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96 MacBook Pro’s in one server rack

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Re: 96 MacBook Pro’s in one server rack

#111

Post by Artemis2 »

romaniv wrote: post #103
Artemis2 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With enterprise-ready hardware though, not consumers laptops that fail within a few years, even when they're not turned on 24/7.

Are there good reasons to believe that "enterprise" hardware is more reliable in practice? Anecdotally, most desktops I used lived much longer than most servers I worked woth. I know a Compaq desktop that worked as a server for 11 years. Still does. One hardware failure in that entire time. (Power supply.) Could be a result of lower workload, but still...

I would say manufacturers try to stick to stable designs, select best components, offer guarantees, but I don't have anything specific to back that.

Re: 96 MacBook Pro’s in one server rack

#112

Post by moftz »

austenallred wrote: post #36
JosephRedfern wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We require Mac OS X because the products we make run on OS X and we believe in testing on the same hardware our customers use, this helps produce a better product". If the software they're testing is used mainly on Macbook Pro's, then they're wanting to test on Macbook Pro's. Things like GPU and CPU differences may make a difference to how their software performs.

"We have data centers with thousands of machines configured with all 3 OS’s running constant build and test operations 24 hours a day 365 days a year. This is just a small look at the Mac side of things." Seems safe to say this is not a small company

He works for MathWorks, the company behind MATLAB.

Re: 96 MacBook Pro’s in one server rack

#113

Post by IE6 »

romaniv wrote: post #103
Artemis2 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With enterprise-ready hardware though, not consumers laptops that fail within a few years, even when they're not turned on 24/7.

Are there good reasons to believe that "enterprise" hardware is more reliable in practice? Anecdotally, most desktops I used lived much longer than most servers I worked woth. I know a Compaq desktop that worked as a server for 11 years. Still does. One hardware failure in that entire time. (Power supply.) Could be a result of lower workload, but still...

If you're spending a million dollars on a rack you're demanding considerably more what your old Compaq can do as a 'server' methinks

Re: 96 MacBook Pro’s in one server rack

#114

Post by bgaid »

titzer wrote: post #46

This is pretty neat, but I wonder how much more dense this configuration could be made if one took away the display, keyboard, battery, and chassis of the laptops and just had the motherboard, which (presumably) is fully integrated with a DIMM connector.

If you switch to Mac Mini's and assemble mutiple mini's in a private cloud running VMware, you can have a much more efficient setup. You can do it with xServe's and the latest Mac Pro's as well.

Re: 96 MacBook Pro’s in one server rack

#115

Post by bgaid »

JosephRedfern wrote: post #26
sudhirj wrote: post #3

How on earth do you test retina displays when inside a server a rack? What are they doing here that can't be done with Mac minis?

"We require Mac OS X because the products we make run on OS X and we believe in testing on the same hardware our customers use, this helps produce a better product". If the software they're testing is used mainly on Macbook Pro's, then they're wanting to test on Macbook Pro's. Things like GPU and CPU differences may make a difference to how their software performs.

Any Mac hardware will do like Mini's, xServes, and Mac Pros. Mac Pro's work really well and if you just rent them from a data center, the capital expenditure isn't there so you don't get hit with the $3k price tag.

Re: 96 MacBook Pro’s in one server rack

#116

Post by bgaid »

comeonnow wrote: post #16
sudhirj wrote: post #3

How on earth do you test retina displays when inside a server a rack? What are they doing here that can't be done with Mac minis?

Potential reason is that they need see how their tests affect screen burn. They mention they specifically need Mac hardware so this could be why they specifically need retina screens.

It might have more to do with running GPU-assisted tasks through remote sessions. You need to either leave a screen attached and on or trick the device into thinking one is attached and on to take full advantage of the GPU on Mac hardware. You can actually do it with any mac hardware (even headless devices like Mac Mini's and Mac Pro's) but it's not advertised well enough.

For example, with mac Mini's in a server environment, you need to plug in a hdmi enabler to get full GPU performance front the system while using it over remote access.

Here's more information: http://www.macstadium.com/blog/osx-10-8-10-9-headless-gpu-en...

Re: 96 MacBook Pro’s in one server rack

#117

Post by jsingleton »

coob wrote: post #90
jsingleton wrote: post #43

Only just realised from this that MacBook Pro's no longer have an Ethernet port! When did that happen? You need to buy an expensive thunderbolt adapter. I can understand removing it from the ultra portable super-thin models but not from the top end professional model.

You don't 'need' the thunderbolt adaptor. Any old USB NIC will do. Like this $15 USB3 Gigabit ethernet adaptor: http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Ethernet-Chromebook-Specific-...

Good point. That will be compatible with other computers too. Apart from the new MacBooks which you'll need a USB-C to USB adaptor for.

Re: 96 MacBook Pro’s in one server rack

#118

Post by bgaid »

adriancooney wrote: post #4

That's an expense rack. If the average MBP cost $1500, that's a total of $144,000 in the one rack. They must have some serious reasons to create something like this.

With such a large capital expense, it makes a lot more sense to rent dedicated mac hardware from a data center. You get simple monthly bills, guaranteed uptime, and the infrastructure is looked after for you.

Re: 96 MacBook Pro’s in one server rack

#119

Post by bgaid »

rhaps0dy wrote: post #5

What kind of testing do you do with this?

For many people that need to develop, test, and deploy on Mac hardware they're doing iOS app or OS X development.

For example, you may have a macbook pro, but it's not powerful enough to run tests in a few minutes while you do other work on it at the same time. In this case, you'd want another Mac like a Mini, Pro or Xserve to send jobs to.

Anyone using X Code has to run it on a Mac and often, you're wasting precious development time when your jobs are taking up your Macbook's processing power for an hour while it tests your latest build.

Travis-CI, the continuous integration platform, will send your jobs to a cloud of Mac servers when they require OS X to build against.

Re: 96 MacBook Pro’s in one server rack

#120

Post by jsingleton »

jsmith0295 wrote: post #100
jsingleton wrote: post #43

Only just realised from this that MacBook Pro's no longer have an Ethernet port! When did that happen? You need to buy an expensive thunderbolt adapter. I can understand removing it from the ultra portable super-thin models but not from the top end professional model.

Well the MacBook Pro's are ultra portable and super thin now. The laptop would probably have to be at least 20% thicker to make for enough room for an ethernet port. And since 90% of MBP Retina owners probably rarely if ever use ethernet, it's a good tradeoff to make. The Retina model is much lighter and easier to carry (especially with one hand) than it's predecessor.

I think Apple could have come up with a solution without compromising on this. What about a neat folding Ethernet port that flips out and is flush when not in use? I remember some old ThinkPads had something like that but it might have been a modem port (RJ11/RJ14 not RJ45).

The rare use is what makes it a problem. It's not worth the investment to buy and always carry an adaptor for that one time you really need it.

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