Today, at 9am ET, Active Storage announced a “replacement” to Apple’s Xserve – it is called the ActiveSAN.
ActiveSAN - What it looks like
The ActiveSAN has a beautiful user experience (typical to all Active Storage software utilities). Here is an example of the primary app window:
ActiveSAN Setup User Interface
You can read the details about the ActiveSAN here, although here are the official Specifications:
- 1U rack-optimized enclosure
- Intel Quad-core Xeon processor
- 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 memory
- 1 available 16 lane PCI-e slot
- Dual port 8Gb Fibre Channel Card with SFPs
- Mirrored hot swap 1TB Hitachi Enterprise Class SATA hard drives
- Redundant hot swap 600W auto-sensing power supplies
- Locking power cords
- 4x USB 2.0 ports (2 front, 2 rear)
- 2x GbE ports
- 1x Serial port (for UPS support)
- VGA graphics port
- Rack rail kit with hardware
- Lights Out Management via Active Viewer
- Active Viewer and ActiveSAN Admin Software suite
You can also watch a video of the product introduction here.
ActiveSAN Summary
- The ActiveSAN cannot run OS X Server. It runs Linux (non-specified version) and the Quantum StorNext SAN file system.
- It is an Xsan enhancement and can be used as an MDC (metadata controller) within the Xsan environment.
- It’s fast, with complete fibre-channel support.
- It will probably be spendy – no word on pricing yet.
Overall, the ActiveSAN looks to be an incredible device. It is not a complete Xserve replacement as it cannot run OS X Server (or any variant of OS X), so please consider that if you plan to make a purchase.
