Apple xserve early 2009 User Manual

							Xserve (Early 2009) Basics — Overview 11 2010-06-28
Serial Number Location
The serial number is located at the rear of the unit: on the ID Tab.  
						

							Xserve (Early 2009) Basics — Overview 12 2010-06-28
Hot-Pluggable SATA or SAS Drives 
The server includes three hard drive bays at the front of the Xserve. All bays support Apple 
qualified hot-pluggable Apple Serial ATA (SATA) or Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) drive modules. 
Xserve drive bays support qualified Apple Drive Modules with Apple qualified hard drives 
and firmware only. Drive bays not configured with an Apple Drive Module ship with a non-
functional blank drive carrier which do not support third-party hard drive installation.
Drive bays are numbered 1-3, beginning with the far left bay. The drive installed in bay 1 is the 
boot drive and should have the operating system installed on it. Xserve’s configured with a 
Solid-State Drive (SSD) will contain the Mac OS X Server operating system and function as the 
boot drive.
You can replace or install hard drives while the Xserve is running; you do not need to 
shutdown or open the Xserve first, but you may need to dismount the drive from the Xserve 
OS beforehand. A status light on the front of each drive indicates when it is safe to remove the 
drive without losing data. For more information, see “Apple Drive Module” in the Take Apart 
chapter.
Solid-State Drive
The server may include an optional Solid-State Drive. The drive contains the Mac OS X Server 
operating system as the boot drive for the Xserve.  
						

							Xserve (Early 2009) Basics — Overview 13 2010-06-28
Power Supply Redundancy
The Xserve (Early 2009) supports up to two power supply modules for redundancy. There are 
two power supply bays in the rear of the enclosure. You can replace or install a power supply 
from the back panel without removing the Xserve from the rack. If the Xserve has two power 
supplies, they are hot-swappable; the Xserve will continue to operate using only one supply 
while the second is removed. For more information about removing or installing power supply 
modules, see “Power Supply” in the Take Apart chapter.
How to Identify Single- and Dual-Processor Configurations
To identify the configuration of an Xserve (Early 2009) computer, check the code on the 
computer’s ID Tab, which is located on the computer’s back panel. See “Serial Number 
Location.”
There are three options for identifying single and dual processor configurations:
• Quad-Core Xserve (Early 2009): Single processor logic board with 6DIMM slots, and one 
large heat sink
• 8-Core Xserve (Early 2009): Dual processor logic board with 12 DIMM slots, and two large 
heat sinks:
• Quad-Core Xserve (Early 2009): Single processor logic board, 12 DIMM slots and one large 
heat sink. This option is present only when a single-processor logic board has previously 
been replaced via the Xserve service parts kit.  
						

							© 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.
 Apple Technician Guide 
Troubleshooting
Xserve (Early 2009)   
						

							Xserve (Early 2009) General Troubleshooting — Update System Software 15 2010-06-28
General Troubleshooting
Update System Software
Important: Whenever possible before beginning troubleshooting, ensure the latest software 
and firmware updates have been applied.
Troubleshooting Theory
For general information on troubleshooting theory, refer to:
http://service.info.apple.com/service_training/en/006/troubleshoot/index.php?page=intro
Emerging Issues
For the latest on troubleshooting issues, refer to:
http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=search&q=khot%20Xserve%20Emerging%20
Issue
Hardware vs. Software
For information on how to isolate a hardware issue from a software issue, refer to:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1388
TS1394—Mac OS X: Troubleshooting installation and software updates 
HT2956—Troubleshooting Mac OS X installation from CD or DVD 
For information on how to troubleshoot a software issue, refer to:
HT1199—Mac OS X: How to troubleshoot a software issue 
HT1219—Xserve, Xserve RAID: Apple Drive Module (ADM) compatibility   
						

							Xserve (Early 2009) General Troubleshooting — Xserve Firmware Updates 16 2010-06-28
Xserve Firmware Updates
Firmware is the name given to software that is written into memory circuits, such as flash 
memory, that will hold the software code indefinitely, even when power is removed from the 
hardware. Firmware on Intel Mac computers is designed to be updated if necessary through a 
software update.
EFI and SMC firmware is stored on the Xserve (Early 2009) backplane board. EFI firmware 
updates update the Boot ROM, and SMC updates update the System Management Controller 
firmware. The SMC manages fans and other environmental parameters that are independent of 
the Boot ROM.
Firmware symptoms can be easily mistaken for hardware issues (e.g., overheating issues, fan 
noise issues, etc.). Always check both EFI and SMC firmware versions and update if necessary 
before replacing any hardware components.
The following lists describe the type of symptoms that may be resolved by updating the EFI 
and SMC firmware.
Symptoms that may be resolved by updating EFI firmware:
• Cannot eject media (various conditions)
• No video on start up
• Not waking or sleeping when expected
• Bad media taking too long to eject (including holding mouse button down at startup taking 
minutes to eject)
Symptoms that may be resolved by updating SMC firmware:
• Fan related behavior (excessive speed or noise)
• Loud audible clicking from some fans
• Thermal shut down or warnings
• Diagnostics reporting failures
• Sleep/wake issues
• Intermittent shut down
• SMC causes bad/missing ambient sensor to cause the computer to go to sleep
• Hangs, black screen on restart from Windows
Please follow the steps outlined in KnowledgeBase article HT2013, “About Firmware Updates 
for Xserve,” to perform an EFI and/or SMC firmware update. Information about firmware 
versions for Intel Macs can be found in KnowledgeBase article HT1237, “Mac OS X: Firmware 
Updates for Intel-based Macs.”
Memory Configuration
Xserve (Early 2009) comes with a minimum of 3 GB of 1066MHz DDR3 ECC memory, installed as 
three 1 GB unbuffered dual inline memory modules (UDIMMs).   
						

							Xserve (Early 2009) General Troubleshooting — Memory Configuration 17 2010-06-28
DIMMs must fit these specifications:
• PC3-8500,1066 MHz, DDR3 SDRAM UDIMMs
• 72-bit wide, 240-pin modules
• 36 memory ICs maximum per UDIMM
• Error-correcting code (ECC)
For proper operation of Xserve (Early 2009) computers, Apple recommends using only Apple-
approved DIMMs. Refer to GSX for Apple DIMM service part numbers. Memory from older 
Xserve computers is not compatible with Xserve (Early 2009). 
Single Processor
Single-processor (quad-core) computers have six memory slots. You can install 1 GB, 2 GB or 
4GB DIMMs for a total of up to 24 GB of memory. 
You can install different size DIMMs in Xserve (Early 2009). However, for best performance, 
Apple recommends you install equal-size DIMMs (all 1, 2 or 4GB) filling the slots in the order 
listed in this table.
If you haveFill these slots
Three DIMMsA1, A2, and A3
Four DIMMsA1, A2, A3, and A4
Five DIMMsA1, A2, A3, A4, and A5
Six DIMMsA1, A2, A3, A4, A5, and A6
See also “Memory Slot Utility” below.  
						

							Xserve (Early 2009) General Troubleshooting — Memory Configuration 18 2010-06-28
Dual Processor
Dual-processor (eight-core) computers have twelve memory slots. You can install 1 GB, 2 GB, or  
4 GB DIMMs for a total of up to 48 GB of memory. 
You can install different size DIMMs. in Xserve (Early 2009) However, for best performance, Apple 
recommends you install equal-size DIMMs (all 1, 2, or 4 GB) filling the slots in the order listed in 
this table.
If you haveFill in these slots
Three DIMMsA1, A2, and A3
Four DIMMsA1, A2, and B1, B2
Five DIMMsA1, A2, A3 and B1, B2
Six DIMMsA1, A2, A3 and B1, B2, B3
Seven DIMMsA1, A2, A3, A4 and B1, B2, B3
Eight DIMMsA1, A2, A3, A4 and B1, B2, B3, B4
Nine DIMMsA1, A2, A3, A4, A5 and B1, B2, B3, B4
Ten DIMMsA1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6 and B1, B2, B3, B4
Eleven DIMMsA1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6 and B1, B2, B3, B4, B5
Twelve DIMMsA1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6 and B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6
See also “Memory Slot Utility” below.  
						

							Xserve (Early 2009) General Troubleshooting — Memory Configuration 19 2010-06-28
Memory Slot Utility
If you install different size DIMMs in single-processor or dual-processor computers, follow the 
order in the tables above. If the DIMM configuration you install doesn’t provide optimized 
performance, the Memory Slot Utility will appear on screen and recommend an improved 
configuration. To use the Memory Slot Utility again, go to /System/Library/Core Services.
Example of Memory Slot Utility Screen for Single-Processor Computer  
						

							Xserve (Early 2009) General Troubleshooting — Memory Configuration 20 2010-06-28
Example of Memory Slot Utility Screen for Dual-Processor Computer