Giving Apple’s Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Server 4 stars out of a possible 5, John C. Welch reports on what he sees as the new OS’s pros and cons for Macworld UK:
Pros: New Calendar server; built-in wiki and blogging services; simpler installation modes; improved administration and monitoring tools; better cross-platform integration.
Cons: Many services don’t work well with non-Mac clients; GUI administration tools can be limiting for experienced administrators; some features available in simpler installation types not available in Advanced installation; limited client support for CalDAV and iChat Server.
Welch writes, “Is Mac OS X 10.5 Server worth the £319 [US$499] retail price (for the 10 file-sharing user version; an unlimited client version, no CALs required, sells for £629 [US$999])? (If you buy a new Xserve, you get it for free.) It depends. If you don’t already have a directory service or dedicated servers, and are just now thinking about implementing such things for the first time, Mac OS X 10.5 Server is a compelling product; just keep in mind that some of its services don’t work as well as they should in a heterogeneous environment. On the other hand, if you’re an experienced administrator, you’ll likely be frustrated by the limitations in Apple’s GUI server tools; fortunately, OS X Server is based on Unix, so you can have all the control you want via the command line.”
Full extensive review – recommended – here.
You’d think since its Macworld they would rate it higher.
“On the other hand, if you’re an experienced administrator, you’ll likely be frustrated by the limitations in Apple’s GUI server tools; fortunately, OS X Server is based on Unix, so you can have all the control you want via the command line.”
LOL…
“MDN Magic Word” = bad…
Command line? C’mon. It’s 2008.
Thank goodness Microsoft came along and invented a complete GUI interface for the masses with Windows. Apple should be ashamed of themselves for copying it. Of course, Cupertino’s work isn’t complete as you MAC sheep need a command line to shore up all the holes in your Windows wannabe OS. Whatever.
Your potential. Our passion.™
Our all-Mac small business is thinking hard about about buying a new Apple server. We don’t presently have our own server, and we also don’t have an IT person on staff. Any advice on how complicated a Leopard Server is to set up/maintain by a non-techie (me)? Will we need to spend $$ on tech consultants, both for set up and ongoing?
Thanks!!
Jake,
I’ve been running Apple Server for years. Now have Leopard. I do it all, and I am no IT guy. Easy to set up users and volumes, with access permissions, VPN, Web and FTP Services are a snap. If you are comfortable with your Mac, and you’ve got a basic understanding of networking protocols you should be up and running very quickly.
Is your real name Stephen Colbert?*
That’s a rhetorical question, since I know that Colbert wouldn’t break character either.
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Thanks, Spark.
I am “comfortable with [my] Mac,” but we’ll just see if I have a “basic understanding of network protocols”!!
Hopefully, the networking knowledge will only be necessary for initial set-up, on which we could spend a few bucks. The problem would be if we face ongoing monthly IT costs…
Anyway, thanks again.
Jake,
It depends on what services you want to run. Some are easy to setup and maintain by you and some are best left for experienced people. If you want to do it yourself, set up another computer such as a mac mini with the server OS and make try everything on that first, preferably on a separate network.
Anyway, depending on your knowledge of networks – DNS, routing, NAT – and Directory sytems, it may be a rather long learning curve.
This looks like he took this strait from Lynda.com
Jake:
Get the consultant to set it up for you, and give you some basic instruction. After that, you should have no problem keeping it going, adding new users, controlling permissions on files and folders, etc. We’re running Tiger, not Leopard, but I would think that they are similar.