pvteyes99
Level 2 (156 points)

Q: Going from xserve to Mac Mini Server

I have a graphic design studio (design for print and web sites) that requires a new server.

Currently around 6-8 users working on files (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator etc) directly from the server.

The server is configured with RAID1 and has aggregated ethernet.

 

I am looking to replace our 2007 xserve 2.66Ghz Xeon with a 2012 Mac Mini Server.

I expect there will be a drop in performance in terms of the speed with which files can be copied and opened over the network.

My main points of concern are: the speed of the internal HDs, and lack of ethernet aggregation.

 

Are there any ways of limiting this drop in performance, ie use an external thunderbolt RAID (I am thinking of the LaCie 2big Thunderbolt™ 2 6TB http://store.apple.com/uk/product/HFYG2ZM/A/lacie-2big-thunderbolt-2-series-raid -hard-drive?fnode=cb26126edba6d5cf1f20a1188ab2f9a15577d8779cb89532f051d642f04625 9ef9b142bff2e3ddede4276fdae4b4074b80ffc3c6968f0fa0f13643559d04820cd08bdea7601a25 1154a61b6497c20fc6ec726f25583cf16d5946c93865ea04dbfaea9c26291ec67aef08afd262a35c 7c)

 

And would it be possible to use a Thunderbolt to ethernet adapter connected to the external RAID to create the aggregated ethernet?

 

Any help or insight into this matter would be greatly appreciated.

 

Richard

Posted on Sep 11, 2014 2:49 AM

by Antonio Rocco,Solvedanswer
Antonio Rocco Antonio Rocco
Level 6 (10,616 points)
Desktops
A:

For that amount of users there should not be any drop in performance going from an Xserve to a MacMini. Yes you can use a Thunderbolt to ethernet adapter to create an aggregated bond.

Posted on Sep 11, 2014 12:59 PM

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pvteyes99

Q: Going from xserve to Mac Mini Server

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  • by Antonio Rocco,Solvedanswer

    Antonio Rocco Antonio Rocco Sep 11, 2014 12:59 PM in response to pvteyes99
    Level 6 (10,616 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 11, 2014 12:59 PM in response to pvteyes99

    For that amount of users there should not be any drop in performance going from an Xserve to a MacMini. Yes you can use a Thunderbolt to ethernet adapter to create an aggregated bond.

  • by Lionchild,Helpful

    Lionchild Lionchild Oct 3, 2014 5:22 PM in response to Antonio Rocco
    Level 1 (90 points)
    Oct 3, 2014 5:22 PM in response to Antonio Rocco

    I agree with Antonio.  There shouldn't be any significant performance drop with that many uses.  I'm running about 25 users in a shop on a new Mac Mini Server with a Promise Pegasus 2 R6 for storage, and for a server, it's very peppy.  I'm only using the internal drives for the server OS and mirroring them as a form of backup for that.  I'm backing up the Pegasus2 back to the old server which has a Promise VTrack E-class 12TB array attached to it.  (Which is also serving up some image files and running a Data Asset Management application.)