Apple Upgrades Xserve

MARKHAM, Ontario—February 10, 2003—Apple® today upgraded its Xserve™ 1U rackservers to deliver incredible price performance through dual 1.33 GHzPowerPC G4 processors, up to 2GB of 333 MHz Double Data Rate (DDR) memoryand up to 720GB of hot-plug storage, with configurations starting at just$4,299 (CDN). Building on the success of its predecessor, the new Xservedelivers even greater performance at a more affordable price and is designedto be the perfect complement to Apple's new Xserve RAID storage system.

“Just six months after we shipped the first Xserve, we're now offering morepower and more storage at an even lower price,” said Philip Schiller,Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Xserve isalready in use at over 100 Fortune 500 companies and hundreds ofuniversities and schools across the country, and we're making it even betterbased on their feedback.”

“Apple did their homework about thin servers, and they got it right,” saidJean S. Bozman, research vice president with IDC's Worldwide Server Group.“Xserve has all the ease of use that Mac customers expect, plus it has thefamiliarity and power of UNIX that draws the respect of networkadministrators who haven't looked to Apple in years. IDC has already noticedan uptick in Apple's server shipments since the Xserve first shipped inJuly, 2002.”

“We were originally looking at a Linux cluster but when Apple announcedXserve, with its promise of great management tools on a UNIX foundation atan affordable price, the decision became easy,” said Michael Giddings,assistant professor, Departments of Microbiology/Immunology and BiomedicalEngineering, UNC-Chapel Hill. “Xserve offers significant processing powerand ease of use without the management challenges of Linux or the high priceof Sun.”

Now equipped with dual 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4 processors, 2MB of dedicated L3cache memory per processor, and up to 2GB of 333 MHz DDR memory, the newXserve packs phenomenal computational power and a rich feature set into anaffordable 1U rack-optimized enclosure. Xserve enhances the power of itsprocessors with a 167 MHz system bus and up to 2GB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM forrunning demanding applications and working with huge files. Two full-length64-bit, 66 MHz PCI slots provide up to 533 MB/s throughput and allow easyexpansion to external SCSI and Fibre Channel devices including virtuallyunlimited storage with Apple's new Xserve RAID system. One half-lengthPCI/AGP slot provides additional PCI expansion or connectivity to ahigh-performance graphics card. Dual independent Gigabit Ethernet ports andFireWire® 800 interfaces offer high-performance connectivity.

Xserve comes with the unlimited client edition of Apple's Mac® OS X Serversoftware with built-in file and printer sharing and a robust new journaledfile system that enhances availability by providing rapid file systemrecovery following an unplanned shutdown. Xserve with Mac OS X Serverfeatures a number of powerful remote management and monitoring tools thatallow administrators to easily set up and manage all key Mac OS X Servernetwork services remotely. Xserve is the ideal server solution for file andprint, workgroup management, video streaming, database applications,computational clustering and web and mail serving. When combined withApple's professional video and film editing software Final Cut Pro®, Xservebecomes the ultimate video workstation with flexible storage that can scaleas digital media files grow.

Third party developer momentum for Mac OS X Server continues to build withrecently announced solutions including Macromedia's JRUN J2EE ApplicationServer and their popular ColdFusion scripting tool; Stalker CommunicatePro's Mail Server; network, file and printer sharing tools from Helios; anda clustered failover solution from HA Tech Solutions.

Xserve connects easily to the newly introduced Xserve RAID storage systemusing the dual channel 2Gb Apple Fibre Channel PCI Card sold separately at aindustry breakthrough price of $769 (CDN) (SRP). This high-speed industrystandard storage interface offers dedicated bandwidth with a throughput ofup to 400MB/s. Apple's PCI card comes with two high-speed 2.9-meter coppercables and accepts SFP (Small Form-factor Pluggable) coppor or opticaltransceivers for use with fiber-optic cables.

Apple offers a choice of world-class services and support programs forXserve including 4-hour on-site response, 24x7 technical support, AppleCare®Service Parts Kits and the AppleCare Professional SupportLine and Toolsprogram.

Pricing & Availability
The new Xserve will be available in March through the Apple Store®(102.p.syniva.es/canadastore) and through Apple Authorized Resellers. Xserve comes in twostandard configurations or can be fully customized to meet specific customerrequirements. Build-to-order options can include memory, storage, opticaldrives, graphics cards and SCSI and Fibre Channel cards.

The two standard configurations are:

• single 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4 processor, 256MB DDR 333 RAM, 60GB ATA/133Apple Drive Module, dual Gigabit Ethernet, CD-ROM and Mac OS X Server withunlimited clients for an estimated retail price of $4,299 (CDN); and

• dual 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4 processors, 512MB DDR 333 RAM, 60GB ATA/133 AppleDrive Module, dual Gigabit Ethernet, CD-ROM and Mac OS X Server withunlimited clients for an estimated retail price of $5,899 (CDN).

Apple Canada Inc. is headquartered in Markham, Ontario and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apple Computer, Inc. Apple products are available at more than 450 Authorized Apple Canada Dealer locations across Canada.

Press Contact:
Tara Hendela
Apple Canada
(905) 513-5853
[email protected]