“We subjected Xserve’s Apache Web server to the same suite of tests using Spirent Communications’ WebAvalanche software that we used to stress Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition with Microsoft’s Internet Information Server and found performance was quite strong,” Tom Henderson writes for TechNewsWorld.com.
“Xserve is not a plain vanilla server that tries to compete on price/performance. Its extra features (such as independent disk channels, FireWire 800 and high-tech-touch hard drive bays) carry a high price tag. To its benefit, it has no user-license fee, connects a variety of operating-system client types, and delivers strong Web performance,” Henderson writes.
“Xserve hosts many services, from file-and-print for a variety of client types. While decidedly Apple, Xserve puts to shame many of the Linux distributions available by tying together the diverse number of applications that are needed to administer an equivalent Linux server into a simple, GUI-driven interface. Xserve plays well in a Windows network, but also accommodates a variety of network constructions — all from a tight 1U package,” Henderson concludes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Now if only more IT people would shelve their anti-Apple Macintosh biases and actually try the product (wait until the G5 Xserve hits the streets!), Apple would make serious inroads into the enterprise market.