Could Apple iOS server for ARM-servers appear?

    Today, Apple launches two lines of servers: Xserve and Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server , on which Mac OS X Server is installed .
    It is curious that large Xserve servers are in low demand, even rumors appeared that Apple will soon remove this line from its catalog :(
    But the Mac mini Server - on the contrary, today is in high demand: the processor and motherboard which are essentially analogs of the mobile platform for laptops, and therefore they consume much less electricity and therefore less heat the environment than the large Xserve (see the article: “Mac mini model 2010” about this ).

    Recently, there was information that Apple is seriously considering unifying the names of its operating systems, and among them there is a variant of the name of the server OS - iOS server (see the article: “From Mac OS X to iOS desktop?” ). Will it be a simple renaming of Mac OS X Server to iOS server, or will a new version of the server OS appear?
    It is difficult to say, but the appearance of a new server OS part of the code which may well be taken from the mobile Apple iOS cannot be completely ruled out.

    Energy-efficient servers - as a trend:
    Today there are companies that build servers for Internet hosting not on ordinary server processors such as: Intel Xeon or AMD Opteron, but on processors with low power consumption, for example, on mobile processors such as: Intel Atom (see: “Silicon Graphics offers the concept of a server on Intel Atom” and “512 Atoms in 10U” ) or VIA Nano (see: “Processors VIA Nano will appear on Dell servers ” ), or even on 64-core Tilera processors (see: “ Quanta + TILERA = 512-cores in a 2U server ” ).
    So the company Marvell (which produces processors for phones and PDAs) before the end of the year, promises to introduce a 40-nm quad-core ARM processor operating at a frequency of up to 2 GHz, which will compete with x86-compatible server solutions.
    And servers using ARM processors are already beginning to be announced - see: "Dell will release the first servers on ARM processors . "

    There are also persistent rumors that Internet giants such as Google and Microsoft are conducting experiments with server racks on ARM processors, as the lion's share of the costs of their huge Data Centers - is the cost of electricity (see: “Waiting for servers on ARM-processors?” and “Google requires more efficient servers” ).

    The director of ARM Holdings, intrigued everyone with his statement that some companies chose the ARM architecture to develop server processors with high energy efficiency on its basis. And he believes that servers built on the basis of multi-core processors with ARM architecture may appear within the next 12 months (see: “Are we waiting for servers on ARM processors?” ). He refused to explain what kind of some companies that are developing not just servers, but server processors on the ARM architecture themselves (officially only the aforementioned Marvell company, confirmed that it will release a server ARM processor).
    Everyone knows that over the past few years, Apple has been developing ARM processors, and it has been doing so zealously that, according to some information, it is even going to acquire, in whole or in part, ARM Holdings - see: “Apple Inc. again he is going to buy Holdings on ARM? » .
    It is likely (and evidenced by many experts) that Apple is not the first year engaged in the design of multi-core on ARM-processor (up to 4 or more cores), which may very efficiently be used not only in the iPad `ah, but also in the server equipment.

    Will Apple's home media server appear?
    Some time ago, information leaked that Apple was preparing to release a line of Home Servers (see:“Apple is working on a home media server?” ) - which will act as media centers. Such servers are successfully launched by competitors, for example, the HP MediaSmart Server LX195 - see: “The specifications of the HP MediaSmart Server LX195 home server have leaked onto the Web . And such a server does not require much power from the processor, the same HP MediaSmart Server LX195 runs on an Intel Atom processor.
    Today, there are also “home” network drives on ARM processors, for example, see: “Everything into a cube” , and making a home media server from such a “cube” is not a problem at all - it all depends on the software.

    And Apple was always famous for delivering a complete solution, i.e. hardware + software for solving specific problems. Therefore, Apple may well transfer its Apple Mac OS X Server operating system to ARM processors and make it an iOS home server . Moreover, Apple has experience transferring Apple OS X to mobile ARM processors - I have introduced Apple iOS , which is essentially a transfer of the Apple Mac OS X desktop OS to ARM processors with the addition of the Cocoa Touch API and adaptation to mobile hardware resources.
    The peculiarity of the home media server is that in fact this box does not imply the installation of any additional software, just like on the Apple TV, i.e. the buyer is satisfied with the functions and software, which were included there at the time of purchase (in the best case, the software can be remotely updated as it regularly happens with Apple TV OS ). And this feature is very convenient for iOS home server if it will be transferred to ARM-processors. Apple will transfer as many software components of the OS as it considers sufficient for the functions of a home media server and no one will blame Apple for the fact that there are no third-party software from other manufacturers for ARM processors :)

    Will a rack-mount ARM server from Apple appear?
    Well, if the experience with the home media server is successful, then further (and maybe even at the same time) Apple may well release a rack-mount server in the standard Xserve formator even the now fashionable Blade server format , but on ARM processors.
    In this case, Apple will have to transfer the widest possible range of server software to ARM processors.
    It should be noted that Mac OS X Server initially includes a huge set of server software that is quite sufficient for any server tasks: File and Print Services, Communication Services, Mail Services, Podcast Services, Web Hosting, Application Servers, Media Streaming, Directory Services and Authentication , Client Management, Networking and VPN, Distributed Computing, High-Availability Features, Administration - see: Technical Specifications Mac OS X Server . And provided that the same complete set of supplied software is saved along with the server OSAn iOS server , such an ARM server can satisfy many clients quite well, and they will not regret that for ARM processors there is no third-party software from independent manufacturers.
    But energy savings by ARM servers can be an important factor when making a purchase decision. Especially for large Data Centers, and it is possible that Apple’s ARM servers themselves can save a lot of money - see: Why is Apple building a data center worth $ 1 billion?

    PS: Do not judge too harshly.
    I'm interested in your opinion: what do you think about the prospects of ARM-servers?

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