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AnchorDesk

David Coursey
Apple's Xserve: Why it's a big deal for all of us

David Coursey
Executive Editor, AnchorDesk
Thursday, May 16, 2002
TalkBack!Add your opinion
Usually, I feel let down after I come home from watching Steve Jobs introduce his newest product. Once I'm away from Steve's famous "reality distortion field," the luster of his newest baby--invariably described as even more incredible than the one before--always seems to dim. It's not that the latest whatever isn't a great product. But the letdown is real.

So why don't I feel that way about Xserve, the new OS X-based, rack-mounted server Steve introduced earlier this week? Is it because Apple's CEO promised his company would be "humble" in entering the server market? Did he actually undersell the importance of a server that combines a powerful Unix-based operating system with Apple's legendary ease-of-use and great industrial design, all at what appears to be very reasonable prices?

I'M NOT SURE. But even now, several days removed from Steve-speak, I remain impressed with the server and with its potential for both improving Apple's future and making Unix, finally, a tool for the masses.

The problem with writing columns about Apple is what I call the, "Yes, but" factor. That's where I say something like "Mac OS X is a better all-around operating system than Windows XP." Then you, dear readers, respond, "Yes, but that hardly matters considering Microsoft's market share. And Windows XP is, in fact, pretty nice on its own." So let me play a little pre-emptive game of "Yes, but" on Xserve, with me providing both sides of the argument.

Contender? Xserve makes Apple a competitor with IBM, Sun, Dell, et al, in the low-end Unix server market. Further, Apple is hitting a price point--$2,999 to $6,500--the others don't touch.

Yes, but beyond Mac fans, Apple doesn't have a real installed base into which it can drive a server business. Apple isn't a trusted player in this market, and those other companies are. Furthermore, while OS X is a credible Unix, it has yet to gain broad support in the developer community. As for pricing, while it looks aggressive for the features you get, we still need to see real performance benchmarks to know whether Xserve is really competitive.

Credible? Sybase and Oracle are both building their flagship databases to run on Xserve--both excellent endorsements and opportunities for Apple.

Yes, but Larry Ellison is Steve Jobs's best buddy, so the Oracle "endorsement" may not be what it seems. And if Sybase is so wonderful, well, why are they still fourth in the database management market?

Ease of use? The combination of Xserve and the OS X server software makes for the easiest-to-use and manage Unix server on the market.

That's great for people who are already running/managing Unix servers. For everyone else, OS X is just something new to learn or integrate with the management tools they already use. Apple offers support for HP OpenView and other management tools. But why should someone switch from servers they already know? Also, I'm not sure ease-of-use is that high on the sys admin's list of priorities. After all, if anybody (even your columnist) can administer Xserve, what's the IT department going to do?

Better than Windows? Xserve and OS X server offer better Windows file and print services than Windows itself, and they are much easier to manage.

That may be true, but then you're giving up compatibility with whatever Microsoft does in the future. And aren't most Windows admins Mac-phobic, anyway?

I COULD GO ON and on like this. But, having stipulated that anything I say can be logically contradicted (and doubtless will be), let me come out and say what I really think:
  • Xserve is important to Apple's installed base, and allows the company to pick up some of the money it's been leaving on the table by not having a server offering. Many schools, for example, which use tons of Macs, have been buying someone else's servers simply because Apple didn't have one of its own. Not anymore.

  • Pushing into the server market makes tremendous sense, now that Apple is using a Unix-based OS in all its products. Building the Mac interface atop Unix was the hard part. Bringing that ease-of-use to a server is like icing on the cake.

  • Xserve will be very important in biotech, entertainment, and creative production. Apple can offer those markets both desktops and servers that run the same operating system and are, compared to what customers have been using, very attractively priced.

  • Competitors will copy the physical design of Xserve, especially its ease-of-use features. People in the Unix apps and tools business will now be asked why their products aren't as easy to use as Apple's.

  • This is a tremendous offering for small business, especially those that currently run Unix-based or Windows-based vertical apps. If developers really maximize the potential for power, stability, and ease-of-use, an Apple-based system could be much better than a Windows version of the same thing.

I'm really looking forward to playing with Xserve on my home network and seeing the machines in action in customer sites. I'm also looking forward to talking to developers, as OS X and Xserve seem to offer them a great opportunity.

I don't think Xserve alone will change the prevalent "sure, they make great products, but who cares?" attitude which, coupled with the company's own history of mistakes and missteps, has made it all too easy to ignore Apple.

But I do think the advent of Xserve is a pivotal event both for Apple and in the history of Unix. At the very least, it will let Apple pick some low-hanging fruit, of which there's enough that Apple could make itself a tidy pile of money. This is a Unix server for the masses, from the only company yet to make Unix a mass-market desktop OS, too.

VIDEO CLIPS
  Watch Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveil the company's first rack-mounted server, the Xserve.
CLICK HERE to launch player
  Watch David Coursey talk with Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller about the company's entry into the server market.
CLICK HERE to launch player

Would you buy Xserve? Does Xserve make Apple stronger? Or is this just another example of Steve Jobs, Master Hype Monger, hoodwinking gullible pundits? TalkBack to me!

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