Apple Officially Confirms Plans to Drop Xserve Development

Via BGR comes word that Apple is preparing to “transition away from Xserve”, according to the company’s PDF Xserve Transitioning Guide which specifically states that “Apple will not be developing a future version of Xserve.” In short, the Xserve is getting discontinued.

“Xserve will no longer be available after January 31, but we’ll continue to fully support it,” Apple states on the web page dedicated to its expensive 1U rackmount line of server computers, BGR recently found.

“To learn more, view the PDF,” the company adds. Softpedia readers can download the file here.

According to the PDF, “Xserve will be available for order through January 31, 2011. After that date, customers looking to upgrade, replace, or supplement existing Xserve systems with new Apple hardware have the following two server solutions to choose from,” Apple notes.

Apple will continue to provide warranty service and complimentary technical support during the gradual transition from Xserve.

For those who don’t want to bother with the details, the PDF also lists a few key points which pretty much speak for themselves:

• Apple will not be developing a future version of Xserve
• Orders for Xserve will be accepted through January 31, 2011
• Apple will honor all Xserve warranties and extended support programs
• Transition options to deploy Mac OS X Server include Mac Pro with Snow Leopard Server and Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server

The reasons for this move are simple. As Apple itself admits, a costly Xserve can easily be replaced by a Mac Pro with Snow Leopard Server installed, or even the company’s low-end Mac Mini with Snow Leopard server.

“A single Mac mini can also be deployed as a single-task server for a larger number of users in a business or education environment,” Apple explains.

The Mac maker believes that “a single Xserve could be replaced with one or multiple Mac mini server systems,” depending on the workload and number of users.