- Sanyo Pro 200
- Powerkey Pro 200 Manual Mac Os
- Powerkey Pro 200 Manual Mac Pro
- Powerkey Pro 200 Manual Machines
- The Powerkey Pro 2400 operates using the CANopen protocol. When you press a switch, the device reports this change of state over the two-wire CAN network in the vehicle and any device on the bus can receive this CAN message and act on it. Additionally, the Powerkey Pro 2400 features LED indicator rings that can be set to amber.
- Remap your Macbook's power key. Use PowerKey to remap your Macbook Pro or Macbook Air's power key to a useful function. Forward Delete ⌦ is the most popular replacement. Your computer will still shut down if you hold the power key. Choose from one of the following power key replacements.
Apple Mac Pro 'Quad Core' 2.66 (2009/Nehalem) Specs
PowerKey 1.2 for Mac is free to download from our software library. Pkamb-powerkey-v1.2-0-g7c09116.zip is the frequent file name to indicate this app's installer. The current setup file available for download occupies 1.2 MB on disk. Our built-in antivirus scanned this Mac download and rated it as virus free.
Identifiers: Early 2009 - MB871LL/A - MacPro4,1 - A1289 - 2314
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The Mac Pro 'Quad Core' 2.66 (Early 2009/Nehalem) is powered by one 2.66 GHz Quad Core 45-nm Xeon W3520 (Nehalem) processor with a dedicated 256k of level 2 cache for each core and 8 MB of 'fully shared' level 3 cache.
By default, it was configured with 3 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM, a 640 GB (7200 RPM, 16 MB cache) 3Gb/s Serial ATA hard drive, an 18X dual-layer 'SuperDrive' and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512 MB of GDDR3 memory.
Expansion includes two external 5.25' 'optical' bays (one free by default), four internal 3.5' 'cable-free, direct attach' hard drive bays (three free by default), and four PCIe 2.0 slots (one free PCIe 2.0 x16 slot and two free PCIe 2.0 x4 slots with the default single graphics card installed).
Ports include five USB 2.0 ports, four Firewire '800' ports, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and both a Mini DisplayPort and a dual-link DVI port, among others. Bluetooth 2.1+EDR is standard, AirPort Extreme (802.11g/n) is optional.
Although the 'Early 2009/Nehalem' models look practically the same externally as the 'Early 2008' models, there are major technical differences. The 64-bit 'Nehalem' architecture is substantially faster and supports 'Hyper-Threading' -- which 'allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core' (so MacOS X recognizes eight 'virtual cores' on this model) -- and 'Turbo Boost' -- which 'automatically boosts the processor speed based on workload' (so if an application is only using one of the four cores it will automatically increase the speed of the core in use and turn off the unused cores).
It also replaces the frontside bus with a new 'QuickPath Interconnect' (QPI) system described as a 'bidrectional, point-to-point connection' that provides 'quick access to the disk, I/O, and other Mac Pro subsystems'.
Other changes include four PCIe 2.0 slots (instead of two PCIe and two PCIe 2.0 slots), four Firewire '800' ports (instead of two Firewire '400' and '800' ports), and a redesigned interior case with the processors and memory on a removable 'tray'.
Also see:
- What are the differences between the 'Early 2009/Nehalem' Mac Pro models?
- What are the differences between the 'Early 2009/Nehalem' Mac Pro models and the 'Early 2008' Mac Pro models that they replaced?
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- Tech Specs
- Ports
- Global Original Prices
- Popular Q&As
Click on a category for related details. The most commonly needed info is 'open' by default, but all info is important. Asterisks (*) reference data in details fields.
| Introduction Date: | March 3, 2009 | Discontinued Date: | July 27, 2010* |
| Details: | The 'Introduction Date' refers to the date a model was introduced via press release. The 'Discontinued Date' refers to the date a model either was replaced by a subsequent system or production otherwise ended. *Somewhat unusually, Apple introduced a replacement 'Mid-2010' Mac Pro model on July 27, 2010 but continued to sell this model until August 9, 2010. Also see: All Macs introduced in 2009. |
| Details: | Also see: All models with a 64-Bit processor courtesy of EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Sort. |
| Details: | Geekbench 2 benchmarks are in 32-bit and 64-bit modes, respectively. These numbers reflect an average of user provided 32-bit and 64-bit results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better. You also might be interested in reviewing all 32-bit and 64-bit Geekbench 2 user submissions for Macs with the MacPro4,1 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models. To dynamically compare Geekbench 2 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
| Details: | These Geekbench 3 benchmarks are in 32-bit mode and are for a single processor core and all processor cores, respectively. Both numbers reflect an average of user provided results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better. You also might be interested in reviewing all 32-bit single core and multicore Geekbench 3 user submissions for Macs with the MacPro4,1 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models. To dynamically compare 32-bit Geekbench 3 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
| Details: | These Geekbench 3 benchmarks are in 64-bit mode and are for a single processor core and all processor cores, respectively. Both numbers reflect an average of user provided results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better. You also might be interested in reviewing all 64-bit single core and multicore Geekbench 3 user submissions for Macs with the MacPro4,1 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models. To dynamically compare 64-bit Geekbench 3 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
| Details: | These Geekbench 4 benchmarks are are for a single processor core and all processor cores, respectively. All Geekbench 4 benchmarks are 64-bit. Both numbers reflect an average of user provided results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better. You also might be interested in reviewing all single core and multicore Geekbench 4 user submissions for Macs with the MacPro4,1 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models. To dynamically compare Geekbench 4 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
| Processor Speed: | 2.66 GHz | Processor Type: | Q. Core Xeon W3520 |
| Details: | The 64-bit 45-nm Xeon W3520 (Bloomfield/Nehalem) processor has four independent processor 'cores' each with a dedicated 256k level 2 cache, 8 MB of 'fully shared' level 3 cache, an integrated memory controller, and 'a 128-bit SSE4 SIMD engine'. It also supports 'Hyper-Threading' -- which 'allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core' (so Mac OS X recognizes eight total cores on this model, four real and four virtual) -- and 'Turbo Boost' -- which 'automatically boosts the processor speed based on workload' (so if an application is only using one of the four cores it will automatically increase the speed of the core in use and turn off the unused cores). Also see: How much faster are the 'Early 2009/Nehalem' Mac Pro models than the 'Early 2008' Mac Pro models? |
| Turbo Boost: | 2.93 GHz | Custom Speeds: | 2.93 GHz, 3.33 GHz* |
| Details: | *Via custom configuration, this model originally could be equipped with a single 2.93 GHz Quad Core Xeon W3540 processor for US$500 more. On December 4, 2009, Apple began offering this model with a single 3.33 GHz Quad Core Xeon W3580 processor for US$1200 more and lowered the price of the 2.93 GHz processor upgrade to US$400. As requested by readers, EveryMac.com also has documented these custom configurations as their own models. |
| Details: | Also see: How do you upgrade the processors in the 'Early 2009/Nehalem' Mac Pro models? How are the processors mounted? |
| System Bus Speed: | 4.8 GT/s* | Cache Bus Speed: | 2.66 GHz (Built-in) |
| Details: | *This system replaces the frontside bus with a new 'QuickPath Interconnect' (QPI) system described as a 'bidirectional, point-to-point connection' that provides 'quick access to the disk, I/O, and other Mac Pro subsystems'. Intel reports that it runs at 4.8 GT/s. |
| Details: | N/A |
| Details: | *Each core has its own dedicated 256k level 2 cache and the system has 8 MB of 'fully shared' level 3 cache as well. |
| Details: | Uses '1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM' (PC3-8500) modules. Also see: How do you upgrade the RAM in the 'Early 2009/Nehalem' Mac Pro? How much RAM of what type does it support? |
| Details: | By default, 3 GB of RAM was installed as three 1 GB modules. One slot free. *As originally shipped, Apple officially supported a maximum of 8 GB of RAM but third-parties discovered that the system could actually support 16 GB of RAM using four 4 GB memory modules. On December 4, 2009, Apple 'officially' began supporting 16 GB of RAM as well. Shortly thereafter, third-parties determined that the system could, in fact, support 32 GB of RAM using four 8 GB modules. Finally, third-parties have been able to support 48 GB of RAM with three 16 GB modules. In the US (and many other countries), site sponsor Other World Computing sells memory -- as well as other upgrades -- for this Mac Pro. In the UK, site sponsor Flexx sells memory and other upgrades for this Mac Pro. In Canada, site sponsor CanadaRAM sells RAM and other upgrades for this Mac Pro. In Australia, site sponsor RamCity sells memory and other upgrades for this Mac Pro. Also see: Actual Max RAM of All G3 & Later Macs. |
| Details: | Four memory slots are provided on a 'slide out' processor tray. Note that this model supports triple channel memory addressing and performance is improved by installing memory in groups of three. |
| Details: | By default, a NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512 MB of GDDR3 memory was installed in a double-wide, 16-lane PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot. It has both a Mini DisplayPort and a dual-link DVI port. By custom configuration, this model also was available with as many as four NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics cards (for US$150/each after the first one) or an ATI Radeon HD 4870, also with 512 MB of GDDR5 memory, for an additional US$200. Also see: What are the default graphics cards provided with each Mac Pro? What Mac Pro compatible video cards are available for purchase later? Which video cards have which ports? |
| Details: | Other graphics cards could be pre-installed at the time of purchase or can be installed later. |
Sanyo Pro 200
| Display Support: | Up to 8 Displays* | Resolution Support: | 2560x1600* |
| Details: | *With four video cards installed. By default, one NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 was installed and it can support two 30-inch displays. The default video card is capable of supporting digital resolutions up to 2560x1600 and analog resolutions up to 2048x1536. |
| 2nd Display Support: | Dual/Mirroring | 2nd Max. Resolution: | 2560x1600 |
| Details: | The NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 is capable of supporting two 30-inch displays with a resolution of 2560x1600 in either dual display or mirrored mode. Also see: Apple Cinema Displays. |
| Standard Storage: | 640 GB HDD | Std. Storage Speed: | 7200 RPM |
| Details: | By default, this system shipped with a single 640 GB (7200 RPM, 16 MB cache) Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive. Also see: How do you upgrade the hard drives in the Mac Pro models? How many drives of what type are supported? In the US (and many other countries), site sponsor Other World Computing sells storage upgrades for this Mac Pro. In the UK, site sponsor Flexx sells storage upgrades for this Mac Pro. In Canada, site sponsor CanadaRAM sells SSDs and other upgrades for this Mac Pro. In Australia, site sponsor RamCity sells storage upgrades for this Mac Pro. In Southeast Asia, site sponsor SimplyMac.sg sells storage upgrades for this Mac Pro. Also see: SSD Compatibility Guide for All G3 & Later Macs. |
| Storage Dimensions: | 3.5' (25.4 mm) | Storage Interface: | Serial ATA (3 Gb/s) |
| Details: | Apple formally supports up to 8 TB of storage with four 3.5' 2 TB hard drives (one in each internal bay. Also see: How do you upgrade the hard drives in the Mac Pro to SSDs? What SSD options are available? Which SSD configuration provides the fastest performance? |
| Standard Optical: | 18X DL 'SuperDrive' | Standard Disk: | None |
| Details: | Apple reports that this SATA '18X' double layer DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive 'writes DVD+R and DVD-R discs at up to 18x speed, DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL discs at up to 8x speed, DVD+RW discs at up to 8x speed, DVD-RW discs at up to 6x speed, reads DVDs at up to 18x speed writes CD-R and CD-RW discs at up to 32x speed, [and] reads CDs at up to 32x speed.' Also see: What options are available for the second 'optical drive bay' on the Mac Pro? How do you install a second optical drive or replace the primary one? |
| Details: | External Apple USB Modem offered for US$49. The system has 'two independent 10/100/1000BASE-T [Gigabit] Ethernet (RJ-45) interfaces with support for jumbo frames.' |
| Standard AirPort: | 802.11a/b/g/n (Opt) | Standard Bluetooth: | 2.1+EDR |
| Details: | Bluetooth 2.1+EDR is standard. AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g) can be installed at additional cost. |
| Details: | This Mac Pro model has five USB 2.0 ports on the system (two on the front panel and three on the back) and four Firewire '800' ports (two on the front and two on the back). Apple also advertises that there are 'two USB 2.0 ports on [the] included keyboard'. |
| Expansion Slots: | 4 PCIe 2.0, AP* | Expansion Bays: | 4 3.5', 2 5.25' |
| Details: | *This model has four full-length PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0 expansion slots, two x16 slots and two x4 slots. In the default configuration, one PCIe 2.0 x16 slot is occupied by the graphics card. Apple also reports that 'all slots provide mechanical support for 16-lane cards' and there is a '300W combined maximum for all PCI Express slots.' AirPort Extreme (802.11g/n) additionally could be installed at extra cost. In the default configuration, one internal 3.5' bay is occupied by a hard drive and three are free, and one external 5.25' bay is occupied by a 'SuperDrive' and the other is free. Also see: How many PCI slots of what type are provided by each Mac Pro model? How do you install a PCIe card in the Mac Pro? In the US (and many other countries), site sponsor Other World Computing sells a wide variety of internal and external expansion options and hand-picked accessories ranging from internal PCIe cards to external storage, stands, keyboards, cables, adapters, and more for this Mac Pro. In Australia, site sponsor Macfixit offers an extensive selection of external expansion options and accessories like docks, stands, chargers, keyboards, and security products (as well as some PCIe cards) for this Mac Pro. |
| Incl. Keyboard: | Apple Aluminum KB | Incl. Input: | Mighty Mouse |
| Details: | Shipped with an 'ultra-thin aluminum' Apple Keyboard with an embedded numeric keypad (0.33 inches at the front edge) based on the polarizing keyboard design introduced with the MacBook. Also see: How does the 'ultra thin' aluminum keyboard compare to a more traditional desktop keyboard? How does it feel? |
| Details: |
| Apple Order No: | MB871LL/A | Apple Subfamily: | Early 2009 |
| Details: | The Apple order number should be unique to this system. |
| Details: | Please note that these identifiers refer to more than one model. Also see: All Macs with the A1289 Model Number, the 2314 EMC Number, and the MacPro4,1 Model Identifier. For more about these identifiers and how to locate them on each Mac, please refer to EveryMac.com's Mac Identification section. |
| Details: | N/A |
| Pre-Installed MacOS: | X 10.5.6 (9G3553) | Maximum MacOS: | X 10.11.x* |
| Details: | *This system fully supports the last version of OS X 10.8 'Mountain Lion' and OS X 10.9 'Mavericks' with the exception of the 'AirPlay Mirroring' and 'Power Nap' features (AirDrop is supported, but only if an AirPort Extreme card is installed). It is compatible with the last version of OS X 10.10 'Yosemite' and OS X 10.11 'El Capitan' as well, and supports Mac-to-Mac AirDrop (again, if the AirPort Extreme card is installed), but other major features are not supported. It is not capable of running macOS Sierra (10.12) or subsequent versions of the macOS at all. Please note that OS X 'Lion' 10.7 and subsequent versions of OS X are not capable of running Mac OS X apps originally written for the PowerPC processor as these operating systems do not support the 'Rosetta' environment. To run PowerPC applications on this Mac, it will be necessary to use Mac OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard' or earlier. Also see: Which Macs are compatible with OS X El Capitan (10.11)? What are the system requirements? Which Macs support which features? |
| Minimum Windows: | XP SP2 (32-Bit)* | Maximum Windows: | 8.1 (64-Bit)* |
| Details: | *Apple's Boot Camp 4 supports the 32-bit version of Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, as well as the 64-bit version of Windows Vista on this model. Apple's Boot Camp 5 supports the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8. Although Apple does not support Windows 10 via Boot Camp 5 (officially or otherwise), this system meets Microsoft's hardware requirements and it very well may be possible to boot Windows 10 on this Mac. If you have installed Windows 10 on this system (successfully or unsuccessfully), please share the results of your experiment. Thank you. |
| MacOS 9 Support: | None | Windows Support: | Boot/Virtualization |
| Details: | Also see: Are there any third-party programs to run Mac OS 9/Classic applications on Intel Macs? Site sponsor OHS specializes in heavily upgraded Macs capable of running both Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 applications. For more on running Windows on Intel Macs, please refer to the exhaustive Windows on Mac Q&A. |
| Dimensions: | 20.1 x 8.1 x 18.7 | Avg. Weight: | 39.9 lbs. (18.1 kg) |
| Details: | In inches - height by width by depth, (51.1 cm, 20.6 cm, 47.5 cm). |
| Original Price (US): | US$2499 | Est. Current Retail: | US$450-US$900 |
| Details: | Please note that on average the estimated current retail pricing of used systems is updated twice a year (please refer to the date on the bottom of the page for the date last updated). Photo Credit: Apple Computer. |
Click on a category for additional details. The most commonly needed info is 'open' by default, but all info is important. The icons correspond with the icons for each port on the computer.
| Details: | One Mini DisplayPort and one dual-link DVI port provided by the default NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics card. Supports dual display and mirroring modes. Can support as many as eight displays with four graphics cards installed. Also see: What graphics cards are available for the Mac Pro? Which models have which ports? |
| Details: | *Supports internal Serial Attached SCSI, external SCSI support can be added with an aftermarket PCIe card. |
| Details: | N/A |
| Details: | This Mac Pro model has five USB 2.0 ports on the system (two on the front panel and three on the back) and four Firewire '800' ports (two on the front and two on the back). Apple also advertises that there are 'two USB 2.0 ports on [the] included keyboard'. |
| Details: | No internal modem. External Apple USB modem offered for US$49. Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR are standard, AirPort Extreme (802.11g/n) and a modem are optional. |
| Details: | N/A |
| Details: | Includes a rear mounted 'optical digital audio input Toslink port' and an 'analog stereo line-level input' minijack. |
| Details: | Includes a rear mounted 'optical digital audio output Toslink port' and an 'analog stereo line-level output' minijack. Also has a front-mounted headphone jack. |
| Details: | N/A |
| Details: | Apple reports that the line voltage is '100-120V AC or 200-240V AC (wide-range power supply input voltage)' and the maximum current is '12A (low-voltage range) or 6A (high-voltage range)'. |
Global original prices for the Mac Pro 'Quad Core' 2.66 (2009/Nehalem) in 34 different countries and territories follow; organized alphabetically by region.
For global original prices for Intel Macs in one particular country on a single page, please refer to EveryMac.com's Global Original Prices section.
Original Prices - North & South America
| Mexico: | N/A | United States: | US$2499 |
Original Prices - Europe
| Denmark: | N/A | Finland: | €2299 |
| Ireland: | €2299 | Italy: | €2299 |
| Norway: | N/A | Portugal: | €2299 |
| Switzerland: | CHF 3'099 | United Kingdom: | £1899 |
Original Prices - Asia
| India: | Rs 153,100 | Indonesia: | N/A |
| Malaysia: | N/A | The Philippines: | N/A |
| Thailand: | N/A | Vietnam: | N/A |
Original Prices - Australia & New Zealand
If you have additional original prices for this model, please get in touch. Thank you.
Ten of the most popular Q&As about the Mac Pro models follow.
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Product Information
Published by: Sophisticated Circuits, Inc.
Phone: (800) 769–3773
E-Mail: info@sophisicated.com
Web: PowerKey Web site
Street Price: $220
Sophisticated Circuits has really outdone itself with the PowerKey 600. As if it weren’t a cool enough piece of hardware, the software that accompanies it is absolutely first rate. The combination of outstanding software and hardware engineering makes for an incredibly useful product that is simple enough to be used and appreciated by even a novice Mac user. For server administrators and power users alike, the PowerKey 600 is a valuable addition to their arsenals.
The PowerKey 600 looks like a surge supressor but some may be surprised to find that it provides no surge suppression at all. While other reviewers (like the dumb f*@&s at Macworld) have been obtuse enough to label the exclusion of surge suppression as an oversight, I would offer a better explanation. First of all, Sophisticated Circuits provides surge suppression in both the Classic and 200 models of its PowerKey. Hence clearly the exclusion of surge suppression from the 600 is an intentional choice. Sophisticated Circuits recognized that many if not all of the users of the PowerKey 600 would be either server administrators or power users with good, strong surge supressors or, better yet, uninterruptable power supplies. Owning several UPS units myself, I appreciate the fact that the PowerKey 600 does not offer surge suppression and that it is simply a powerbar with six power outlets on it. Should one desire surge suppression, Sophisticated Circuits offers an add-on protector which provides 165 joules.
So if the PowerKey 600 isn’t a surge supressor, what exactly is it? Well, it’s an intelligent powerbar which can selectively switch power on or off for any of its six outlets. The status of a given outlet’s power can be dictated by the buttons on the PowerKey itself, software controls, scheduling, crash detection, or the coolest feature: Phone Ring Detection. Communication between the PowerKey unit itself and the computer is achieved via the ADB port.
The PowerKey 600 comes with software which is comprised of an extension and an application. One may configure the hardware setup of the PowerKey, which provides an opportunity to name each outlet (for example: printer, monitor, computer, etc.), to choose which outlet is for the CPU itself, and to determine which outlets should always remain on.
A computer with “soft power” (one which has no power on/off switch on the back and is only switched on via the keyboard) requires that its outlet be marked Always On. Computers with “hard power”, (those with a power on/off switch on the back) should have their outlet set such that the Always On box is not marked. The explanation for this is simple. Any electrical device with hard power can be turned on and off by simply cutting power to its power supply. But machines with soft power operate differently. If power is cut the machine will surely turn off, but when power is re-established the machine will not boot up. Rather, machines with soft power are turned on via an ADB signal that is sent from the keyboard when the power on key is pressed. Because the PowerKey plugs into the ADB port of the Mac it is able to send this signal and boot a machine even if it is a soft power Mac. The hardware setup dialog also offers an opportunity to disable the buttons on the PowerKey unit itself, which might prevent a user from inadvertently switching power on or off to an outlet by bumping a switch or dropping something onto the PowerKey.
The PowerKey software is essentially an event editor. Events may be triggered under the following circumstances: the Power On key is pressed on the keyboard, the phone rings a specified number of times, a particular touch tone is pressed on the caller’s phone, when a user defined “hot key” is pressed, when the system is idle, when power returns (after a power loss), upon Shut Down, when the system crashes and when the crash timer expires.
Events can be one-time events, repeating or scheduled daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Events may also be qualified. They may be allowed to run during certain hours of the day, days of the week or days of the month, but not at other times. As for the events themselves, the PowerKey is capable of doing the following: switching an outlet on or off, starting up, shutting down or restarting the CPU, sleeping the system, executing an AppleScript, typing a keystroke, waiting a specified period of time, opening a file (or application), quitting an application, mounting a SCSI device, answering the phone (and awaiting touch tones), and adding a user defined entry to the log. Clearly the PowerKey is powerful and robust.
The beauty of the PowerKey software is that it’s so easy to use! In seconds I had mine configured and I didn’t even read the manual. However, the manual is outstanding and it is important to read. It offers some vital information. For example, the PowerKey software comes pre-installed with one event: User Start Up. The event is simple—when the Power On Key on the keyboard is pressed, the PowerKey boots up the CPU. The manual points out that if this event is deleted, the Power On Key will no longer boot up the computer! This is because the PowerKey comes between the keyboard and the ADB port of the Mac and hence it can decide how to proceed when the Power On Key is pressed. The manual also points out that, because Sophisticated Circuits is slick, there is an override key such that your Mac can in fact be booted. Sophisticated Circuits has left nothing to chance.
I have a few simple events set up for my server. For example, one of my events is titled Reboot After Power Failure. The event is triggered “when power returns” and all it does is “start up the computer.” The events get snazzier though. I have another event labelled Restart On Crash. It is triggered “when the system crashes” and all it does is “restart the computer .” It should be noted that this functionality is only available if the SRO (Server Restart Option) is present. Sophisticated Circuits is presently bundling SRO with the PowerKey 600 at no additional charge, but it must be purchased separately for the 200, for example. More on SRO later.
In my opinion, the coolest feature the PowerKey offers is Phone Ring Detection. I have my PowerKey configured such that if I call the phone line connected to it, it picks up after four rings. If I dial 1 and then #, it starts up my CPU. If I dial 2 and then #, it restarts my computer. If I dial 3 and then #, it cuts power to outlet #2, and then it reactivates power to circuit #2. This has the effect of rebooting my PowerTower, which is connected to circuit #2.
Now of course, some explanation is in order. The PowerTower is a soft power computer with no hardware on/off switch in the back. The power switch on the front of the box is, as with all Power Computing machines, a great little soft switch that will toggle the status of the machine, booting it if it is off and shutting it down safely if it is on. But it is not a hard switch. So why does cutting the power to the PowerTower and then reactivating power work? Because there is a little known feature in the Energy Saver Control Panel (actually an application) which facilitates this functionality. In the Energy Saver Application, under the Preferences Menu there is an item: Server Settings. Upon selecting this menu item the user may choose to have the Mac “reboot after a power failure.” Hence for “soft power” Macs it is still possible to reboot them by cutting power to the power supply and reactivating it, which the PowerKey can easily do by simply turning one of its outlets off and then back on.
The SRO package is very nifty. Essentially the way it works is this. The PowerKey monitors the ADB port for a particular piece of data which the PowerKey extension sends on a recurring basis. When the PowerKey fails to receive this data after a user-defined period of time, it considers the Mac “frozen” or crashed. The PowerKey then reboots the Mac via ADB (it can simply send the proper ADB signal for a Command-Control-Power On Key restart). The user may define how many seconds the crash detection timer must wait, having received no data, to consider the Mac “frozen.” The default value is 300 seconds. Very busy servers may want to set this value higher since the extension may not be able to send data to the PowerKey as regularly with so much processor overhead. One other problem that Sophisticated Circuits is careful to mention in the manual: not all crashes will result in a cessation of data transmission between the Mac and the PowerKey. The solution to this problem is to install MacsBug. MacsBug will pop up every time the machine freezes, and it will stop the PowerKey extension from sending data to the PowerKey unit. Hence the machine will truly be “frozen” and the PowerKey will reboot it. Easy enough!
Several Macintosh server packages offer integration with the PowerKey SRO package. The server software itself can communicate with PowerKey (rather than the extension) and when that communication fails, the machine is restarted. This is a nice feature because if the server software unexpectedly quits, for example, the machine may still not have crashed and the PowerKey extension might still be sending data to the PowerKey. But by having a particular application talk to the PowerKey directly, the server is guaranteed to be running properly at all times.
Do I have any complaints about the PowerKey? Nope. Not one. When I ordered my 600 from Sophisticated Circuits I received a personalized e-mail response answering all of the questions I had asked in the “comments” field of my order. Every time I asked a question of Sophisticated Circuits I got an exemplary response. It was fast, and it was loaded with information. Sales and support staff are absolutely top rate. My only wish is that the PowerKey 600 could connect to more than one Mac and monitor it for crashes. But of course, when I asked the folks at Sophisticated Circuits if I could do this, they said it was possible if I purchased a particular plug-in for my AppleShare IP server. Is there anything the PowerKey can’t do?
The only possible drawback to the PowerKey is that it will not work with non-ADB machines. For example, the iMac cannot use the PowerKey. However, because it is really designed with servers in mind, I think this is an acceptable state of affairs at the moment. Yet, as I am sure Sophisticated Circuits has considered, Apple’s next generation of servers may not be equipped with ADB, using USB instead. I expect that Sophisticated Circuits will be ready with a USB version of their PowerKey line at that time.
Powerkey Pro 200 Manual Mac Os
Everything I have tried with my PowerKey has worked fabulously. I have called in to my computer and booted it, rebooted it and rebooted the computer sitting next to it. The PowerKey can do all of this regardless whether the machine it is connected to is on or off! Crash detection works well for me and in combination with my UPS it guarantees that my server is up as often as humanly possible.
Powerkey Pro 200 Manual Mac Pro
Sophisticated Circuits has designed a dandy of a gadget. The hardware looks cool, functions beautifully and is designed exceptionally well. The software is about as good as it gets. It’s simple and straightforward, yet it does everything you could ever want it to. If you have any need at all for intelligent power management, grab yourself a PowerKey.
Powerkey Pro 200 Manual Machines
Copyright ©1999 Evan Trent, etrent@atpm.com. Reviewing in ATPM is open to anyone. If you're interested, write to us at reviews@atpm.com.