Red rocket & Xserve

[Nigel Thompson]

Hey Guys:

Wanted to know if any Red Rocket users have successfully placed the card inside an apple Xserve along with a fibre channel card or any other card for that matter. Will another card fit at all ? Is there enough room after the rocket is installed. Or can you even intalll a rocket in a xserve at all.

Im looking to use a xserve to render out prores files but if i can get a rocket in it that would be fantastic. Then id be able to use the xserve for finishing (I think).....

 

[James Press]

Hi Nige,

I haven't, but interesting idea. We had thought to use an xServe to speed up rendering, until we bought RED Rocket™™ (and installed it in our early 2008 Mac Pro 8 core), and no longer needed to worry about speeding up renders! I don't like to be presumptuous, but I assume you've got a reason for not just installing RED Rocket™ in a mac pro? ANy old mac pro will do, even if you don't want to edit on it and just use it as a render machine. Realtime, 4k debayer has changed our lives...and we've still got a (sort of) spare xserve here, but for time being it doesn't matter. Red rocket is sooooo good.

I'll be interested to see what others offer here...

 

[Nigel Thompson]

Hey James:

Well We started doin alot of RED work as of early this year, and i know for sure the ROCKET will be a fantastic plus, no bones about it, so i AM going to get one no matter what. Im in the process of rebuilding my studio from the ground up and im weighing out my options.

I know for sure for sure our first mac pro (we are going to have 2 edit suites) will have an AJA Kona card in it as we do alot of DVCPRO HD work as well. but i AM goin to get myself an xserve as a render machine because we do alot of compositing. So if i can switch to the REDCINE X + ROCKET to do 1st light on my rushes, spit out prores HQs to the SAN, so our GFX ppl can play with them. Id be happy.

And hopefully in the future ROCKET will be able to work with Color so i wont have to think this hard LOL. And it be able to finish with the R3D files directly in Color in realtime, just by switching my monitors to control the xserve which will not be in the room.

Sweet

 

[michael beck]

Does the RED Rocket™ require extra power, like most video cards?
If so, you are going to have a hard time with the Xserve. I am having issues putting a video card in mine.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

RED Rocket does not require extra power.

I'm anxious to see what the mobile solutions for the RED Rocket will offer and and what price. I'm seriously tempted to go the XServe route as it will give me the CPU power of a Mac Pro in a 1U space. The integrated GT120 video is usable I think and that leaves one X16 slot for a Kona LHi or a SAS/SATA controller, or other potential options...

OTOH, the battery-powered mobile Rocket solution is really intriguing. Combined with a 17" Mac Pro, that should scream. Honestly, the battery option isn't that intriguing unless I'm just looking for mobile, on-location playback. For any real work or transcoding, I'll still need a decent RAID or storage system and power that from batteries starts to get pretty bulky.

 

[Nigel Thompson]

Michael:

What issues are you getting? is it not being recognised at all ? whats the problem.

Jeff :

i Plan on putting the Rocket in the longer slot and the other slot will be for an ATTO FC card to connect to a SAN. But i really find it strange no one has done this yet. Maybe its not compatible or some thing.

This is the first time i've heard about the mobile ROCKET solution ... tell me more or is there any info on the NET

 

[James Press]

This is the first time i've heard about the mobile ROCKET solution ... tell me more or is there any info on the NET

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=30337&page=107 and so on. Peter Majtan is your man. :thumbsup:

 

[Nigel Thompson]

WTF !!!!!!!!!!! LOLOLOLOL
hmmmmm, ok the guys at RED are officially crazy .......... Just like me LOL

WOW, now hey have me thinking. One at a time lets get the xserve solution working first LOL

 

[Albert C Martin]

Any official word on whether or not the Red Rocket will indeed work in an Xserve? Looking at possibly going this route as space is at a premium and it would be much more efficient to go with a rack-mountable solution vs a Mac Pro tower.

 

[Greg M]

It will fit w/ some minor modifications to the back of Xserve, we installed it months ago when they first starting shipping...but had issues with speed. Those were likely software issues as it was the first version. I havent tried it since.

 

[Albert C Martin]

It will fit w/ some minor modifications to the back of Xserve, we installed it months ago when they first starting shipping...but had issues with speed. Those were likely software issues as it was the first version. I havent tried it since.

Re: "minor modifications", are these Applecare-voiding modifications? As for the issues with speed I'm curious cause even installed in a Mac Pro tower with the latest firmware and software and running off a RAID, I have trouble getting "real time" 4K.

In any case it seems a call to RED would be worthwhile. I'll see what I can find out come Monday.

 

[Deanan]

Re: "minor modifications", are these Applecare-voiding modifications? As for the issues with speed I'm curious cause even installed in a Mac Pro tower with the latest firmware and software and running off a RAID, I have trouble getting "real time" 4K.

In any case it seems a call to RED would be worthwhile. I'll see what I can find out come Monday.

Are you generating dpxes or playing out dvi?
Which macpro tower?

 

[postamt]

Rocket in XServe

Rocket in XServe

Hi,

does anyone got news if a rocket fits into an xserve? if so any problems?
the rocket is for rendering purposes only. not for dvi outout.

 

[Ian Laurie]

Any Word? just curios because i am sick of dragging my beautiful mac pro around only to have it get abused in the back of a camera truck. Rack mounted solution would be WAY better. I don't see why it wouldn't work, but i would like to be certain.