what you think you'll gain from using an XServe.

The MacPros can handle more internal storage than the XServe, thanks to its four drive bays (vs. the XServe's three).

If you're planning to use the server as a network file store, that's fair enough, but don't think you can do live editing over the network - the throughput is going to be bottlenecked by your network and disk performance over the network is typically much less than local drive. It would be feasible to use it as an archive repository while running the current projects from the local disk, just don't try to edit HD video over the network.

A potentially better solution would be an XServe RAID rather than an XServe - the RAID offers up to 10TB of RAID protected storage which can be directly connected to your workstation, giving you the advantage of local file storage (viable for live editing) without the overhead of the network.

If you do opt for the server route bear in mind that all the other services (email, iCal, IM, etc.) are optional, and you can just ignore them until you're ready to deal with them.

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Answer 2

Jul 13, 2007 2:08 AM in response to Camelot

Thank you for your response – I was not aware you could slap a RAID on a Mac Pro.

Another question: has your experience with Mac OS X server been as easy to use as OS X client? I consider myself moderately advanced but far from an expert, I am just afraid that pursuing a server requires more expertise than mine.

Thanks

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Answer 3

Jul 14, 2007 12:48 PM in response to ~prime mover~

I have recently moved to an Xserve after ten years of running web servers on OS 9 and earlier.

The Xserve is an exceptionally steep learning curve if you want to properly administer a server. Having said that, everything basically works out of the box or at least it would if Apple had included a printed instruction to ignore the normal setup, erase disks, initiate RAID and then reinstall software. A fully loaded rack mounted Xserve is exceptionally easy to damage unless it is put strait into new, deeper than normal, precision rack with either a shelf or other equipment just below it.

I would not advise using an Xserve for your application.

From my other post entitled 'Xserve disks and RAID questions' you will see that I am going to put a 3,000 GB RAID inside a G4 for less than $1,300. My advice is to buy the same 750 GB Seagate enterprise disks (120,000 hours MTBF) as Apple but never pay Apple's inflated prices for disks or RAIDS.

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