So You Want Your CIO to Switch to Xserve?

Migrating to Xserve offers attractions that are particularly beneficial to small and medium-sized businesses, according to systems consultants and network engineers familiar with companies making the switch.

"Xserves are great, particularly for a small or medium-sized business , as they really are set-it-and-forget-it simple. Overall cost of ownership is much less than the alternatives," Andrew E. Filipowski, product manager at SolidSpace, told MacNewsWorld. SolidSpace is a hosting and managed services provider and developer of collaborative Web-based applications.

Compared to Windows-based servers, Apple's OS licensing is cheaper, Filipowski noted. Every Xserve comes with unlimited client licenses, which allows for any use. By comparison, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) requires users of its Windows server OS to obtain licenses for individual users for things like directory connections and shared drive connections, he explained.

"One benefit is the savings in license fees. Apple is the only one not charging a license fee," confirmed Josh Turiel, managing partner at JH Turiel & Associates, an IT training and consulting firm. Overall, the cost is about the same as making a switch to Linux , he added.

Integration Works

In addition to the cost factors, one of the key selling points for CIOs on using Xserve over other server platforms is its easy integration. Apple has built cross-platform interaction into its Xserve product line since it is based on widely accepted standards. This lets Xserve systems run applications that are accessible by other servers, workstations and operating systems.

"Xserves integrate and play nicely with both Windows and Linux-based networks without any thought. Plus, it supports shared Windows and Mac directories automatically," said Filipowski.

The Apple OS is based on BSD Unix, so the back door exists in Xserve to interface with other systems easily, offered Lary Holland, a systems consultant and network engineer.

"I'd encourage migrating to Xserve," he suggested. "Apple RAID servers interface with other hardware and operating systems."

The cost savings and integration combine to make a switch to Xserve a compelling argument for CIOs looking at the bottom line. The cost balances out, according to Holland.

"Storage costs for RAID (redundant array of independent drives) storage drives with Apple Xserve is undercutting other hardware, especially with Apple's strong educational discounts," he said.

Holland specializes in helping large universities and smaller colleges and school districts make the switch to an Xserve environment. He often sets up Xserve to run within other servers.

Some Assembly Required

Even though Apple's Xserve is easy to use and maintain, making the initial configuration is not quite child's play.

"If you are going to convert, consider that Xserve is a nice box within a Windows network, but setting it up is not trivial," Turiel advised.

Although Xserve is not complicated, setting it up requires a reasonably skilled IT person. The skills and processes are really no different than setting up a Unix-based mail server, he explained.

Platform Differences

Xserve's design offers a number of enhancements over competing server platforms. For example, especially hardware configurations sporting the new Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) processors, the server components are laid out in a way that makes it easy to swap parts out while they are still in the rack.

"There is no need to remove major parts to get at pieces, making it easy to maintain and service," explained Filipowski. "And its 64-bit architecture allows for a ton on memory."

Another factor that IT workers say makes Xserve so handy is the popular server tools that come bundled in the same box. Among the most useful, noted Filipowski, are Apache, MySQL, open directory (which is a competitor to Microsoft Exchange), along with blog and wiki engines. Also included is a shared calendar server and programmer tools such as PHP, Ruby and Rails. The included mail server has a very easy-to-use interface to those tools but also allows users to go into the shell, he offered.

Another major difference between Xserve and non-Apple servers is how they are remotely managed. A system administrator can be located anywhere. Xserve's remote access feature allows for server reboots and remote administration without having to be on location, explained Holland.

"This allows an organization to outsource its data room, which is a substantial savings, and not have to worry about if they will have immediate access to reboot a server," Holland said.

This design difference is significant. Typically, other equipment makers place a power switch on one server component and locate server controls on another box. Instead, Apple combines both factors into one function so IT workers do not have to reboot if something goes wrong, he explained.

Other Advantages

The initial core advantage of using the Apple Xserve is the fact that it is a high density cluster solution with 64-bit technology. Along with the 64-bit design, it operates with an extremely fast front side network bus that made this system a solid choice for cluster platforms, especially in medical and higher-education server markets, said Holland.

"As well as looking quite impressive with their aluminum design, they pack quite a computing punch," Holland said about Xserve. "This initial advantage has narrowed slightly since other server platforms have adopted 64-bit computing technologies with the same high-density design. But the front side network bus is still somewhat unique, retaining the position for large-scale cluster systems that can interoperate very easily."

Filipowski offered a litany of other reasons CIOs should consider migrating to Apple Xserve. One is the ability to monitor the server's health from anywhere using messaging and dashboard widgets. Another is Xgrid, which provides free grid-based computing for heavy processor intensive tasks.

Two other Xserve-only features are Xsan and XFS. Xsan is beneficial for those users needing SAN (storage area network). Apple's Xsan is inexpensive compared to other SAN vendors. For example, software costs US$900 for Apple compared to at least ten times that cost from other vendors, according to Filipowski.