Where to go with Mac OS X server?

[orangehand]

my client has 2 xserves, one of which is connected via an atto r680 pci card to a la cie 12big RAID array.

given that the xserves are now long in the tooth, and Apple no longer makes a box that will take the pci card, does anyone have any thoughts as to where to go next? Client is v loathe to abandon the relatively recent investment in the RAID and card.

i imagine that the new mac pro will be terrifyingly expensive, and it cannot use the atto card.

so where next?
anyone ever successfully virtualized os x server?

thought on a postcard please!!

 

[Silencio]

How old are the Xserves? Which model, exactly, are they? I assume the Xserve is running as a file server. What other network services is it providing?

You can certainly get a newer (2009 / 2010) Mac Pro to tide you over for a while, but the performance of the Xserve should be adequate for quite some time for basic file serving. I'm still using a couple of Mac Pro 1,1 (2006) towers with Areca Mini-SAS RAID cards connected to 12-bay RAIDs, and they've got more than enough to serve files to our video editing workgroup.

 

[Titanium81]

A 2012 Mac Pro should serve you well for 5+ years. Buy the "old" current one while you still can.

 

[alexrmc92]

my client has 2 xserves, one of which is connected via an atto r680 pci card to a la cie 12big RAID array.

given that the xserves are now long in the tooth, and Apple no longer makes a box that will take the pci card, does anyone have any thoughts as to where to go next? Client is v loathe to abandon the relatively recent investment in the RAID and card.

i imagine that the new mac pro will be terrifyingly expensive, and it cannot use the atto card.

so where next?
anyone ever successfully virtualized os x server?

thought on a postcard please!!

early 2009 xserve's are very current still, you can upgrade to one of those (they will run mavericks). ESX server installs on the XServe and supports virtualizing OS X server. You can also go with linux, which is what i use to virtualize OS X, Windows, and Linux in a 4 node OpenNebula Cluster.

A new mac pro can use that raid card with a thunderbolt to PCIe box, as well as a mac mini.