Mac at any scale

	Mac at any scale(namespace.so)
	412 points by anner_ 8 days ago \| 223 comments
	tl;dr: Namespace built datacenter racks of MacBook Pros (not Mac Minis, due to 6-month supply delays) to provide macOS build/test instances for iOS developers, dealing with unexpected issues like unreliable HDMI cables, FileVault unlock prompts timing out, and buggy USB NICs. Their virtualization stack uses Apple's Virtualization framework (capped at 2 VMs per host), a gVisor-based userspace network stack hitting 4 Gbps, and APFS clonefile/sparse-file tricks plus a BitTorrent-inspired P2P system to distribute 500GB VM images across hundreds of nodes. Next up: custom single-cable USB-C hardware for MacBook shelves, and possibly phones in the datacenter.
	HN Discussion: ↑Apple's lack of server-focused hardware and support forces costly workarounds that customers would gladly pay to avoid ↑Apple's development ecosystem and tooling is fundamentally broken and outdated ↓You can actually build iOS apps without a Mac, contradicting the article's premise ↑Macs/MacBooks as servers is a common practice with known quirks like FileVault unlock issues •Technical fascination with MacBook hardware density and potential for blade-server form factors