What exactly am I renting?
A dedicated, physical Apple silicon Mac — a Mac mini or Mac Studio — racked in our south-coast UK datacentres. It's real hardware reserved for you alone: not a virtual machine, not a shared slice, not a container. You get SSH and full desktop access, and root on your own machine.
Where are the Macs hosted?
Across two secure datacentre locations on the south coast of the UK, on UPS-backed power and business internet. Uptime is monitored around the clock — we tend to get alerted before you'd notice anything.
How soon can I be up and running?
Tell us what you need and we'll provision it and send over your access details — usually with a reply within one working day.
Can I colocate my own Mac instead?
Yes — alongside our own managed hardware, we offer colocation, and the price is right on the pricing section: Mac mini colocation is £55/mo, Mac Studio colocation is £69/mo (ex VAT), with a one-time £100 setup. If you'd like to house your own Mac with us, get in touch and we'll talk it through.
What's the difference between Hive Classic and Hive Latest?
Hive Classic is our current generation of machines — M1 through M4 Pro minis and M4 Max / M3 Ultra Studios — in the hive right now at the listed prices. Hive Latest is the next generation (M6 and M5 Pro minis, M5 Max and M5 Ultra Studios), arriving from 22 September 2026. Both ranges run side by side, so you can start on Classic and move up when the new hardware lands.
Which Macs and chips can I choose?
Hive Classic: Mac minis from M1 through M4 Pro, and Mac Studios with M4 Max or M3 Ultra — in the hive right now. Hive Latest: M6 and M5 Pro minis, plus M5 Max and M5 Ultra Studios, arriving from 22 September 2026. The full line-up and pricing is on the pricing section — if you need a specific configuration that isn't listed, just ask.
Can I link several Macs together?
Yes. On any Thunderbolt 5 Mac — M4 Pro and M5 Pro minis, plus M4 Max, M5 Max and M3 Ultra / M5 Ultra Studios — we can mesh up to four machines with RDMA over Thunderbolt 5 on a private, isolated network. They see each other; the public internet doesn't see them.
Is this suitable for running local LLMs?
That's exactly what the clustering is built for. Pooling unified memory across nodes lets you run models that won't fit on a single machine, and adding nodes adds throughput rather than taking it away.
Do I get full admin access?
Yes — root on your own machine. It's your Mac to configure; we look after the hosting, monitoring and the fragile parts underneath.
Do I get a public IP address?
Every Mac includes its own dedicated public IPv4. Extra IPv4 addresses are from £3/mo, and IPv6 is free on request.
How do I connect to my Mac?
Over SSH and full desktop / screen sharing. You can reach it on its public IP, or keep everything private over Tailscale — no port forwarding required.
Is my Mac exposed to the internet?
By default, yes — your Mac has a public IP and is reachable from the internet. If you'd like more protection, we can put a dedicated virtual firewall in front of it running either pfSense or OPNsense for £5/mo, or you can keep everything private over Tailscale.
Are there bandwidth caps or egress fees?
No. Bandwidth is unlimited on every plan, with no egress bills and no surprise invoices.
How does billing work?
Flat monthly pricing, paid monthly or annually — annual billing works out cheaper. What you see on the pricing page is what you pay.
What support is included?
As standard, we make sure your Mac is up, running and has connectivity — that's the line we look after. Anything beyond that is best discussed before you order, and we do offer full management if you'd like us to take care of more.
What happens if the hardware fails?
We replace it as soon as we're able to. For added peace of mind, we can also provide a dedicated Time Machine backup drive for a small additional fee — contact us for exact pricing.