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MP 7,1 Mac Pro 7,1 Rack
- Thread starter bigsocks
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I’m curious... if you get the rack version, is it to launch remote jobs for the Mac Pro to run or do you keep the rack near your desk in order to have the display cable reach your monitor? I was recently looking for long TB3 cables but it seems the longest one I can find is 2m. So I don’t see how I could have a Mac Pro in a rack and still have it reach a TB3 display.
Apple Business locally said not to expect initial orders before February 2020. Don't know if that means ordering will be available with delivery in February, or if they won't even accept orders until February.
Was also told W5700X will not be available for at least another few weeks.
End of January is Chinese New Year and typically a slowdown, so maybe they're attempting to have ready before? There is no indication the rack version is even being made in Austin.
Was also told W5700X will not be available for at least another few weeks.
End of January is Chinese New Year and typically a slowdown, so maybe they're attempting to have ready before? There is no indication the rack version is even being made in Austin.
So how does one interact with the Mac Pro in the rack? Are you using a remote desktop application?
Ok that makes sense. I was not sure if there was a way to remotely interact with it out of the box without the use of VNC.
In some cases, the rack would be on your desk. A good deal of high-end, custom built workstations (desks) have racks in them, so you can mount hardware and secure them with screws.
A RackMacPro would be off the floor, away from people kicking it or pushing it back and forth, and away from spills. It's a really nice way to keep an office or suite clean and tidy.
In other instances, it's in a machine room that has proper cooling and ventilation, and is easy for technicians to reach. The room doesn't have to be too far from the workstation (in some instances it's on the other side of the wall) and a 2m cable would reach just fine.
If it's further, there'd be a need for an amplifier or to convert the signal into something that is better for longer cable runs, like HDMI or even HD-SDI.
Lastly, like you mention above, and were right on target, some applications will use the Mac Pro for power and remoting in or using a virtual machine would be just fine.
Another way for a post-production house to make it's money (and for Pros to save some) is to rent out suites. So if an editor is renting a Final Cut suite for $XXX.XX an hour you wouldn't want them damaging or taking components from your $53,000 Mac Pro. So mounting and securing it are standard practices.
Exactly! Beat me to it.
A MacPro/MacMini is the only hardware that can officially run macOS VMs under ESXi, right? Wouldn’t that be another use of a rack mounted MP?
With 4 GPUs passed-thru, 28cores evenly split, 384GB of RAM evenly split, 4 m.2 SSDs on a pcie carrier, 4 NICs (2 built-in and 2 off a pcie card or thunderbolt add-in) and 4 long HDMI cables (and USB-over-ethernet for kb/mouse maybe?), could one run 4 pretty competent virtualized 7-core Mac stations off it? What would performance be like on a bare metal type1 hypervisor like ESXi, compared to native macOS install and compared, on the other hand, to type2 hypervisors like Parallels/Fusion/VirtualBox?
With 4 GPUs passed-thru, 28cores evenly split, 384GB of RAM evenly split, 4 m.2 SSDs on a pcie carrier, 4 NICs (2 built-in and 2 off a pcie card or thunderbolt add-in) and 4 long HDMI cables (and USB-over-ethernet for kb/mouse maybe?), could one run 4 pretty competent virtualized 7-core Mac stations off it? What would performance be like on a bare metal type1 hypervisor like ESXi, compared to native macOS install and compared, on the other hand, to type2 hypervisors like Parallels/Fusion/VirtualBox?
That is interesting. I was not aware of desks with rack mounts in them.
I have a 42u rack in my office and that is why I was initially thinking about getting the rack version of the Mac Pro, but the challenge that I run into is that I am using four displays with the Mac Pro and I was not able to find any Thunderbolt 3 cables long enough to make it work.
Thanks. As quiet as the Mac Pro is, it wouldn’t be a bother at all having it mounted on a desk like that. The main reason I wanted the rack version was to keep it locked in the rack for security reasons. I’ll have to find another way to prevent it from being moved from where it’s at.
As someone who's sat at a LOT of desks and consoles, really would recommend a cabinet off to the side and to use the rack slots in front on the desks for I/O devices instead. Most can be locked and/or secured more easily that way.
There are also theft style screws you can use to secure, but really would question their use on workstations. They need a wheel lock style adapter to remove, or you have to drill them out when the adapter is lost...
There are also theft style screws you can use to secure, but really would question their use on workstations. They need a wheel lock style adapter to remove, or you have to drill them out when the adapter is lost...
Options all the same prices. Only the 'wheels' options missing. Different case and get an additional box co-shipped that contains the rack rails. ( some of these options make more sense for rack workloads but offered on both variations. )
Slightly wider delivery window (rack 3 days longer), but can be as fast as a tower version (at least in USA). The wheels thing is kind of funny now. At this point, can order a rack model and a generic rack cart with wheels and be operational faster than waiting on Apple's stuff.
Just noticed a gallery on the 'buy' page.
same J2i mount point and almost everything else. Just attached a different 'front' I/O board (as opposed to I/O board in the top of tower. Ribbon cable in both cases) . (maybe another blower on top left corner under the board. Flat and black and hard to tell. ). And looks like can detach (screws by lowest fan above ) the part of the bottom of the case. (which would be handy to get to the RAM) .