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Steve Jobs: Xserve Axed Over Poor Sales
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I think this pretty much covers it. Except, where is there any evidence that there will even be a Lion Server??? Apple deprecated Java, and I don't see having a server "suitable for the enterprise" without a supported Java solution.
...and I was hoping that he'd think about it for a second and realize that you can fit 8 Mini macs in 1U with room for cooling.
Looking around, I'm thinking this is about a 100:1 ratio overall, +-. That is, let's say, 400 MBP's being managed and serviced by 4 Xserves.
So, the more I think about this, the less business sense this Apple move makes. Sure, giving up the profit on 40,000 Xserves/year is no big deal to Apple. But, does Apple really not care about 4,000,000 Enterprise MBP's not sold per year? Because that is where this is going.
This suggests that as smart as Apple's marketeers, engineers and lawyers are, its accountants may not be very smart. This reminds me of the moves that DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation for you youngsters) made before its precipitous decline and demise.
This explains a lot.
It has been interesting to read through these comments.
I manage four labs at a college which we have been NetBooting from Xserves since early 10.3.
In my opinion this explains a lot toward why we have seen some issues with the server management console, NetBoot and ARD persist for so long.
My take is that if Steve made the decision here, he then is now taking his turn behind a quality of wisdom equal to that of their recent antenna debacle. So it will be quite interesting to see how he handles this one. I imagine it will be difficult to fire yourself. So this time Steve is going to be in for a serious challenge indeed.
Peace.
It has been interesting to read through these comments.
I manage four labs at a college which we have been NetBooting from Xserves since early 10.3.
In my opinion this explains a lot toward why we have seen some issues with the server management console, NetBoot and ARD persist for so long.
My take is that if Steve made the decision here, he then is now taking his turn behind a quality of wisdom equal to that of their recent antenna debacle. So it will be quite interesting to see how he handles this one. I imagine it will be difficult to fire yourself. So this time Steve is going to be in for a serious challenge indeed.
Peace.
As a 19 year veteran of Digital, the parallels are phenomenal.
In particular, DEC tried to build its own "walled garden" of vertically integrated software and hardware - only to fail when PCs and UNIX became strong (especially ironic, since most of the early UNIX development was on DEC hardware).
Apple is neglecting Apple OSX - while Android is coming on strong to kick IOS' butt. Didn't Apple already lose a similar battle?
What was that adage about "those who don't learn from history are doomed..."
.No one who follows Apple's moves could believe anything other than that Jobs signed off on this decision. Nothing of this magnitude could happen at Apple without Jobs' input and signature.
every company goes on a cost cutting binge when they reach the level where apple is. ending a streak of hyper growth in revenue and earnings. the bean counters try to find every way to keep growing earnings at prior rates which is impossible
As a 19 year veteran of Digital, the parallels are phenomenal.
In particular, DEC tried to build its own "walled garden" of vertically integrated software and hardware - only to fail when PCs and UNIX became strong (especially ironic, since most of the early UNIX development was on DEC hardware).
Apple is neglecting Apple OSX - while Android is coming on strong to kick IOS' butt. Didn't Apple already lose a similar battle?
What was that adage about "those who don't learn from history are doomed..."
I said this many months ago. You cannot wage a war on multiple fronts with limited forces and expect to keep winning. Apple is trying to fight Microsoft with OSX (Mac Vs. PC campaign) and then stop in the middle of that never-ending war and then switch to iOS all the while and now they're hinting they'll switch back to OSX again. Does Apple think Google and Microsoft are going to take every other year off with their products just so their CEO can personally attend to every product and approve every screw that's going to be used in them? This is where Steve being a control freak is going to hurt Apple in the long run. Apple pretty much created the touchscreen smart phone market, but the cat is out of the bag and everyone is else is moving in to make a better mouse trap and they're not going to stop to focus on making cheeseburgers or something while Apple plays tiddly wink games with its products and refuses to hire more people to do the job right.
Why is Xserve a failure? It's because Steve has NO TIME (or interest it seems as they are literally one and the same when you have limited time to work with) to move it forward. Steve could hire more people to handle the situation and add more and better Enterprise features to OSX and OSX Server and perhaps make more head roads into the Enterprise market. But Steve literally cannot let go of any project and let someone else manage it. It is the primary reason he was let go from Apple the first time around.
What's in Lion? More iOS features...what a surprise. It's all Steve really is interested in these days. Notice the Mac Versus PC ads are GONE and they're not likely coming back because Steve would rather focus on iPads and iPhones and next maybe iCars. Microsoft is working hard to make Windows8 the best operating system ever and Apple is concentrating on adding a 30% money grab "feature" to OSX with all regular software (I predicted this two years ago seeing how lucrative it would be to have all software developers just hand over 1/3 their money to you for almost nothing in return (hosting virtual store shelves...big deal. That's important to Joe Hacker but means nothing to Adobe and Microsoft. They're already distributed everywhere and even through their own sites.
No Xserve is dead because Steve doesn't give rat's hind end about it. Oh it isn't selling? Gee, I wonder why? It gets no attention, no support and costs a mint per machine. Linux is dirt cheap and Microsoft is better supported. Apple couldn't care less. It has phones to sell.
Watch next as all other "professional" products from Apple are slowly lowered in stature (already started with expansion ports and true matte screens removed, with all the pro monitors being put out to pasture and the Macbook Pro being reduced to a consumer toy when it was once the slickest notebook out there. The Mac Pro is still languishing with the same basic features it had four years ago. Apple just keeps raising the price until it's out of reach even for some professionals while offering almost none of the modern features they would expect such a machine to have.
People who think iOS is not going to be integrated into OSX in the future are kidding themselves. Steve Jobs is on a mission and he knows exactly where he's going. Short of dying or retiring (the latter will never happen), Apple's future has already set. It cannot maintain its lead in gadgets because it cannot possibly compete with multiple models from multiple companies forever. Android will inevitably win in the long run since the hardware will come out at pace 2-3x faster than iPhones possibly can and with far more pricing and feature options.
Fanboys, of course, will scream bullcrap day and night and point to record Apple profits and Apple's upward slope since Steve came back, but they don't seem to notice why he was kicked out of Apple in the first place nor do they see where end of the road he is following. The U.S. used to be #1 in the world and look where we are now. Just because you pass through prosperity for a time doesn't mean you are going to keep it, especially when fiscal quarters and greed rule your world and decisions. I'm sure Apple will do well for a few more years and slowly start sliding downward until people finally realize it's the 1990's all over again and that some of the same decisions that lead to the demise of the pre-OSX Mac have lead to the demise of the post-OSX Mac (although by then it will be called the iHome or something that emphasizes iOS ("Mac" will eventually be retired as such things are dinosaurs in Steve's mind; Apple has been retreating from it for a LONG time now from Apple "Computer" to .Mac to iOS to just i.).
Methinks that the fans would consider you to be a "glass half empty" kind of guy....
Seriously though, many of your concerns are valid. Unfortunately, Jobs' hand picked Apple Board of Directors won't find the chutzpah to send Jobs out to pasture again.
If you hold Apple stock, be sure to liquidate it right before either the Itoys bubble bursts or Jobs is no longer the CEO.
Android 3 is coming out soon...beware.
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Methinks that the fans would consider you to be a "glass half empty" kind of guy....
Seriously though, many of your concerns are valid. Unfortunately, Jobs' hand picked Apple Board of Directors won't find the chutzpah to send Jobs out to pasture again.
If you hold Apple stock, be sure to liquidate it right before either the Itoys bubble bursts or Jobs is no longer the CEO.
Android 3 is coming out soon...beware.
may years down the road you will see iOS vs Android ads online.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)
It's not like mac osX, iOS, appleTV, osX server are really different OS in the true sense. They are overlays on the true OS darwin. At some point they will switch Darwin out and yes they may streamline the number of overlays on the new core OS. That doesn't mean the array of function for the tools has tol decrease.
I mean we aren't talking ][series to mac transition here not unless there is some quantum leap in tech just around the corner.
Yes core Darwin may move on to ARM chips x86 maybe relegated to being a co-processor but that doesn't stop the mac being a mac.
It's not like mac osX, iOS, appleTV, osX server are really different OS in the true sense. They are overlays on the true OS darwin. At some point they will switch Darwin out and yes they may streamline the number of overlays on the new core OS. That doesn't mean the array of function for the tools has tol decrease.
I mean we aren't talking ][series to mac transition here not unless there is some quantum leap in tech just around the corner.
Yes core Darwin may move on to ARM chips x86 maybe relegated to being a co-processor but that doesn't stop the mac being a mac.
Need to Keep Xserves or at least virtualize OSX Server
This ratio seems about right. You need your main server and a backup at the least. We used to have 7 Mac servers, G4's, 4 file servers and 3 Filemaker servers. We now have one Xserve and a G5, and have migrated the Filemaker servers to virtualized PC servers. Apple does not allow their server software to be virtualized and that has been the main reason I have not placed the Filemaker Server software on a new Macintosh server. I _would_ have done if the option existed in an official capacity.
Now I have to persuade my boss to by another Xserve sooner than planned to replace that G5, which will buy me some time to figure out what to do next to support our Macs. Our server room policy is rack mount servers only (the G5 is "grandfathered"). When our current Xserves live out their life, supporting the mac desktops will be a problem. I can see us phasing the end user's Macs out because of this. Apple was making in roads with iPad and the iPhone into the organization. Apple needs to use the Xserve to augment what their other products can do. Even if the Xserve loses money, it helps maintain sales of their desktop/laptop lines in the enterprise.
If Apple goes through with discontinuing the Xserves, and they do not allow virtualization of OS X Server on other hardware, it seems to me we would have to assume that OS X server is on the chopping block next. My future recommendations and purchases for desktops and laptops will be altered accordingly. Lenovo thanks you!
My Regards.
This ratio seems about right. You need your main server and a backup at the least. We used to have 7 Mac servers, G4's, 4 file servers and 3 Filemaker servers. We now have one Xserve and a G5, and have migrated the Filemaker servers to virtualized PC servers. Apple does not allow their server software to be virtualized and that has been the main reason I have not placed the Filemaker Server software on a new Macintosh server. I _would_ have done if the option existed in an official capacity.
Now I have to persuade my boss to by another Xserve sooner than planned to replace that G5, which will buy me some time to figure out what to do next to support our Macs. Our server room policy is rack mount servers only (the G5 is "grandfathered"). When our current Xserves live out their life, supporting the mac desktops will be a problem. I can see us phasing the end user's Macs out because of this. Apple was making in roads with iPad and the iPhone into the organization. Apple needs to use the Xserve to augment what their other products can do. Even if the Xserve loses money, it helps maintain sales of their desktop/laptop lines in the enterprise.
If Apple goes through with discontinuing the Xserves, and they do not allow virtualization of OS X Server on other hardware, it seems to me we would have to assume that OS X server is on the chopping block next. My future recommendations and purchases for desktops and laptops will be altered accordingly. Lenovo thanks you!
My Regards.
Well atleast we have something on the java front
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/11/12openjdk.html
Now for the Xserve.....
James.
P.S. Notice the very last line, referring to the iPad as the future of computing devices. There's your word about where Apple is headed "iOS" here *they* go (without me)
That's not completely true, I think. I seem to remember reading that they have licenced it to run on Oracles stuff, at least some of it.
Link, or it didn't happen.
The EULA says:
Of course, since it's only a license restriction it is possible to run on other x64 hardware.
It's also possible that Apple has made special agreements with some customers to run on other hardware - but the standard EULA says no.
The EULA says:
Of course, since it's only a license restriction it is possible to run on other x64 hardware.
It's also possible that Apple has made special agreements with some customers to run on other hardware - but the standard EULA says no.
That's what I said:
If Apple made a "deal", they would have to create a special or amended EULA for that customer.
But how much of this has to do with resources (man power) being allocated versus a perception based on how much advertisement you see? Has the allocation from Mac OS X to iOS in terms of visible marketing has to do more with Mac OS X being a mature product that is self perpetuated that really doesn't need 'active propagation' to win over more end users because all evidence shows that what we're seeing with Mac OS X is a maturing process. Take Microsoft for example, all their focus seems to be on WP7 and their complete failure as so far as fixing Windows by actually taking advantage Direct2D/DirectWrite, fixing up the complete lack of consistency with look and feel, the refusal to take a stand on what technology is going to be deprecated in favour of newer stuff coming through etc. Take Google - they were trumpeting ChromeOS at one stage but all the focus is on Android these days - have Google given up on their Chrome/NaCL idea completely?
It failed because they had to ask themselves that if they injected more development in it - will it actually pay off in the long run. I don't know about you but many IT departments are hugely political and some simply refuse to consider Apple - and these idiots who call themselves 'IT experts' haven't used an Apple computer in 20 years but based on a bad experience when they're at high school they make decisions that impact the whole organisation because of a few crappy childhood experiences. How on earth can Apple ever hope to convince such a pathetic loser to their products - would it be even worth the trouble in the long run consider how pathetically lazy many enterprise developers are when it comes to actually maintaining and updating their code?
Making Windows 8 'the best operating system ever' - pardon? what evidence besides an interview with a CEO who could barely keep him ass planted on a chair for more than 5 minutes? I'll believe 'Windows 8 is the best operating system ever' when they fix my laundry list of problems I have with Windows - until then it is all hype and BS.
Maybe the question should have been why they even entered the market in the first place given it wasn't their meat and potatoes - they killed off their printer range for example when Steve Jobs came back so I'm not surprised they killed off other products that simply didn't perform and were outside the scope of the core business.
Rather than being ******s have you ever thought that maybe they're trying to stop possible over lapping and subsequent cannibalisation between their pro and imac range? The Mac Pro has a distinct client - and btw stop having this 'case' fetish thinking because "I am a pro there fore I need to have a computer with separate components so it looks really hard core" - if a iMac does the job then suck up your pride and buy one instead of using a piece of equipment as a giant phallic symbol to insecurity.
Here is Steve Jobs circa 1997:
Apple is focused on carving out a niche and excelling in areas where they're good at. You can compete as long as you don't take the Napoleonic/Highlander complex of "there can be only one" when it comes to running a business.
The US was number one because the alternatives were so horrible but now there are new economies emerging - you can either be willing to share the lime light with others or you can take an arrogant and damaging approach like the American wing nuts do and believe everyone is out to destroy America. The question isn't whether Apple grows and survives, the question is whether they do something stupid in reaction to become a mature company as Microsoft gradually has been transformed from an 'Apple' into an 'IBM' - are they willing to accept their new role as being part of the 'establishment' or will they try to be like the middle aged man trying to prove to people younger than himself that he is still 'cool', 'hip' and 'in with it'.
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Your whole argument is fanboy nonsense and this the biggest proof of it. There is NO OVERLAP between a computer in a monitor and a professional tower dude! NONE. And before you tell me those of us that want a mid-range tower fit that bill, consider I will NEVER buy an iMac so again there is no overlap. You're kidding yourself with your arguments about why Steve is obsessed with iOS and doesn't care about the Mac. It's obvious to anyone that doesn't assume Steve is a god that he likes iOS much more than Macs and has said they are trucks. Lion is all about bringing iOS features to OSX towards their eventual integration and not the other way around. I won't bother addressing any more specifics because it's pointless to argue with a brick wall.
It's actually not that difficult to do on Windows. If you already have an ActiveDirectory setup you can set up an OpenDirectory partition in the schema (there are even third-party tools for administration if you need more power than the native Windows GPO gives you.) This is my preferred way of managing Macs; any large Windows shop will have the expertise to manage autoprovisioning of Macs (have a dev machine where you build the image then roll it out to a TFTP server for deployment via PXE or BOOTP.) Windows' tools for doing this are honestly better than OS X where for anything moderately complex, you have to dive into the config files and hope the GUI tools don't overwrite your changes. With an AD+OD setup you can store it all in the schema.
It'll mess with the 50-100 user Mac shops, but any decently large company has better options than an XServe. OS X Server is honestly garbage and the restrictions on virtualization are the nail in the coffin. The modern datacenter already looks very different than the model the XServe was designed for; the entire server is now considered to be hot-swappable in a VMWare environment (see: the proliferation of blades or the HP ProLiant DL360 1U servers. Moderately redundant, cheap, and essentially built like legos.) Storage is done on SANs which are highly redundant and OS-agnostic anyway.
I love Macs and you can have my MBP when you pry it from my cold, dead hands; but the XServe had a small and diminishing place in the enterprise IT world. Apple did a pretty good job designing an infrastructure that integrates relatively easily into other directory schemas, which is actually what did the XServe in.
one use for xserves
As for OS X vs Linux, Xserves + Xsan tend to price lower than the 1U x86 + Linux + Stornext direct equivalent for a SAN. One could argue that opendirectory + kerberos (for single sign on etc) are easier to manage in OS X than Linux (or other unices in general).
In most datacenters, rackspace, powerdraw and cooling are charged directly. The mini takes less space, but is not so useful in SAN environments, the MacPro takes up at least 4 times as much rackspace (put horizontally) or 6 times as much (two fitted vertically in 12u).
All being said and done, I personally wouldn't put another Mac where I'd originally put an xserve. As it's almost the EOL date and I don't see visualization or "licensed to work on some sun fire box" alternatives, it unfortunately also means I'd need to find unix alternatives for the things I'd use OS X server for.
As for OS X vs Linux, Xserves + Xsan tend to price lower than the 1U x86 + Linux + Stornext direct equivalent for a SAN. One could argue that opendirectory + kerberos (for single sign on etc) are easier to manage in OS X than Linux (or other unices in general).
In most datacenters, rackspace, powerdraw and cooling are charged directly. The mini takes less space, but is not so useful in SAN environments, the MacPro takes up at least 4 times as much rackspace (put horizontally) or 6 times as much (two fitted vertically in 12u).
All being said and done, I personally wouldn't put another Mac where I'd originally put an xserve. As it's almost the EOL date and I don't see visualization or "licensed to work on some sun fire box" alternatives, it unfortunately also means I'd need to find unix alternatives for the things I'd use OS X server for.