Imagine using a server that was truly a joy to administer. In your dreams that server would be exceptionally reliable, powerful, and simple to manage, like piloting a jet plane with the controls of a tricycle. Well, your dreams are now reality. Mac OS X Server provides you with a complete server solution, combining the power of UNIX-based Darwin with open, industry-standard services and unparalleled ease of use.

Solid Core
Darwin, Apple�s collaboration with the Open Source community, delivers the UNIX-based technologies you look for in a server platform -- superior performance, reliability, security, and scalability. Your server should be running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Protected memory ensures that a rogue application won�t take over your machine, leaving it unresponsive. And preemptive multitasking and symmetric multiprocessing keep your server ready to answer any requests that come in. Pile it on.

Fault Insurance
You�d expect those benefits from running Mac OS X. But you need more for your server. Mac OS X Server watches over your running programs, and if one stops functioning, the operating system will shut it down and restart that service automatically. That�s not all. In the unlikely event that Mac OS X Server itself is the cause of a system-wide freeze, Mac hardware will restart the entire machine and all of your software.

Share and Share Alike
On top of this rock-solid core, Mac OS X Server adds the comprehensive solutions you demand in a top-flight server. Mac OS X Server is the only server platform in the world that lets Mac OS, Windows, Linux and Unix users share files and printers out of the box. Other workgroup services include mail, directory, address, and proxy servers. Macintosh Manager 2 offers changes and improvements requested by Apple education customers.

Net Dream
Mac OS X already includes Apache, the world�s most popular Web server, for personal Web sharing. Now you could soup up that software yourself, but Mac OS X Server does it for you with high-power tools to serve high-traffic, high-quality sites. Mac OS X Server delivers Web content more quickly than the plain vanilla version of Apache. Plus it features QuickTime Streaming Server and WebObjects 5 deployment software, as well as open, industry-standard services for secure, dynamic pages.

Familiar Interface
And, of course, Apple thinks you have better things to do with your time than memorize arcane commands to get and keep things running. The friendly Setup Assistant takes care of initial setup and automatically installs all components in the proper place for optimal performance. You can use the Server Admin application on any Mac OS X machine on your network to administer multiple servers at the same time. Best of all, you don�t need to edit text configuration files to use any of the core services. (But if you�re an experienced UNIX user, you may administer the machine remotely via the preinstalled secure shell.) You�ll find Mac OS X Server to be the easiest way to set up and manage powerful network services.

Mac OS X Server -- There�s no reason to wait.

Mac OS X Server In Action

Easy Admin
Mac OS X server lets you administer multiple services from the same application.

Share Anything
Configure services to allow Mac OS, Windows, Linux and Unix users access to your server.

High Performance
The Apache Web server included with Mac OS X Server is so powerful, it saturates three T3 lines.

File & Print

No Mac is an island anymore. Mac OS X Server makes it easy to collaborate with your colleagues -- whether they�re next door or across the globe. Or even using a different operating system.

Right out of the box, Mac OS X Server lets Mac OS, Window, UNIX and Linux users share files locally or over the Internet. Apple file services using the Apple File Protocol (AFP) let you share resources with Mac users. They can connect to your server and see folders and files as if they were on their own machine.

Symbiotic Relationship
Mac OS X Server uses the Open Source SAMBA to provide Windows users with Server Message Block (SMB) file sharing. Windows users can find a Mac OS X Server using the Network Neighborhood without installing any additional software on their systems. Network File System (NFS) lets you make folders (or in UNIX terms, directories) available to UNIX and Linux users.

To share files with users who aren�t on your local network, Mac OS X Server includes the latest version of the Internet file sharing server. Remote users can transfer large files over the Internet using a Web browser or a dedicated File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client. You control what known and anonymous users may access.

Queue Continuum
Mac OS X Server provides high-performance printer sharing and queuing services for Mac OS, Windows, UNIX and Linux clients. Mac OS X Server enables you to set up multiple print queues to PostScript-capable printers over TCP/IP, AppleTalk or USB. You can then assign each print queue unique job settings, priority and sharing options.

Mac users on your network simply use the Print Center on Mac OS X or the Desktop Printer Utility on Mac OS 9. Windows users print using their native protocols (SMB/CIFS). Nobody needs to install extra software to use your shared printers.

Mac OS X Server -- The ultimate team player.

Source Code Sharing
Thanks to the Darwin core, Mac OS X Server is easy to integrate into any network. Darwin incorporates the time-tested BSD networking stack, the basis of the vast majority of TCP/IP implementations on the Internet today. You can connect your Mac OS X Server to the network in any way -- built-in Ethernet, cable modems and DSL (including PPPoE). There�s also a Terminal and Secure Shell (SSHv2), but don�t tell anyone.

Apple alone didn�t build this strong foundation. Much of it comes from open sources. In fact, Apple was the first mainstream computer company to make the full source code for the core of its operating system available to the family of open source developers on the Internet. This community approach to operating system creation allows developers and students to view the Darwin source code, learn from it and submit suggestions that ensure the Mac OS continues to evolve and improve through the crucible of peer review. The Darwin community is 70,000 developers strong, delivering crucial improvements to file system support, security and networking technologies.

Learning to share isn�t easy -- just ask any two-year-old. But Apple believes open source development is vital to the creation of state-of-the-art technologies such as Mac OS X Server.

Web

Mac OS X Server makes it easy to set up, configure and monitor multiple Web sites. Because running a reliable, powerful Web server shouldn�t mean you have to be a guru.

Point-and-Click Publishing
Mac OS X Server uses Apache to serve Web sites out of the box. During installation, the Setup Assistant automatically configures your server to start Apache if you so choose. Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) brings drag-and-drop simplicity to Web publishing and content management. From anywhere on the network, you can check out Web pages, make changes, and then check them back in while the server is running. Mac OS X users can connect to and mount a WebDAV server right from the Finder as if it were a regular file server.

Performance & Security
Added to Apache is a high-performance front-end cache that improves the delivery of static content such as HTML pages and images. Using this cache, Apache stores data in main memory (RAM) so it doesn�t take time accessing the disk each time surfers request files. This allows Mac OS X Server to provide up to 2645 hits/second in WebBench 3.0. That�s enough to almost saturate three T3 lines, or an OC3 line, at more than 130 Megabits per second (Mbps). And Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) ensures secure encryption and authentication for e-commerce Web sites. Support for server side includes lets you create dynamic web pages without writing CGI scripts.

Dynamite Sites
But if you know how to write them, adding dynamic content such as auctions, chat and discussion boards, counters, database management, webmail systems, tests and quizzes, postcards or stock quotes is a snap -- Mac OS X Server includes built-in support for just about any method out there, including Perl, UNIX scripts and AppleScript CGIs. Or you can combine PHP and MySQL to deploy web solutions and middleware applications. Included Apache modules offer Sherlock search and relevancy ranking, directory service authentication support and MacBinary encoding of file requests.

Platform Independent
Mac OS X Server features an extremely robust and powerful implementation of Java 2. That enables you to use Java Servlets to deploy platform-independent middleware solutions. And you can generate platform-independent web content using JavaServer Pages (JSP). Speaking of Java, you can now write and deploy WebObjects 5 applications -- similar to Apple�s online store and iCards -- using Java.

Mac OS X Server -- High-performance Apache.

QuickTime Streaming Server
Mac OS X Server also lets you stream digital video for news, entertainment or education over the Internet using the industry-standard RTP/RTSP protocols when you enable the QuickTime Streaming Server. QTSS can serve more than 2,000 low bit rate streams simultaneously from one server -- and there�s no per-stream license fee. Using separate broadcaster software, you can stream live events. Simulate live streams with the Playlist Broadcaster. And Apple makes the QuickTime Streaming Server source code available to the family of Open Source developers.

WebObjects 5
Mac OS X Server includes WebObjects 5 Deployment software. WebObjects is the original object-oriented application server. Unlike other application servers, it handles all the database access and session management for you, cleanly separating your business logic from the user interface and data model. This three-tiered approach makes it easy to develop flexible, maintainable applications while guaranteeing data integrity. No wonder it�s the environment of choice for leading corporations that need to create compelling Internet sites on time and on budget.

Symmetric Multiprocessing
Darwin automatically supports dual-processor Macintosh Server G4 and Power Mac G4 computers. This allows the operating system to distribute application threads to each processor. So the operating system might use one processor to secure and encrypt a Web request, while processing a real-time media stream with the other. With both CPUs processing in parallel, they can handle more tasks at the same time, almost doubling performance for complex data encryption, video streaming or file encoding.

Network & Security

Mac OS X Server helps you set up a network that secures data and prevents unauthorized file access but still keeps it easy for your users to navigate services both on your local network and the Internet. Mac OS X Server features a modern, secure operating system design, UNIX file system permissions architecture, and the latest in advanced protocol-level data security standards.

Barrier Protection
To prevent unauthorized network and server access from the outside, Mac OS X Server includes an IP filtering firewall. IP filtering scans incoming IP packets and rejects or accepts these packets based on a set of filters you create. You can restrict access to all IP services running on the server, and you can customize filters for individual IP services.

Surf by Proxy
The caching web proxy system in Mac OS X Server accelerates workgroup web access and improves security. Your proxy server can store frequently accessed outside information on the hard drive so that your users get data locally instead of retrieving it from across the globe. You can also configure your proxy server to block internal requests so that, for instance, children can�t access content such as adult sites or advertisements.

Name and Address
The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server makes it easier to set up and administer computers on IP based networks than if you had to manually enter everyone�s information yourself. The DHCP server automatically assigns and leases IP addresses to computers as they are added to your network. Machines and services on the Internet are located either by their unique IP addresses, or by names. Names make it easier for users to remember Web addresses. The included DNS server translates names to addresses for your users.

Scope Your Network
While IP is the language of the Internet, sometimes it isn�t as easy for your users to speak as AppleTalk. One benefit of AppleTalk is that it finds services on your network -- to find what servers are available you simply open the Chooser, click the AppleShare icon, select the appropriate AppleTalk zone, and then select the network server you wish to use.

To make finding IP services as easy as using AppleTalk, Apple developed a Service Location Protocol (SLP) Directory Agent (DA) service. With SLP DA, you can group your IP-based network services into scopes. Scopes are analogous to AppleTalk zones -- they can include a logical grouping of computers, such as all the computers used in the production department; or a physical grouping, such as all computers located on the first floor. With SLP DA you can provide structure to services and resources on your IP-based networks.

Mac OS X Server -- Security you can trust.

Securing Your Systems
The best way to ensure your data security is to keep it inaccessible. Don�t put a machine holding sensitive data on a network. Lock it in a vault. Even then, given the willpower and the right tools, someone with physical access can still break in. The same is true when you do put your Macs on a network -- every day, malicious people try to break into servers that don�t belong to them.

By default, Apple makes machines as secure as possible by turning off services such as Remote Login, File Sharing and FTP. Activating any of these services can degrade the network security of your system, but you may need them to administer your server. Apple highly recommends using a firewall.

Apple works closely with the CERT, FIRST and FreeBSD security teams to analyze and release patches for security vulnerabilities. For your protection, Apple does not disclose, discuss or confirm security issues until it has fully investigated the issues and any necessary patches or releases are available.

Workgroups

Mac OS X Server includes features that make workgroup administration easier and more efficient. Integrated management makes it easy to administer multiple services at the same time. Secure remote administration allows you to manage your server from anywhere on the Internet. You can even connect to and administer multiple servers at the same time.

User Friendly
You can set up users and groups quickly, especially if you are already running AppleShare IP or Mac OS X Server 1.2 -- just import them to get started. Once you have them set up, all services can access and authenticate the same user account information, including Apple file services, Windows file services, FTP, mail and Web. Once you add an individual user account to the server, that person can immediately use any of the running services, thanks to directory services.

Directory services provide the roadmap Mac OS X Server uses to locate information about users and groups for authentication and authorization. With directory services you can configure your server to find information locally or on another server. Locally, Mac OS X uses the built-in Apple-designed NetInfo directory system. Mac OS X Server can also retrieve user information from other NetInfo servers on your network, or standard Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) servers, in the order that you choose.

Delivers on Sunday
Mac OS X Server provides mail services to clients on a local network or across the Internet. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) allows your users to send mail. From the user panel, you can choose whether each user accesses mail via the standard Post Office Protocol (POP) or Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) or both. You can configure settings to decrease the volume of unsolicited spam email received on your server with the realtime Blackhole list.

Net Benefit
The included NetBoot software allows a network of Macintosh computers using Mac OS 9 to boot from a single shared System Folder and application volume stored on the server. In this way NetBoot allows server administrators to configure and update client computers instantly by simply updating a network bootable System Folder on the server.

Mac OS X Server -- Services with a smile.

Mischief Control Macintosh Manager provides education network administrators with a centralized method of securing Mac OS workstations, controlling student software access and providing a consistent, personalized experience for students and staff. (You can even prevent curious young ones from ejecting CD-ROMs.) Macintosh Manager 2 incorporates many of your suggestions for improvement.

Now you can enter user accounts once and share them between Apple file services and Macintosh Manager. Mac OS 9 includes the client software -- any new iMacs (or other Macintosh computers) you plug in automatically participate in the managed network. Mac OS X Server saves user documents and preferences in a home directory, so your students can access their homework from any Mac on your network.

Macintosh Manager 2 also includes Kerberos support and a new "backpack" checkout feature. This feature enables students to copy homework assignments to portable computers and work at home. When they plug back into the school network, their Macs automatically synchronize with their home directories on your Mac OS X Server.

Tech Specs