According to ThinkSecret, Apple's 1U server is set to receive a speed bump in January, likely at Macworld Expo San Francisco. Systems will be bumped to a 2.3GHz G5 processor, identical to what Virginia Tech received months ago for its System X cluster, although sources didn't dismiss the possibility that a 2.5GHz Xserve might emerge as well.
The update also relates to the upcoming release of Xsan - the new shared-storage solution due from Apple. The expected release is in the 'Fall of 2004', but new rumors place the possible release of the application possibly as late as January 2005. The current developer's Xsan Preview Build, 7N156, expires December 31, 2004.