Xserve 1,1 set up.

[redhatcode29]

Hi guys, i am in the midst of installing OS x Server 10.5 on the above Xserve, being a total noob at servers, leave alone a Xserve....i am stuck at the last part where installer configures the Xserve..


Its at the configuring stage for about 30 minutes and then starts all over again and the same procedure again. I also tried the standard and advanced settings, still the same.

But i think i have messed up from the beginning !! i mean the formatting and the configuration of the HDDs and Raid. I have 2 x 250GB. The OS which i erased had a combined reading of the HDD or some thing like the below..(ignore the Mac mini hDD).

Now after my noob attempt of the set up of the RAID, the HDDs look like this...and the hdds are kinda separate..

Seriously i have no idea what I've done and what should be the correct method. I intend to use this Xserve for my home network...

The hardware which i have is the Xserve only.....i do not have the 'raid box' which holds the extra hdds (i hope i make sense). any guide will be much appreciated. Many Thanks.

 

[jamall]

If you divide each of the 233.8 GB Hitachi drives into two before you create the RAID set, both with identical 23.8 GB and 210 GB partitions, then create the RAID set with the 210 GB partitions, you can attempt running the installation onto one of the non-RAID partitions. If successful you can use Disk Utility to restore the volume onto the RAID set. The advantage of this method is that you can experiment with different OSes in the smaller partitions, and can still boot your Xserve if one of the RAID disks fails.

 

[redhatcode29]

If you divide each of the 233.8 GB Hitachi drives into two before you create the RAID set, both with identical 23.8 GB and 210 GB partitions, then create the RAID set with the 210 GB partitions, you can attempt running the installation onto one of the non-RAID partitions. If successful you can use Disk Utility to restore the volume onto the RAID set. The advantage of this method is that you can experiment with different OSes in the smaller partitions, and can still boot your Xserve if one of the RAID disks fails.

Hi thanks for your reply... However i have already reinstalled os x server, set e hdds to raid 1 while at it.

I ddnt set any allocations for the disk partition though.

I do not wish to install any other os in the xserve.

I am now about to add clients to the xserve, which i have no idea how !!

Just a Q

- do i have to install anything in the client Macs ?
- the administrative tools are for the xserve ...right ?
- the hdds now show up as a single disk in the desktop (though in d\utility there are diferent slices), how do check if it is raiding ? Pull out one of the hdd ?

Thanks.

 

[jamall]

You don't need to install any additional software on the clients, everything is built into the regular version of OS X. The administrative tools are for configuring the various services on the Xserve that it can provide for clients on your network, but Server Monitor can be run from any machine on the network to quickly check your Xserve's status. Don't pull one of the disks out while the Xserve is powered on, you could very easily corrupt your RAID volume and be forced to restore from a backup or start the installation process all over again. Disk Utility should look similar to your last screen shot above, which is showing you RAID Slices because they are in a working RAID set. Is there a reason you're using OS X Server version 10.5? If you can get your hands on a copy of 10.7 Lion Server you'll have a much easier time communicating with iDevices and Macs with newer versions of OS X.

 

[redhatcode29]

You don't need to install any additional software on the clients, everything is built into the regular version of OS X. The administrative tools are for configuring the various services on the Xserve that it can provide for clients on your network, but Server Monitor can be run from any machine on the network to quickly check your Xserve's status. Don't pull one of the disks out while the Xserve is powered on, you could very easily corrupt your RAID volume and be forced to restore from a backup or start the installation process all over again. Disk Utility should look similar to your last screen shot above, which is showing you RAID Slices because they are in a working RAID set. Is there a reason you're using OS X Server version 10.5? If you can get your hands on a copy of 10.7 Lion Server you'll have a much easier time communicating with iDevices and Macs with newer versions of OS X.

Thank you dude, thank you... I have been asking this question in 3 different threads in 2 differrent forum sites (that includes apple discussions)

U answered my queries on the dot.

Actually i am testing the xserve from another Mac while it is running in a different room ( i dnt have ear muffs !)

My disk utility does look like the above s/shot, but was just wondering if it was doing its job. I shall switch off and pull out the main disk then, that'll do it.

I am running 10.5 because mine is the Xserve 1.1 its a PPC .

Thanks again, i shall experiment further

 

[jamall]

Just double check "About This Mac..." in the Apple Menu, but I'm fairly certain the G4 and G5 based Xserves were called RackMac1,1 through to RackMac3,1 and the Xserve1,1 was the first model released with Intel Xeons in 2006. If that's the case you'll be able to run OS X Server 10.7.5 if you can track down a disk image. Even though they shipped with 64-bit Xeons their EFI (a modern replacement for BIOS and Open Firmware) was only 32-bit, so when Apple went exclusively 64-bit with the release of Mountain Lion, the poor old Xserve1,1s, MacPro1,1s and MacPro2,1s were left behind at 10.7.5. That was the end of the story, until a couple of very clever individuals eventually worked out how to force the 32-bit EFI to boot the 64-bit OS. You should be able to get Mountain Lion and Mavericks running using Tiamo's boot.efi, just search the forums here if you're game!
[doublepost=1455628818][/doublepost]The Xserves were always quite noisy, but you'd be surprised how much louder they've become since they left the factory. Most of the noise comes from the row of fans behind the hard drive backplane and the fans in the power supplies. Open the lid and lift the row of fans out of the case, and one by one, peel the flap of the sticker in the centre of each fan up and add a single drop of sewing machine oil to where the pin disappears inside the sleeve assembly. You have to remove the four very long screws that attach the fans to the back of each power supply to get to their oil wells, but it should take you less than five minutes to do the whole lot. Don't use WD-40, it's a solvent - only light machine oil will do. You'll be amazed at the difference, I didn't measure the noise levels before and after, but I estimate it dropped by more than half.

 

[redhatcode29]

Just double check "About This Mac..." in the Apple Menu, but I'm fairly certain the G4 and G5 based Xserves were called RackMac1,1 through to RackMac3,1 and the Xserve1,1 was the first model released with Intel Xeons in 2006. If that's the case you'll be able to run OS X Server 10.7.5 if you can track down a disk image. Even though they shipped with 64-bit Xeons their EFI (a modern replacement for BIOS and Open Firmware) was only 32-bit, so when Apple went exclusively 64-bit with the release of Mountain Lion, the poor old Xserve1,1s, MacPro1,1s and MacPro2,1s were left behind at 10.7.5. That was the end of the story, until a couple of very clever individuals eventually worked out how to force the 32-bit EFI to boot the 64-bit OS. You should be able to get Mountain Lion and Mavericks running using Tiamo's boot.efi, just search the forums here if you're game!
[doublepost=1455628818][/doublepost]The Xserves were always quite noisy, but you'd be surprised how much louder they've become since they left the factory. Most of the noise comes from the row of fans behind the hard drive backplane and the fans in the power supplies. Open the lid and lift the row of fans out of the case, and one by one, peel the flap of the sticker in the centre of each fan up and add a single drop of sewing machine oil to where the pin disappears inside the sleeve assembly. You have to remove the four very long screws that attach the fans to the back of each power supply to get to their oil wells, but it should take you less than five minutes to do the whole lot. Don't use WD-40, it's a solvent - only light machine oil will do. You'll be amazed at the difference, I didn't measure the noise levels before and after, but I estimate it dropped by more than half.

the Xserve 1.0 (earlier i mentioned it as 1.1) is certainly a PPC, introduced in 2002. which is what i have. The Xeons you are mentioning came much much later, thus my limit is 10.5.8.


nice fix for the fans...ought to check that out!

 

[jamall]

Ah OK, I misunderstood. I've got a box full of old PCI and PCI-X cards so if you want to fill up your empty slots with more ethernet cards I'd be happy to mail them to you. I've also got a couple of fibre-channel cards and a spare Xserve RAID, but it weighs nearly 70kg so the freight would be hundreds of dollars!

 

[redhatcode29]

Ah OK, I misunderstood. I've got a box full of old PCI and PCI-X cards so if you want to fill up your empty slots with more ethernet cards I'd be happy to mail them to you. I've also got a couple of fibre-channel cards and a spare Xserve RAID, but it weighs nearly 70kg so the freight would be hundreds of dollars!

Thank you. Its nice of you.

 

[redhatcode29]

Hi

Ah OK, I misunderstood. I've got a box full of old PCI and PCI-X cards so if you want to fill up your empty slots with more ethernet cards I'd be happy to mail them to you. I've also got a couple of fibre-channel cards and a spare Xserve RAID, but it weighs nearly 70kg so the freight would be hundreds of dollars!

Hey Jamall, they dnt use much Apple stuff Down Under is it ? Rarely see anything from ebay Australia....

 

[jamall]

Hi


Hey Jamall, they dnt use much Apple stuff Down Under is it ? Rarely see anything from ebay Australia....

I know of a lot of people/organisations still using Apple gear thats 4, 5, 6 years old and beyond, so I think it's indicative of people retaining the first equipment they've owned that hasn't succumbed to the harsh environment and failed after two years of normal use like most of the discount wintel hardware they'd had before. When Apple gear does come up for sale it's very expensive compared to other countries.