Mac OS X Server On the Right Track
June 14, 1999
By Robert J. Kohlhepp
Apple delivers its first scalable OS, and our lab tests show it's a winner, though shortcomings such as its disparate databases make it an interim release.
Apple Computer Corp.'s Mac OS X (that is, version 10) Server sets a new course for the company's server business. Apple had flirted with the idea of Unix servers previously with AIX, but now it owns the appropriate Unix technology to deliver its first scalable server OS. Along with the traditional file, print, mail and Web access services--which AppleShare IP 6.x already offers--Mac OS X Server includes a highly scalable Web application server in WebObjects 4.
We tested Mac OS X Server, and were very pleased with it overall, though a number of shortcomings make it appropriate only as an interim release. Most notably, Apple must condense the current structure of disparate user databases into a less unwieldy format that streamlines administration; it has promised to do this in a future release.
Mac OS X Server incorporates management and control of Macintosh clients using NetBoot, which works as advertised, and the Macintosh Management server, which offers excellent control over desktop Macs. Apple supports the server software only on G3s (though it will work on other Open Firmware Macs). With this combination of a scalable server and manageable clients, Apple is prepared to offer administrators just what they want--performance, control and simplicity.
We found basic configuration and administration tasks fairly easy using the GUI tools and Web interfaces. Once past the preliminary configuration, though, you may need to edit text files and work with the command-line interface. Apple is working hard to make almost everything accessible via a GUI, but for now, you may need some Unix experience to administer a Mac OS X Server. Security issues in particular call for more expertise than is generally required of Mac server managers.
There are a few other catches: Mac OS X Server is missing mail and Windows file services, though you can add them by using roll-your-own software from the Unix domain or purchasing easy-to-administer servers from third parties. Apple bundles Sendmail 8.9.1, but recommends it only for delivering automated error and informational messages that are generated by applications (backup reports, for example). The company doesn't advise using the bundled Sendmail binary because it has not been optimized for performance or integration. And because there isn't a POP or IMAP server, remote users would have no way to retrieve mail anyway. For e-mail, we installed CommuniGate Pro from Stalker Software, which worked flawlessly.
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