Xserve G5 Technology Overview January 2004
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 or dual 2GHz PowerPC G5 processors using 90-nanometer process technology • Gigahertz frontside bus with independent data paths in and out of the processor • Two independent frontside buses on dual processor systems • Point-to-point system controller • Support for up to 8GB of 400MHz ECC memory • Fast 133MHz PCI-X bus for Fibre Channel, RAID, SCSI, or cluster interconnect cards • Dual Gigabit Ethernet interfaces on the main logic board • Up
Technology Overview Xserve G5 4 Product Overview Key Features Xserve G5 Apple’s new Xserve 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 from 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-inchwide enclosure, Xserve G5 is designed from the ground up for performance, serviceability, and easy integration into a wide range of computing environments. All 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 6 High-Density Cluster Node Configuration Most innovative HPC hardware HPCwire, a leading journal of High Performance Computing, gave Apple its Editors Choice award for the hardware vendor delivering the most innovative overall HPC technology in 2003.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 7 Performance Overview Apple’s new 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. Apple compared preproduction Xserve G5 units with currently available, top-selling 1U servers.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 8 LINPACK: Double-Precision Calculations $333 per gigaflop Apple offers compute power at the lowest cost per gigaflop of any tierone vendor—only $333 per gigaflop, or $333,000 per teraflop.5 Xserve G5 Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5 9 gigaflops Dell PowerEdge 1750 Dual 3.2GHz Xeon IBM eServer x335 Dual 3.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 9 HMMer 2.3.3 HMMer is another application that demonstrates the advantages of Xserve G5 with Velocity Engine for processor-intensive scientific analysis. HMMer is a genome sequence–matching application that uses Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) to identify similarities in genetic structures. The core routines of HMMer repeatedly perform the same operation on large amounts of data.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 WebBench For fast network throughput, Xserve G5 features dual onboard Gigabit Ethernet controllers, as well as optimized network drivers and a high-performance BSD network stack in Mac OS X Server. Apple used WebBench from eTesting Labs to demonstrate the superior web server performance of Xserve G5 based on the number of connections each server can support.
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 The latest version of 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.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 High-Bandwidth Server Architecture The PowerPC G5 is only part of the Xserve performance story. Xserve G5 features the industry’s fastest frontside bus to keep data moving in and out of the 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 Industry’s fastest frontside bus 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 15 Support for up to 8GB of RAM Xserve G5 comes standard with 512MB or 1GB of DDR SDRAM. Main memory is scalable up to 8GB 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. Enormous files and data sets can be loaded into RAM for rapid processing by the PowerPC G5— without having to access disk storage.
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 750GB of storage Each Xserve G5 has three drive bays for up to three hot-plug Apple Drive Modules.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 18 Xserve Storage Scalability Read 165MB/s Three drives Write 139MB/s 110MB/s 115MB/s Two drives One drive 57MB/s 44MB/s 60 120 180 Megabytes per second Apple tested the scalability of Xserve G5 storage using Bonnie++, an open source benchmark that measures drive throughput. This test shows that both read performance and write performance improve as drives are added to the system.
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 • • • • • • • • • New in Mac OS X Server version 10.
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.
Technology Overview Xserve G5 Related Products • • • • • Xserve RAID, available in 1TB, 1.75TB, and 3.5TB 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 or dual 2GHz PowerPC G5 processors PowerPC processor architecture with 64-bit data paths and registers Native support for 32-bit application code 512K on-chip L2 cache running at processor speed Parallel execution architecture supporting up to 215 simultaneous in-flight instructions Simultaneous issue of up to 10 out-of-order operations Dual-pipeline Velocity Engine for 128-bit single-ins
Technology Overview Xserve G5 29 Storage • Three internal drive bays on independent 150MB/s SATA channels (server configurations); or one internal drive bay on 150MB/s SATA channel (cluster node configuration) • One bay filled with 80GB 7200-rpm SATA Apple Drive Module; empty drive bays on server configurations contain blank modules • Up to 750GB of internal storage1 using hot-plug Apple Drive Modules (server configurations), available in the following capacities: – 80GB 7200-rpm SATA with 8MB disk cache
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: Macintosh (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
