Mac OS X Server
Mac OS X Server is the server-oriented version of
Apple's
operating system,
Mac OS X. Mac OS X, in both
desktop and
server versions, is a
Unix operating system based on technology that
Apple acquired from
NeXT Computer.The server version of
Mac OS X includes applications that are intended to allow administrators to more easily manage features, such as internet-based services like
E-mail or
site hosting, or manage networks of
Macs and
Microsoft Windows PCs and provide services such as
file and print sharing. Prior to
Mac OS X,
Apple's AppleShare software provided
server applications such as file and printer sharing and
user management.Mac OS X Server leverages both
open source technologies for provision of standards-based services, and proprietary Apple applications for administration and for some additional services. Many services have aspects of both origins, such as
Open Directory, which provides access to several open source (and external proprietary) technologies from one interface.
Versions
The first version of Mac OS X Server,
Mac OS X Server 1.0, was based on
Rhapsody 5.3, a hybrid of
OPENSTEP from NeXT Computer and
Mac OS 8.5.1. The
GUI looked like a mixture of Mac OS 8's Platinum appearance with OPENSTEP's
NeXT-based interface. It included a runtime layer called Blue Box for running legacy Mac OS-based applications within a separate window. There was discussion of implementing a 'transparent blue box' which would intermix Mac OS applications with those written for Rhapsody's Yellow Box environment, but this would not happen until
Mac OS X's Classic environment.
WebObjects and
NetBoot was included with the server package.On
May 21 2001, Apple released a version of their server operating system based on
Mac OS X v10.0. This was followed by server releases based on the following
On
June 9 2008, Apple announced a new version of Mac OS X Server based on the forthcoming
Mac OS X v10.6(1).
Mac OS X Server 10.3 Panther
The 10.3 Mac OS X Server release includes updated
Open Directory user and file management, which with this release is based on
LDAP, beginning the deprecation of the NeXT-originated
NetInfo architecture. The new Workgroup Manager interface improved configuration significantly. Many common network services are provided such as
NTP,
SNMP, web server (
Apache), mail server (
Postfix and
Cyrus), LDAP (
OpenLDAP),
AFP, and print server. The inclusion of
Samba version 3 allows tight integration with
Windows clients and servers.
MySQL v4.0.16 and
PHP v4.3.7 are also included.
missing image!
- OSXServerBoxes.png -
thumbnail|Box artwork for Mac OS X Server versions 10.1-10.5.
Mac OS X Server 10.4 Tiger
The 10.4 release adds
64-bit application support,
Access Control Lists,
Xgrid,
link aggregation,
e-mail spam filtering (
SpamAssassin), virus detection (
ClamAV), Gateway Setup Assistant, and servers for
Software Update,
iChat Server using
Jabber (2), and weblogs.Version 10.4 also has new client capabilities, as user identities can be fully independent of the client machine. The server can provide various levels of user management scenarios, including having client machines boot directly from an operating system stored on the server (
NetBoot), booting independently but storing all user information on the server (network home directory), and/or storing the users' files locally on the users' portable computers while periodically synchronizing all user information to a mirror identity on the server (portable home directory). The end result of these technologies is that users can access some or all of their complete computer identity from any location and/or from any computer on the internet. In typical Apple style, these services are all configured with a small number of graphical-interface configurators.Apple announced immediate availability of the
Mac Pro at the
Worldwide Developers Conference on
August 10 2006 consequently announcing the first release of a
Universal binary version of Mac OS X Server, supporting both PowerPC and Intel processors.In versions 10.4 Tiger and later, Apple included the
serialnumberd daemon to Mac OS X Server to validate license information over
UDP port 626. This has caused some controversy among server administrators as
serialnumberd overrides an explicit administrator firewall security setting to keep its copy protection functional.
(3)(4)Mac OS X Server 10.5 Leopard
Mac OS X Server v10.5 "Leopard" was announced at the 2005
Worldwide Developers Conference, and was first shown to the public at the World Wide Developer's Conference which began on
August 7 2006. Leopard Server was released on
October 26 2007.Leopard Server includes:
iCal Server,
(5) Wiki Server (a
Wiki server),
(6) a
Spotlight Server,
(7) and
Podcast Producer(8) for turn-key
podcasting.Leopard Server also introduces updates to many other services
(9), such as
Apache 2.2,
MySQL 5,
Apache Tomcat 6,
QuickTime Streaming Server 6,
iChat Server 2,
Xgrid 2, and
Open Directory 4.Unlike previous versions of OS X Server, Leopard Server now includes three install configurations:
Standard, Workgroup, and Advanced(10). The
Standard server configuration is intended for small businesses or small workgroups. The
Workgroup server configuration is similar to "Standard", but allows the server to connect to existing directory services (Open Directory, Active Directory, etc.). The
Advanced server configuration allows for more granular and advanced installations.
Mac OS X Server 10.6 Snow Leopard
The upcoming version of Mac OS X Server will feature a full 64-bit kernel, have
iCal Server 2,
Podcast Producer 2,
Mail and Address Book server capabilities, and
ZFS support along with the features of the client version of
Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
(11)Server tools
Mac OS X Server comes with a variety of configuration tools that can be installed on non-server Macs as well:
References
-
[Mac OS X 10.6 Server official page]
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[Apple]
-
[WEB,weblink Server 10.4.7: Phoning Home, July 30, 2006, Macintouch.com, 2008-03-09, ]
-
[WEB,weblink Mac OS X Server Firewall Serial Hole, Jonathan Rentzsch, July 31, 2006, Rentzsch.com, 2008-03-09, ]
-
[Apple]
-
[Apple]
-
[Apple]
-
[Apple]
-
[Apple]
-
[AFP548 - Leopard Server Part 1 - Server Styles]
-
[Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard]
External links
{{Apple}}{{Apple Inc. operating systems}}{{Mac OS History}}{{Mac OS X Server}}{{Mac OS X}}
Mac OS X ServerMac OS X ServerMac OS X ServerMac OS X ServerMac OS X ServerMac OS X ServerMac OS X ServerMac OS X ServerMac OS X Server
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