In some work environments, an IT department may set you up with a username and password that will not only work for checking your e-mail, but will also log you in to numerous computers, Web sites, and other items the workplace uses. This is perhaps the basis for a server, which is centralized authentication management that can be distributed to numerous devices and applied to various services. This is just one example and it may be irrelevant to some people, so to understand the scope of what OS X Server has to offer it is best to look at all of its services lumped into four general categories: Account Management, File Sharing, Network Administration, and Web Services. OS X Server not only has Apache configured to better use these features, but provides interfaces for easily configuring and enabling them.ĭo you need to host multiple Web sites on your system that interface with MySQL databases and run extensive PHP scripts? Do you need to set up a Web site proxy or WebDAV realms to allow users to write to locations on your server? Do you want to manage certificates so client systems can connect using properly established and secure HTTPS protocols? If so, then the basic Web server in OS X Client will not work and you will benefit from this aspect of OS X Server.
In reality, however, the Apache program is much more dynamic and powerful, and can be configured to proxy Web sites, host multiple Web sites, offer numerous feature plug-ins, and handle a number of complex Web-related tasks that are not enabled in the client. This enables a fully featured Web server (called Apache) but with a configuration that is easy to manage, and for the most part it just shows Web pages that you place in your Sites folder. The difference between these and OS X Server is that OS X Server offers far more options for configuring and expanding these services, as well as providing others that are not included in OS X client.įor example, in OS X you already have the ability to "serve" Web pages by enabling Web Sharing in the Sharing system preferences. To see them, just go to the Sharing system preferences and you can see there are a Web server (Web Sharing), a file server (File Sharing), and a print server (Printer Sharing), among others, and these are by default configured to host simple sharing setups that are useful for most people. The standard OS X Client already comes with a number of "servers" that you can configure in basic ways. This is ultimately a simple yet tough question to answer, and the best way of looking at OS X Server is not that it solves some unknown problem, but rather that it provides new and enhanced functionality that may be useful to you, depending on your needs. Is Lion Server something we should consider putting on the iMac? How could we benefit? Based on Apple's website chicken scratchings, it looks like a solution to unknown problems, yet I can't help feeling that there may be something in there for us. We use MobileMe for us and other family members. At home we have two MacBook Pros, an AirPort Extreme with disk and printer attached, iPhones and iPads. The writers jump straight into the weeds. What is for? What are the characteristics of the Mac user who would benefit from this? Why should I care? Looking at Apple's website, their writers take the approach that if you don't know what Server is for, then they are certainly not going to tell you. MacFixIt reader "John" recently wrote in with such questions: As a result some people may be wondering what OS X Server is all about and how it may benefit them.
#Webdav server mac lion upgrade
With the end of the Xserve line and options like the Mac Mini server, Apple has made its Server software cheaper and cheaper, to the point where in OS X Lion it will be a $49 upgrade purchase from the Mac App Store.
Since the initial releases of OS X, Apple has developed a Server variant of the operating system, which has until now been a rather expensive option.
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