Specifications

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Technology Overview
Xserve
High-Performance PCI Express Expansion
Xserve features PCI Express expansion slots with up to four times the bandwidth of
Xserve G5—ideal for connecting to high-performance networking, storage, cluster
interconnect, graphics, and backup devices using optional expansion cards. Two
independent eight-lane PCI Express slots provide 2GB/s of bandwidth each. Slot 1
can be configured to support a PCI-X expansion card through an optional expansion
riser, preserving customer investments in expensive or custom cards and devices.
An easy-access riser card with captive screws makes installing or removing expansion
cards quick and easy, while increasing strength and support for larger cards.
Technology Length support Power
Slot 1 x8 PCI Express 9 inches 25 watts
(with PCI Express riser) (22.86 cm)
133MHz PCI-X
(with optional PCI-X riser)
Slot 2 x8 PCI Express 6.6 inches 25 watts
(with PCI Express riser) (16.76 cm)
Apple offers a wide range of expansion cards for Xserve, including Fibre Channel,
Ultra320 SCSI, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and PCI Express graphics cards. The optional
graphics card—an ATI Radeon X1300 with 256MB of RAM and dual-link DVI output—
drives a 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display and can support graphics, 3D, rendering,
and visualization applications including Apple’s professional applications like Final Cut
Studio. This makes Xserve ideal for Xsan-based video workflow environments.
Industry-Standard Connectivity
Dual onboard Gigabit Ethernet
Apple extends the networking performance of Xserve with a high-performance
Ethernet controller integrated into the I/O chipset. This advanced controller includes
two independent 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet interfaces, each independently
configurable for independent networks or teamed together with 802.3ad link
aggregation built into Mac OS X Server. The result is tremendous networking
bandwidth and no contention for data with the I/O subsystems.
In addition, the Gigabit Ethernet controller provides these networking features:
• Hardware-generated TCP, IP, and UDP checksum detects packet corruption and
transmission errors.
• 802.1q VLAN (Virtual LAN) tags allow Xserve to be a member of multiple virtual
networks and to provide unique network services to each one.
• A 48Kb buffer supports jumbo frames, or packets up to 9KB, to reduce system
overhead and increase throughput of all network activities.
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 to serve more client systems; provide
redundant links; support a dedicated metadata network for Xsan; and support an
isolated management network that is independent of a client services network. The
dual network ports (in Xserve) enable the high-speed network interconnect. (Often
one port is used for traditional networking and the second port for message passing
interconnect in a cluster.)