BYTE peels the skin off another Apple--this time it's the high-end PowerPC-based Workgroup Server 9150
Raymond GA Cote
The
Apple Workgroup Server 9150
is the high-end of a trio of PowerPC-based servers from Apple. All three systems are available with AppleShare 4.0.2 installed. Setting up the server consists solely of unpacking the system, plugging in the appropriate Ethernet converter (e.g., thin wire, twisted pair, or token ring), turning on the system, and entering the initial administration password.
A quick look at the system's capabilities and Apple's marketing literature would have you believing that the Server 9150 is a replacement for the previous high-end machine, the Workgroup Server 95. This is not the case. The Server 95 is a Unix-based 68040 syste
m with a tuned version of AppleShare that takes advantage of the preemptive multitasking capabilities of Unix. Apple still intends the Server 95 to be the high-end choice for people who need maximum throughput in a file server.
The Server 9150's advantage over the Server 95 lies in pure computational speed. The system's 80-MHz CPU, 32-KB on-chip processor cache, and 512 KB of secondary cache combine to produce Apple's most computationally powerful system. All this power would be wasted if it were used simply to share files among users, so Apple has positioned the Server 9150 as an application server.
An application server provides access to computational services, rather than solely to shared files and raw data. A database server, which manipulates and filters large amounts of data before handing off the results to the client computer, is the traditional use for such servers. However, an application server can provide a variety of services, including automatic cataloging, prepress color separati
on, printing, and communications (fax).
System Specifics
The Server 9150 is housed in a full-size tower case. Around the back are two RCA-style phono connectors for stereo sound input, as well as the standard set of Macintosh connectors: monitor; Ethernet, SCSI, modem, and printer ports; a single Apple Desktop Bus port; and microphone and external speaker jacks. The high-speed GeoPort ports for a modem and printer are capable of maintaining 230.4-Kbps throughput.
The Server 9150 has two SCSI buses. All the internal SCSI devices are connected to the first SCSI bus; the second bus leads to both external and internal SCSI connectors. Removing the side cover of the Server 9150's case
reveals a well-packed interior
. Starting at the top are bays for as many as five 3 1/2-inch drives. The standard configuration provides two 1-GB drives in the two lowest bays. The double-speed CD-ROM drive and tape backup DAT (digital audiotape) drive are mounted just above t
he drive bays. The review unit's single floppy drive is positioned about one-third of the way from the bottom of the case.
The power supply and fan consume about one-third of the central portion of the case. The primary cooling airflow starts at the back of the case, is pulled through the tightly packed drive bay, over the eight memory slots, and then out through the power supply. A second, smaller flow of air comes in over the four NuBus expansion slots. Significantly, the PowerPC processor itself is not in the direct path of either air current; the chip runs cool enough to get by with just a heat sink.
Reaching the hard drives is a simple matter of removing a few screws and sliding out the mounting bracket. The NuBus expansion area is also readily accessible, as is the single PDS (Processor Direct Slot) located adjacent to the NuBus connectors. For some reason, though, Apple has a habit of blocking access to RAM slots. In this case, the RAM expansion slots reside just behind the edge of the po
wer supply. You might be tempted to try wedging your hands in there, but, given the cost and fragility of memory, you are better off removing the power supply to get at the slots. Of course, you must remove the drive bays before you can remove the power supply. The placement of the internal connector for the second SCSI bus behind the power supply presents one further hassle.
System Software
The Server 9150 runs the standard PowerPC version of System 7 release 7.2; you may have AppleShare 4.0.2 installed at the factory. A PowerPC version of Retrospect Remote provides archival backup on the DAT drive.
Apple is promising a software-only version of RAID that provides RAID 0 (disk mirroring) and RAID 1 (disk striping) and should offer additional improvements in performance or data integrity. This software was not available at the time the tests were conducted.
The Test Applications
Because Apple has positioned the Server 9150 as an application ser
ver rather than a file server, I concentrated on evaluating the speed of the available native-mode applications. Over a dozen companies have announced the release or imminent release of applications that take advantage of the Server 9150. These include such diverse applications as 4D Server, a new multiuser release of the 4th Dimension database; a work-flow server from Quark; and an automated software distribution system from Wave Research.
For these tests, I ran several applications that are available for both 68K-based processors and PowerPCs. I also ran preliminary versions of the new BYTE cross-platform benchmarks. The test 68K server was a 33-MHz Workgroup Server 80 with 8 MB of RAM and a 1-GB hard drive running System 7.1. The Server 9150 had 16 MB of RAM and two 1-GB hard drives. The table "Performance Results" summarizes the test results. I used the following products during testing:
-- A beta version of
ACI US's 4D Server
, a native PowerPC version of the standard 4th Dimen
sion 68K server. Although informal testing indicated that the PowerPC version is, not surprisingly, significantly faster than the 68K version, the final numbers are not included in the results, because, at test time, the software was still in beta form. 4D Server should be shipping by the time you read this review.
--
Cumulus PowerPro
, an image-cataloging and -retrieval system from Canto Software. The server can create or extract thumbnails from almost any image format. It combines a clean, simple user interface with a quick search engine, a hierarchical keyword structure, and a drag-and-drop interface. Cumulus PowerPro also lets you print selected images directly from the server. During testing, I loaded and cataloged the same 1289 images on the 68K version and the PowerPC version. The 68K version needed an average of 5.7 seconds per image. The PowerPC version required 2.4 seconds per image--a performance increase of 133 percent.
--
Filemaker Pro
from Claris, a popul
ar Macintosh database system. Although it has long provided the ability for multiple users to access a single database via a network, earlier implementations were slow and moved lots of data over the wire. Claris has introduced a server version of the product, which, combined with Filemaker 2.1v3, provides greatly enhanced multiuser access. As many as 100 users can connect to a server simultaneously. More important, sorts and searches can now take place on the server; before, the client did much of the work.
The first Filemaker benchmark test was a multifield search of a 32-MB file (the maximum file size allowed) containing 2068 records. The 68K-based Server 80 completed the test in 8 seconds, while the Server 9150 crossed the finish line in 5 seconds. A second test required obtaining a grand total of a series of floating-point numbers in the 2068 records. The Server 80 completed this task in 87 seconds, and the Server 9150 required 52 seconds. For these two tasks, the Server 9150 was at least 60 per
cent quicker than the Server 80.
The last series of tests consisted of running a late-beta version of BYTE's new cross-platform benchmarks. These new benchmarks test simple algorithmic operations, such as sorting numbers and strings, and evaluate real-world performance with such tests as a Fourier transform and a neural network back-propagation routine. The results varied widely, with one test actually showing a decrease in performance on the Server 9150, while solving a linear-equation algorithm improved by a factor of 13. Although speed improvements are always dependent on the application that you use, the approximately 400 percent overall improvement shown in these tests indicates that native applications will get a significant boost on the Server 9150.
The PowerPC Today
Apple has significantly raised the performance of its server offerings with the introduction of its PowerPC 601-based workgroup servers, such as the Server 9150. Although bigger and quicker machines are
always promised in the near future, the performance increase offered by the Server 9150 over previous 68K-based servers provides good reason to select a PowerPC solution today. Apple's top-of-the-line PowerPC platform is a solid powerhouse ready to perform immediately.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTS
Workgroup Server 9150
(with an 80-MHz PowerPC 601, 512 KB of
secondary processor cache, 16 MB of RAM, two 1-GB hard drives, a DAT
drive, a CD-ROM drive, Retrospect Remote backup software, and RAID
software).......................... $9229
(with AppleShare 4.0.2 installed).. $10269
Workgroup Server 8150
(with an 80-MHz PowerPC 601 processor, 256 KB
of secondary processor cache, 16 MB of RAM, Ethernet, a double-speed
CD-ROM drive, room for a single 1-GB hard drive, an internal DDS-2
DAT drive, and one SCSI bus)........ $7459
(with AppleShare 4.0.2 installed)... $8499
Workgroup Server 6150
(with a 60-MHz PowerPC 601 proce
ssor, 256 KB of
second-level processor cache, 8 MB of RAM, Ethernet, an internal
500-MB hard drive, a double-speed CD-ROM drive, a floppy drive, and
AppleShare 4.0.2 installed)......... $4219
Apple Computer, Inc.
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
(800) 795-1000
(408) 996-1010
fax: (800) 462-4396
photo_link (33 Kbytes)
The Apple Workgroup Server 9150 provides bays for as many as five SCSI hard drives, a CD-ROM drive, and a DAT drive. A second, external SCSI bus lets you connect an additional seven hard drives outside the tower.
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The Workgroup Server 9150's internal layout allows quick and easy access to drives and the NuBus expansion area,
but the RAM expansion slots are hidden behind the power supply, which you must remove when adding more memory to the base system.
Raymond GA Cote is a BYTE consulting editor and vice president of product development for Appropriate Solutions, Inc. (Peterborough, NH). You can reach him on the Internet at
rgacote@apsol.com
or on BIX as "rgacote."
Apple's Workgroup Server 9150
