Sonnet Technologies announces that it has made a donation of its Thunderbolt 2 expansion systems to the nonprofit John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a mobile pro audio, video, and broadcast studio that provides hands-on experience for students of all ages.
The centerpiece of the Sonnet donation is two xMac Pro servers together with accessory mobile rack device mounting kits. The xMac Pro Server is a Thunderbolt 2-to-PCI Express (PCIe) expansion system that securely mounts a cylinder Mac Pro computer horizontally inside a specially designed 4U modular enclosure and connects three PCIe 2.0 slots via Thunderbolt 2 technology.
Without taking up additional rack space, the xMac Pro Server provides space to install additional equipment such as hard drives, SSDs, and other devices in two 5.25-inch mobile rack bays using the optional mobile rack device mounting kit.
“Our mission would not be possible without the generous support of sponsors and donors like Sonnet,” said Brian Rothschild, executive director, John Lennon Educational Tour Bus. “The equipment Sonnet has supplied will play a key role in helping the tour build leading-edge workflows and give our participants hands-on experience with groundbreaking technology. For instance, the xMac Pro Servers will enable us to take maximum advantage of our high-performance Mac Pro computers by giving them Thunderbolt 2 expandability for tools such as LTO tape drives, swappable SSD storage, Blu-ray burners, and media readers.”
In addition to the xMac Pro servers, Sonnet has donated a RackMac mini rackmount enclosure for Mac mini computers, two Fusion R400 RAID USB 3.0 storage systems, and two Sonnet Optical Thunderbolt cables.
Made possible by Yoko Ono Lennon and many other sponsors and contributors, the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus gives students an exclusive look into the latest in music products and audio, video, and broadcast technologies. Participants are able to hear firsthand from the engineers who live and work on board the multi-million dollar facility that travels 10 months a year throughout the U.S. At many stops, participants are able to spend a full day developing an original project and creating the music, video, and images needed to take their ideas from concept to delivery.
“We’re honored to be able to support the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, which is providing young people all over the country with opportunities to explore their creativity, musical expression, and artistic freedom,” said Greg LaPorte, vice president of sales and marketing, Sonnet Technologies. “In addition to providing valuable hands-on technology experience, the bus raises awareness about the importance of arts and media education.”