In a controversial move, Apple last Friday, announced it will be discontinuing the Xserve early next year. First released in 2002, the Xserve marked the company’s first venture into the rackmount server market. Going on over a year and a half without seeing an update, some predicted the server’s early demise. To many, however, the announcement came as a surprise, and to some even a shock. Though Apple has announced they will not be developing a future version of Xserve, the current version will remain on sale until January 31, 2011 while supplies last.
As alternatives to the Xserve, Apple has posed the Mac mini Server as well as the newly announced Mac Pro Server as suitable replacements. Though some have billed the Xserve as Apple’s only “real” server, the aforementioned products will hopefully close in on the gap left by the server once it disappears from Apple’s lineup. To assist users in this change, Apple has released an official Xserve Transition Guide detailing the performance and available configurations of Mac Pro Server and Mac mini Server. Recent reports suggest that Steve Jobs himself acknowledged the discontinuation to a customer citing poor sales as the primary motive.
While this move might seem agonizing to those who have relied on various Xserve models over the years, given Apple’s current trend and emphasis on consumer oriented mobile devices, it does seem somewhat justified. Some have raised concerns that this indicates Apple is pulling out the enterprise market all together, but in actuality, it is entirely too early to say.