Apple Network Server
Encyclopedia
The Apple Network Server (ANS) was a short-lived line of PowerPC
-based server
computers manufactured by Apple Computer
from February 1996 to April 1997, when it was discontinued due to very poor sales. It was codenamed "Shiner" and originally consisted of two models, the Network Server 500/132 ("Shiner LE", i.e., "low-end") and the Network Server 700/150 ("Shiner HE", i.e., "high-end"), which got a companion model, the Network Server 700/200 (also "Shiner HE") with a faster CPU
in September 1996. They are not a part of the Apple Macintosh line of computers; they were designed to run IBM
's AIX operating system
and their ROM
specifically prevented booting Mac OS
. This makes them the last non-Macintosh desktop computers made by Apple to date. The 500/132, 700/150, and 700/200 sold for US$11,000, US$15,000 and US$19,000, respectively.
Apple Network Servers are not to be confused with the Apple Workgroup Server
s and the Macintosh Servers, which were Macintosh workstations that shipped with server software and used Mac OS; the sole exception, the Workgroup Server 95—a Quadra 950 with an added SCSI controller that shipped with A/UX
—was still able to run Mac OS. Apple did not have comparable server hardware in their product lineup again until the introduction of the Xserve
in 2002.
logic board and ROM (locking out all Mac OS calls) and ported AIX to the new hardware. Whether related to the hardware change or by coincidence, Apple also abandoned its NetWare on PowerPC development (codename: Wormhole) at this time. The general motherboard layout seems to suggest a close relationship with PowerPC-based RS/6000
systems by IBM
, which also were designed to run AIX. On the other hand, many motherboard components, especially the Open Firmware
boot ROM, are similar to the "Tsunami" board used in the Power Macintosh 9500
and some Macintosh clones.
The ANS 500/132 uses a PowerPC 604 CPU clocked at 132 MHz, and the ANS 700/150 has the same CPU at 150 MHz. Both had a L1 cache of 32 KB. The ANS 700/200 features the more advanced PowerPC 604e at 200 MHz, with an L1 cache of 64 KB. The L2 cache of the ANS is mounted on a SIMM
, with a standard size of 512 KB for the 500 and 1 MB for the 700s. The system bus speed is 44 MHz for the 500, and 50 MHz for the 700s. The ANS motherboard has eight 168-pin DIMM
parity RAM slots with six of them free (with a maximum amount of 512 MB of RAM specified, even though up to 1 GB is reported to work ). The ANS 500/132 shipped with 32 MB of RAM installed (4 x 8 MB 60 ns parity DIMMs manufactured by IBM) and the ANS 700/150 and the ANS 700/200 shipped with 48 MB (2 x 16 MB 60 ns + 2 x 8 MB parity DIMMs also manufactured by IBM). For all practical purposes, the maximum RAM configuration is 4 x 128 MB parity DIMMs (512 MB, total) or 8 x 64 MB parity DIMMs (also 512 MB total). The machine will not POST (i.e., will not pass the Power-On System Test) if more than 512 MB is installed. This is an absolute restriction built into the machine's ROM-DIMM. If even one RAM DIMM is non-parity, then parity checking is turned-off for all RAM, in which case 70 ns RAM DIMMs are acceptable. FPM or EDO RAM DIMMs are acceptable, in any order, as the machine treats EDO RAM DIMMs as FPM RAM DIMMs.
All Network Servers feature an internal two-channel Wide SCSI
-2 controller, an external 25-pin SCSI-1 connector and a standard 1.44 MB "SuperDrive" floppy. Six free PCI
slots are available for expansion - parts supported under AIX include two Ethernet
cards and a SCSI RAID
card. Other ports include one ADB
port, two serial ports and one AAUI
port. Unlike all other Apple computers of the era, the ANS uses a VGA connector
for the onboard video; an adapter for Apple displays was included.
A unique aspect of the Apple Network Servers is their case: It is fully lockable, extremely accessible, features a small LCD for diagnostics, and its front has seven device slots, with a CD-ROM and one hard drive mounted in them in the standard configuration. Additional hot-swappable SCSI
hard drive modules or a DAT tape streamer can be added to the free slots. Optionally, the ANS 700 also supports redundant and hot-swappable power supply units and an internal drive rack for two further fixed hard drives. The case is large and heavy, at a height of 61.5 cm, a width of 41.5 cm, a depth of 45 cm and a weight of more than 40 kg. That means it is about the right width for a 19" rack, but needs at least 14 rack unit
s in height. A third model in a smaller rackmount case without the large disk array, the Network Server 300 (codenamed "Deep Dish", as in a deep dish pizza), never got past the prototype stage. Also in development but never released were CPU cards featuring two CPUs
. Power Macintosh 9500 CPU cards, which were available with dual processors, were not compatible with the ANS. A reason for this is Power Macintosh processors are Apple Mac-format processors (7000, 8000 and 9000 series format), whereas ANS processors are IBM-format processors (RS/6000 format).
An ANS 500/132 may be upgraded to an ANS 500/200 simply by installing the 200 MHz processor accessory card. It is possible to upgrade an ANS 500 to an ANS 700 or to downgrade an ANS 700 to an ANS 500 simply by exchanging the power backpanel and PSU(s), but it is necessary to completely disassemble the base of the ANS in order to accomplish such an upgrade/downgrade. Alas, an ANS 700 has but one input power connection, even though it has dual, independent PSUs. However, an ANS 700 may be easily converted into a dual primary power configuration (independent primary power, possibly, and desirably, from different power panels, one possibly backed-up by an Uninterruptible Power Supply
) by the simple expedient of removing the IEC input power connector and physically and electrically connecting two input power cordsets, one to each of the redundant PSUs. However, this modification probably invalidates the machine's UL Listing. Nevertheless, such a modification would implement a true N+1 redundancy configuration.
, in a version called "AIX for Apple Network Servers" with some Apple-specific features, like AppleShare
services, added; two revisions, 4.1.4 and 4.1.5, exist. Apple's own Unix
variant A/UX
had already been discontinued and does not support the PowerPC. Due to their AIX OS and hardware similarities, the Network Servers are mostly binary compatible with the RS/6000 series. However, applications which rely on early RS/6000's POWER2 processor and Micro Channel bus are incompatible with the ANS's PowerPC CPU and PCI bus.
During the development of the product, Apple tested alpha versions of Novell
NetWare for PowerPC
. Around the same time the hardware changed, the NetWare project ceased to be updated and later was abandoned. Apple also tested and produced limited numbers of ROM SIMMs which supported Windows NT for PowerPC on the Network Server 500 and 700.
As an alternative to AIX it is possible, though complicated, to install PowerPC Linux
or NetBSD
on the ANS. It is possible, with prototype Macintosh ROMs to boot an Apple Network Server 500 or 700 into Mac OS 7.5 or later, however Ethernet support was not complete. No reliable sources for the procedure or requirements exist. Not only is the Ethernet different, but the display interface is as well. Using an Apple-branded, but DEC "Tulip" Ethernet card and a display card from a 9500 goes a long way towards achieving MacOS capability but even this is not assured. Yellowdog Linux 2.x or 3.x is more assured, and NetBSD 1.5.x might be even better. Major issues remain, such as the dual "Bandit" bus controllers, the proprietary floppy format, and possibly the CD-ROM. UW-SCSI hard disks are seldom an issue and Apple even released an U-SCSI (but narrow) hard disk installation kit for the ANS even though an ANS is normally only equipped with UW-SCSI disks.
electronics swap meets, perhaps most notably at the De Anza College
electronics and ham radio swap meets (held on the second Saturday of every month, March through October, with a few exceptions).
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
-based server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
computers manufactured by Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
from February 1996 to April 1997, when it was discontinued due to very poor sales. It was codenamed "Shiner" and originally consisted of two models, the Network Server 500/132 ("Shiner LE", i.e., "low-end") and the Network Server 700/150 ("Shiner HE", i.e., "high-end"), which got a companion model, the Network Server 700/200 (also "Shiner HE") with a faster CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
in September 1996. They are not a part of the Apple Macintosh line of computers; they were designed to run IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
's AIX operating system
AIX operating system
AIX AIX AIX (Advanced Interactive eXecutive, pronounced "a i ex" is a series of proprietary Unix operating systems developed and sold by IBM for several of its computer platforms...
and their ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
specifically prevented booting Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
. This makes them the last non-Macintosh desktop computers made by Apple to date. The 500/132, 700/150, and 700/200 sold for US$11,000, US$15,000 and US$19,000, respectively.
Apple Network Servers are not to be confused with the Apple Workgroup Server
Apple Workgroup Server
Apple Workgroup Server and, later, Macintosh Server, were the names given to selected models of Macintosh computers which were sold by Apple Computer with additional server software and sometimes bigger hard drives. Apart from that, they were mostly identical to computers out of Apple's...
s and the Macintosh Servers, which were Macintosh workstations that shipped with server software and used Mac OS; the sole exception, the Workgroup Server 95—a Quadra 950 with an added SCSI controller that shipped with A/UX
A/UX
A/UX was Apple Computer’s implementation of the Unix operating system for some of their Macintosh computers. The later versions of A/UX ran on the Macintosh II, Quadra and Centris series of machines as well as the SE/30. A/UX was first released in 1988, with the final version released in 1995...
—was still able to run Mac OS. Apple did not have comparable server hardware in their product lineup again until the introduction of the Xserve
Xserve
Xserve was a line of rack unit computers designed by Apple Inc. for use as servers. When the Xserve was introduced in 2002, it was Apple's first designated server hardware design since the Apple Network Server in 1996...
in 2002.
Hardware
The Apple Network Server's hardware was supposed to be based on a new motherboard design specific to the product. During the development of the hardware, Apple abandoned the original motherboard design for unconfirmed reasons. In order to move forward and ship the product, Apple made modifications to the Power Macintosh 9500Power Macintosh 9500
The Power Macintosh 9500 was a high-end Macintosh personal computer which was designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from May 1995 until early 1997. It was powered by a PowerPC 604 processor, a second-generation PowerPC chip which was faster than the earlier PowerPC 601 chip...
logic board and ROM (locking out all Mac OS calls) and ported AIX to the new hardware. Whether related to the hardware change or by coincidence, Apple also abandoned its NetWare on PowerPC development (codename: Wormhole) at this time. The general motherboard layout seems to suggest a close relationship with PowerPC-based RS/6000
RS/6000
RISC System/6000, or RS/6000 for short, is a family of RISC and UNIX based servers, workstations and supercomputers made by IBM in the 1990s. The RS/6000 family replaced the IBM RT computer platform in February 1990 and was the first computer line to see the use of IBM's POWER and PowerPC based...
systems by IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, which also were designed to run AIX. On the other hand, many motherboard components, especially the Open Firmware
Open Firmware
Open Firmware, or OpenBoot in Sun Microsystems parlance, is a standard defining the interfaces of a computer firmware system, formerly endorsed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers . It originated at Sun, and has been used by Sun, Apple, IBM, and most other non-x86 PCI chipset...
boot ROM, are similar to the "Tsunami" board used in the Power Macintosh 9500
Power Macintosh 9500
The Power Macintosh 9500 was a high-end Macintosh personal computer which was designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from May 1995 until early 1997. It was powered by a PowerPC 604 processor, a second-generation PowerPC chip which was faster than the earlier PowerPC 601 chip...
and some Macintosh clones.
SIMM
A SIMM, or single in-line memory module, is a type of memory module containing random access memory used in computers from the early 1980s to the late 1990s. It differs from a dual in-line memory module , the most predominant form of memory module today, in that the contacts on a SIMM are redundant...
, with a standard size of 512 KB for the 500 and 1 MB for the 700s. The system bus speed is 44 MHz for the 500, and 50 MHz for the 700s. The ANS motherboard has eight 168-pin DIMM
DIMM
A DIMM or dual in-line memory module, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal computers, workstations and servers...
parity RAM slots with six of them free (with a maximum amount of 512 MB of RAM specified, even though up to 1 GB is reported to work ). The ANS 500/132 shipped with 32 MB of RAM installed (4 x 8 MB 60 ns parity DIMMs manufactured by IBM) and the ANS 700/150 and the ANS 700/200 shipped with 48 MB (2 x 16 MB 60 ns + 2 x 8 MB parity DIMMs also manufactured by IBM). For all practical purposes, the maximum RAM configuration is 4 x 128 MB parity DIMMs (512 MB, total) or 8 x 64 MB parity DIMMs (also 512 MB total). The machine will not POST (i.e., will not pass the Power-On System Test) if more than 512 MB is installed. This is an absolute restriction built into the machine's ROM-DIMM. If even one RAM DIMM is non-parity, then parity checking is turned-off for all RAM, in which case 70 ns RAM DIMMs are acceptable. FPM or EDO RAM DIMMs are acceptable, in any order, as the machine treats EDO RAM DIMMs as FPM RAM DIMMs.
All Network Servers feature an internal two-channel Wide SCSI
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
-2 controller, an external 25-pin SCSI-1 connector and a standard 1.44 MB "SuperDrive" floppy. Six free PCI
Peripheral Component Interconnect
Conventional PCI is a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer...
slots are available for expansion - parts supported under AIX include two Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
cards and a SCSI RAID
RAID
RAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disk drive components into a logical unit...
card. Other ports include one ADB
Apple Desktop Bus
Apple Desktop Bus is an obsolete bit-serial computer bus connecting low-speed devices to computers. Used primarily on the Macintosh platform, ADB equipment is still available but not supported by most Apple hardware manufactured since 1999....
port, two serial ports and one AAUI
Apple Attachment Unit Interface
Apple Attachment Unit Interface is a mechanical re-design by Apple of the standard Attachment Unit Interface used to connect Ethernet transceivers to computer equipment...
port. Unlike all other Apple computers of the era, the ANS uses a VGA connector
VGA connector
A Video Graphics Array connector is a three-row 15-pin DE-15 connector. The 15-pin VGA connector is found on many video cards, computer monitors, and some high definition television sets...
for the onboard video; an adapter for Apple displays was included.
A unique aspect of the Apple Network Servers is their case: It is fully lockable, extremely accessible, features a small LCD for diagnostics, and its front has seven device slots, with a CD-ROM and one hard drive mounted in them in the standard configuration. Additional hot-swappable SCSI
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
hard drive modules or a DAT tape streamer can be added to the free slots. Optionally, the ANS 700 also supports redundant and hot-swappable power supply units and an internal drive rack for two further fixed hard drives. The case is large and heavy, at a height of 61.5 cm, a width of 41.5 cm, a depth of 45 cm and a weight of more than 40 kg. That means it is about the right width for a 19" rack, but needs at least 14 rack unit
Rack unit
A rack unit or U is a unit of measure used to describe the height of equipment intended for mounting in a 19-inch rack or a 23-inch rack...
s in height. A third model in a smaller rackmount case without the large disk array, the Network Server 300 (codenamed "Deep Dish", as in a deep dish pizza), never got past the prototype stage. Also in development but never released were CPU cards featuring two CPUs
Symmetric multiprocessing
In computing, symmetric multiprocessing involves a multiprocessor computer hardware architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single shared main memory and are controlled by a single OS instance. Most common multiprocessor systems today use an SMP architecture...
. Power Macintosh 9500 CPU cards, which were available with dual processors, were not compatible with the ANS. A reason for this is Power Macintosh processors are Apple Mac-format processors (7000, 8000 and 9000 series format), whereas ANS processors are IBM-format processors (RS/6000 format).
An ANS 500/132 may be upgraded to an ANS 500/200 simply by installing the 200 MHz processor accessory card. It is possible to upgrade an ANS 500 to an ANS 700 or to downgrade an ANS 700 to an ANS 500 simply by exchanging the power backpanel and PSU(s), but it is necessary to completely disassemble the base of the ANS in order to accomplish such an upgrade/downgrade. Alas, an ANS 700 has but one input power connection, even though it has dual, independent PSUs. However, an ANS 700 may be easily converted into a dual primary power configuration (independent primary power, possibly, and desirably, from different power panels, one possibly backed-up by an Uninterruptible Power Supply
Uninterruptible power supply
An uninterruptible power supply, also uninterruptible power source, UPS or battery/flywheel backup, is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source, typically mains power, fails...
) by the simple expedient of removing the IEC input power connector and physically and electrically connecting two input power cordsets, one to each of the redundant PSUs. However, this modification probably invalidates the machine's UL Listing. Nevertheless, such a modification would implement a true N+1 redundancy configuration.
Software
The Network Servers were sold exclusively with the AIX operating systemAIX operating system
AIX AIX AIX (Advanced Interactive eXecutive, pronounced "a i ex" is a series of proprietary Unix operating systems developed and sold by IBM for several of its computer platforms...
, in a version called "AIX for Apple Network Servers" with some Apple-specific features, like AppleShare
AppleShare
AppleShare was a product from Apple Computer which implemented various network services. Its main purpose was acting as a file server, using the AFP protocol...
services, added; two revisions, 4.1.4 and 4.1.5, exist. Apple's own Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
variant A/UX
A/UX
A/UX was Apple Computer’s implementation of the Unix operating system for some of their Macintosh computers. The later versions of A/UX ran on the Macintosh II, Quadra and Centris series of machines as well as the SE/30. A/UX was first released in 1988, with the final version released in 1995...
had already been discontinued and does not support the PowerPC. Due to their AIX OS and hardware similarities, the Network Servers are mostly binary compatible with the RS/6000 series. However, applications which rely on early RS/6000's POWER2 processor and Micro Channel bus are incompatible with the ANS's PowerPC CPU and PCI bus.
During the development of the product, Apple tested alpha versions of Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
NetWare for PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
. Around the same time the hardware changed, the NetWare project ceased to be updated and later was abandoned. Apple also tested and produced limited numbers of ROM SIMMs which supported Windows NT for PowerPC on the Network Server 500 and 700.
As an alternative to AIX it is possible, though complicated, to install PowerPC Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
or NetBSD
NetBSD
NetBSD is a freely available open source version of the Berkeley Software Distribution Unix operating system. It was the second open source BSD descendant to be formally released, after 386BSD, and continues to be actively developed. The NetBSD project is primarily focused on high quality design,...
on the ANS. It is possible, with prototype Macintosh ROMs to boot an Apple Network Server 500 or 700 into Mac OS 7.5 or later, however Ethernet support was not complete. No reliable sources for the procedure or requirements exist. Not only is the Ethernet different, but the display interface is as well. Using an Apple-branded, but DEC "Tulip" Ethernet card and a display card from a 9500 goes a long way towards achieving MacOS capability but even this is not assured. Yellowdog Linux 2.x or 3.x is more assured, and NetBSD 1.5.x might be even better. Major issues remain, such as the dual "Bandit" bus controllers, the proprietary floppy format, and possibly the CD-ROM. UW-SCSI hard disks are seldom an issue and Apple even released an U-SCSI (but narrow) hard disk installation kit for the ANS even though an ANS is normally only equipped with UW-SCSI disks.
Status
As of 2005, most ANSes had been removed from service and most had been returned to Apple or sold on the secondary market, either factory remanufactured or as-is, or sent to a recycler and crushed. It was once not uncommon for a well-featured ANS to barely recover the US$0.99 minimum bid on eBay. Shipping of an ANS is expensive, about US$100 from a US-to-US location, if "Gaylorded". Few, if any, replacement parts are available, particularly not the mechanical components. If and when available, these components sometimes appear at Silicon ValleySilicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
electronics swap meets, perhaps most notably at the De Anza College
De Anza College
De Anza College is a community college located in Cupertino, California. It was founded in 1967 on the site of the Beaulieu Winery and is named after the Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza...
electronics and ham radio swap meets (held on the second Saturday of every month, March through October, with a few exceptions).