Apple Updates Mac Mini and Adds Server Option

[MacSA]

Still too expensive for the specs.

[KnightWRX]

Originally Posted by fungus

The mini gets the update love, but not the price drop

If that server was $800 and could do RAID 0/1, I'd be taking an expensive lunch break at the mall today...

Raid 0 ? Yeah, losing all the data because one of the 2 drives fail is always a good thing

And you can do mirroring through OS X.

This mini server is really nice. Might replace my 2 energy hungry Solaris box that run my home network.

Originally Posted by Ted13

And another thing -- what's more reliable -- a single Xserve or a pair of redundant Minis for less money? Yes, clearly the XServe has way grater performance, but not all server tasks require major horsepower.

The Xserve. Redundant power supply and hot swap drives.

But for small businesses and home servers, the Mac Mini is very nice.

[Small White Car]

Originally Posted by profets

dont you think for the money you could get much better disks or solutions for the price?

That would be up to you to show, since you brought it up.

I don't know, what is a better solution? You tell me. Telling me to imagine something doesn't really prove anything.

[profets]

Originally Posted by Ted13

I guess you've never heard about MacMini Colo and others like it. Actually if you have a crowded server room or need smaller test/QA machines, the Mini server is a godsend.

And another thing -- what's more reliable -- a single Xserve or a pair of redundant Minis for less money? Yes, clearly the XServe has way grater performance, but not all server tasks require major horsepower.

mac mini colo? lol, never have. i'm not saying there arent uses, just surprised i guess. all good anyway, i guess there are uses for it. i thought mac mini based server would be targetted primarily for home use. but would have been nice for more price option and more expansion options

[OllyW]

Originally Posted by rgarjr

Is that remote made out of Alu?

Yes.

I need to lose the 4 plastics ones I've already got before I go for an aluminium one.

[profets]

Originally Posted by Small White Car

That would be up to you to show, since you brought it up.

I don't know, what is a better solution? You tell me. Telling me to imagine something doesn't really prove anything.

well, in terms of file sharing, a decent NAS appliance with multiple hot swap bays for 3.5" disks and full RAID options.

i guess its different if the mac mini isnt used primarily for storage though

[jdl8422]

Originally Posted by profets

you can't be serious about using a mac mini as server in a company?

I was going by what they said on the Apple Site. I'm not saying its good or bad. I'm just saying, according to the Apple they suggest businesses.

[cube]

Originally Posted by ChrisA

The mini uses the smaller notebook size disks. 500GB is the largest size made. The mini server comes with two of these. Apple has packed the most amount of disk space possible into the mini server. OK may you need more? Buy a RAID box and plug it into the FW800 port.

Why would you want an optical drive on a server? Servers are typically kept in a dark closet, many times without a keyboard or monitor plugged in. If you want to rip a CD you'd put the CD into the desktop computer and store the files on the server.

That said, I'd prefer to have a BSD or Solaris based server with space inside for more and larger disks. But there are people who like Mac OS Server and this is a bargain. The OS costs $500 so in this case you gt the Mac Mni for only another $500.

The low end comes with only 160GB. That's what I was talking about.

There should be a mini version that accepts one 12mm disk, has an optical drive, and comes with OSX Server.

[smiddlehurst]

Originally Posted by profets

you can't be serious about using a mac mini as server in a company?

Why not? Take a small company currently running a few standalone macs and transferring files around via e-mail, memory stick or cloud services. There's a LOT of companies out there that fit that description and for those that are looking to step up to a central server then this could be a very good fit for them. Keep the apple environment, pay someone a one-off fee to set it up if required (depending on if they've got someone who's IT literate on payroll) and off they go.

Would I recommend it for companies with resources to go Xserve? No, probably not, but there WILL be places this device fits in perfectly. £800 versus £2,400 is not insignificant after all and for the price of one Xserve and a decent level of HD space you could get one of these plus a couple of iMacs or Macbooks. That's very important to places that don't have much IT budget. Is it going to be a massive seller for Apple? No, absolutley not. But it'll shift some units, enough I'm sure to justify its existence, and in so doing it's probably helping Apple to keep the cheaper server options from other companies out of otherwise Apple-only shops.

Edit Oops, almost forgot, as a test environment this might be just about perfect.

[MacFanUK]

I like the specs of the new Mini's but I must admit, I was kinda expecting a price drop. Definitely prefer the mini's to the the new iMacs.

[skeep5]

can you do with this mini, what you can do with the HP home server?

[jdl8422]

I noticed on the Apple site they suggest an external storage solution, sold in their store. This storage box only connects by firewire 800. Im wondering why they didnt add a SATA port or ESATA port to the server mini. Or is ethernet fast enough?

[MikeELL]

Originally Posted by Eidorian

It's a product with no target market.

Haha, No. This is the just the beginning of what they're doing. Like I said in this post (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...31#post8593831) Apple's gameplan is heading towards mobile devices even when it comes to their computers.

Apple needs to have the Mac Mini server already in place when it launches the tablet. I can forsee a situation where Apple wants each household to have an iMac/Mac Pro for the study/serious work, a mac mini server in the living room as a media server, and tablets for each person.

[redtimebold]

I was just doing a little fantasy shopping and see that the remote control option for buying a new mac mini shows a picture of a silver remote with black buttons.

[profets]

Originally Posted by jdl8422

I noticed on the Apple site they suggest an external storage solution, sold in their store. This storage box only connects by firewire 800. Im wondering why they didnt add a SATA port or ESATA port to the server mini. Or is ethernet fast enough?

gigabit is quite fast, but eSata would have been better

[KindredMAC]

And I haven't said that in terms of Apple updates for quite some time...

But back to the mini....
There is only one thing I have issue with and that is the entry level price point is still $599. All I wanted to see was $499.

With Snow Leopard Server, you get all the benefits of of the server applications.

For me personally it is VERY tempting for my home network.

[pro547]

Originally Posted by skeep5

can you do with this mini, what you can do with the HP home server?

From what I know about the HP Home server then yes you can do that with the Mini.

[ericinboston]

Thanks for the nice and slow 5400 RPM drives (STILL!!!!) Apple.

Total bummer.

[coreyaustin]

The new remote will be a nice addition to the HTMM (Home Theatre Mac Mini).

[profets]

Originally Posted by skeep5

can you do with this mini, what you can do with the HP home server?

you can use 2.5" 5400rpm disks

[3.1416]

Originally Posted by MacSA

Still too expensive for the specs.

It compares well to the Dell Studio Hybrid. As a generic desktop it's not a good value, as a small form factor box it is.

[javaJake]

Interesting... the buyer's guide still says to hold off...

[rgarjr]

that new mini server does look a bit weird without the disc slot

[profets]

regarding mac mini server from apples site

After selecting Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server, you can add external storage for RAID 5 data protection, Apple Remote Desktop software, an external SuperDrive, and other options.

i guess what i would have like to see is a bigger unit. maybe same dimensions but taller or something for more disk space. if its being used as a server it shouldnt have to be kept so small right?

[jaw04005]

Did they add any sort of wizard to OS X Server for media sharing? I don’t think OS X Server has any built-in media sharing options. I suppose you could run full-blown iTunes on there, but that would be kind of clunky.