Xserve G5 Technology Overview May 2005
Technology Overview Xserve G5 Contents Page 3 Introduction Page 4 Product Overview Key Features Rack-Optimized Server Design High-Density Cluster Node Configuration Page 7 Performance Overview Processor Performance Networking Throughput Page 11 PowerPC G5 Processor Apple and IBM Partnership 64-Bit Computing Power Next-Generation PowerPC Architecture Page 13 High-Bandwidth Server Architecture Gigahertz Frontside Bus Point-to-Point System Controller Advanced ECC Memory Technology High-Performance P
Technology Overview Xserve G5 3 Introduction What’s New? • Single 2GHz or dual 2.3GHz PowerPC G5 processors using 90-nanometer process technology • 1GHz or 1.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 Product Overview Key Features Xserve G5 Apple’s Xserve G5 packs high-density PowerPC G5 computing power and fast, affordable storage in a 1U rack-optimized enclosure. Customers can choose from two standard server configurations and one cluster node configuration, as well as an array of build-to-order options. Xserve G5 combines 64-bit processors, a high-bandwidth system architecture, and massive storage with Apple’s legendary ease of use.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 5 Rack-Optimized Server Design With enormous processing power and ample storage in a compact 1U-high, 19-inch-wide enclosure, Xserve G5 is designed from the ground up for performance, serviceability, and easy integration into a wide range of computing environments. The necessary rackmounting hardware is in the box, including rack rails with sliders, mounting brackets for industry-standard four-post racks and telco center-post racks, and complete setup instructions.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 High-Density Cluster Node Configuration With the compute performance of two superscalar 2.3GHz PowerPC G5 processors, the Xserve G5 cluster node configuration is ideal for High Performance Computing (HPC) in scientific and technical environments, as well as for workgroup clusters and render farms. One dual processor node can execute over 10 billion double-precision floating-point operations per second, or more than 10 gigaflops per U.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 7 Performance Overview Apple’s Xserve G5 is designed to deliver phenomenal performance with industryleading ease of use. Thanks to 64-bit processing power, server-optimized I/O, and a high-throughput storage architecture, Xserve G5 is optimized for demanding server and cluster operations. To assess its performance, Apple compared preproduction Xserve G5 units with several currently available 1U servers.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 8 LINPACK Computers use double-precision floating-point mathematics to perform calculations requiring great numerical magnitude or extremely high decimal accuracy. Apple used the LINPACK benchmark to illustrate the benefits of the G5 processor’s two floatingpoint units. LINPACK measures double-precision floating-point performance running a program that solves a dense system of linear equations. LINPACK Benchmark: Double Precision PowerPC G5 Dual 2.3GHz 10.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 9 For this series of tests, each application used the dual processor option available to each binary distribution (”-a 2” for BLAST and “--cpu 2” for HMMER). The BLAST tests used the query file supplied by the benchmark, cherry_tomato.fsa, and the blastn, blastx, and tblastx programs, and conducted searches against the formatted databases using Expectation Values ranging from 1.0e-10 to 1.0e-30. The HMMER tests calibrated the supplied globin.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 10 NetBench SMB Xserve G5 provides the best balance of processor, network, and disk performance— critical for delivering file services to large numbers of network clients.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 11 PowerPC G5 Processor The breakthrough performance of the 64-bit PowerPC G5 is now available to Apple server customers. With 64-bit-wide data paths and registers, this revolutionary processor can address vast amounts of main memory, while handling multiple 64-bit integer and double-precision floating-point math calculations in a single pass. Its wide execution core manages immense operations in parallel, supporting up to 215 in-flight instructions.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 Support for more memory in Mac OS X Server Mac OS X Server makes the most of the expanded memory capabilities of the PowerPC G5. With up to 4GB of memory allocated per application, each server task can have dedicated space in the system’s generous memory. 12 Vast amounts of addressable memory The move to 64-bit processing results in a similarly dramatic leap in the amount of memory supported. A memory address is a special kind of integer, which points to one byte in memory.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 High-Bandwidth Server Architecture The PowerPC G5 is only part of the Xserve performance story. Xserve G5 features dual independent frontside buses to keep data moving in and out of each processor, and a superefficient point-to-point system controller allows data to move directly between all subsystems.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 14 Gigahertz Frontside Bus Xeon Xeon PowerPC G5 PowerPC G5 The dual-channel frontside bus allows data to travel to and from the PowerPC G5 processor at the same time. On dual processor systems, each PowerPC G5 has its own dedicated interface to maximize throughput—compared with dual Xeon-based systems, in which the processors must share a single bus.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 2GB DIMM support Xserve G5 supports 2GB DIMMs, allowing the system to accommodate up to 16GB of memory. 15 Support for up to 16GB of RAM Xserve G5 comes standard with 512MB or 1GB of DDR SDRAM. Main memory is scalable up to 16GB in eight DIMM slots, allowing you to increase memory as application and networking requirements increase. More main memory enables the system to run strenuous processes simultaneously and to accommodate spikes in demand.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 16 Dual Gigabit Ethernet ports deliver near-line-rate throughput of up to 980Mb/s per port, alleviating bottlenecks even with very large files and expediting mail, web, file, and printer sharing services. Together with the multihoming function in Mac OS X Server, dual network ports enable Xserve G5 to serve more client systems; provide redundant links; or support an isolated management network that is independent of a client services network.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 Affordable, Scalable Storage Exponential growth in the creation and distribution of digital content is driving the need for high-capacity storage in business and education. Large databases, digital video footage, immense scientific data sets, and uncompressed audio all place enormous demands on server storage resources. Up to 1.2TB of storage Each Xserve G5 has three drive bays for up to three hot-plug Apple Drive Modules.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 18 causing unavailability or performance degradation of the surviving drives—a common problem with multidrive SCSI implementations. The end result is a storage architecture that provides tremendous throughput and excellent storage scalability.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 19 Software and Hardware RAID Options Affordable and easy-to-install drive modules make it simple to expand Xserve systems to meet growing storage needs over time. For even greater storage capacity or to share storage among multiple servers, high-throughput PCI-X slots enable users to connect to external rackmount storage and backup systems, including SCSI devices and Apple’s Xserve RAID.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 20 Integrated Hardware Monitoring Xserve G5 includes built-in remote monitoring capabilities that enable network administrators to stay in touch with their Xserve systems from anywhere on the network or over the Internet. Xserve monitoring tools run over TCP/IP using robust password authentication to protect management data and server deployments from unauthorized access.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 21 Server Monitor provides instant access to status and performance details, including these individual server attributes, subsystems, and system variables: • Info. Lists key attributes of the server: name, IP address, device kind, operating system version, processor type, amount of memory, firmware version, uptime, last monitoring update, and hardware serial number. • Memory. Displays the size, speed, and type of memory installed in each system, as well as ECC error counts.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 22 Mac OS X Server Version 10.3 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Features of Mac OS X Server v10.3 Mac OS X Server v10.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 23 Built on open standards, Mac OS X Server is compatible with existing network and computing infrastructures. Samba 3, the new version of the popular open source SMB/CIFS server, provides reliable file and printer sharing for Windows clients, as well as support for NT Domain services.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 24 Service, Support, and Training Options Every Xserve G5 comes with a one-year limited warranty and 90 days of up-and-running telephone support. In addition, the AppleCare website publishes in-depth product information, training on hardware and software installation and configuration, and technical resources, including the AppleCare Knowledge Base, discussions, and downloadable software on Apple’s Featured Software site.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 25 Mac OS X Server Software Support Apple also offers support programs for Mac OS X Server that extend beyond the upand-running support provided by the AppleCare Premium Service and Support Plan. Apple technical support experts can provide consultative phone and email support for Mac OS X Server integration and migration issues, as well as help with command-line configuration.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 Purchasing Information Standard Configurations Xserve G5 is available in three standard configurations to meet the needs of server and cluster deployments in education and business. Order number Server configurations M9743LL/A M9745LL/A Cluster node M9742LL/A Processor 2GHz PowerPC G5 Dual 2.3GHz PowerPC G5 Dual 2.3GHz PowerPC G5 Frontside bus 1GHz 1.15GHz per processor 1.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 Related Products • • • • • Xserve RAID, available in 1TB, 2.8TB, and 5.6TB configurations1 AppleCare Premium Service and Support Plan AppleCare Service Parts Kit Mac OS X Server Maintenance Program Third-party products, including racks, switches, and UPS devices For up-to-date information on these and other products that enhance Xserve deployments, visit www.apple.com/store or call 800-MY-APPLE.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 28 Technical Specifications Hardware Processor • Single 2GHz or dual 2.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 29 Storage • Three internal drive bays on independent 150MB/s Serial ATA channels (server configurations; empty drive bays contain blank modules); or one internal drive bay on 150MB/s Serial ATA channel (cluster node configuration) • Up to 1.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 30 Software Mac OS X Server • Unlimited-client edition (server configurations); or 10-client edition (cluster node configuration) Included services • File and printer sharing: Mac (AFP, AppleTalk PAP), Windows (SMB/CIFS), UNIX and Linux (NFS, LPR/LPD), Internet (FTP, WebDAV) • Directory services: Open Directory 2 (OpenLDAP, Kerberos, SASL), NT Domain Controller (Samba 3) • Networking and security: DNS server (BIND 9), DHCP server, NTP server, Firewall (IPFW), WINS, VPN server
