Skip the navigation

What's new in Leopard Server

Apple focuses on ease of setup and administration

By Ryan Faas
October 28, 2007 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Apple Inc.'s latest version of Mac OS X, known as Leopard, has been big technology news for the past few weeks as Mac users have eagerly awaited the next-generation operating system. Although not as flashy as the client-side operating system for a general audience, Leopard Server packs its own serious updates for Mac users and systems administrators, multiplatform IT professionals and, if Apple has its way, for small businesses everywhere.

After years of positioning Mac OS X Server primarily with its Xserve high-end server hardware as an enterprise server application, Apple is trying to open Leopard Server to a wider audience. Apple's new focus is on small businesses and small workgroups within a larger corporate network.

As with previous releases, Leopard Server can run on a wide variety of hardware, on anything from a Power PC Mac mini right through the highest-end Xserve. This, combined with the platform's extensive support for Windows PC clients and Windows Server environments, may well mean a broader customer base for Leopard Server.

Leopard Server provides easy-setup servers for many small businesses, and includes a new simplified setup process and systems management interface. This new interface is available in two modes: standard -- for single-server use in a small business environment -- and workgroup -- for use as a workgroup or departmental server in an enterprise infrastructure.

Both sets of tools offer an easy-to-use interface to several of Leopard Server's features and allow users with limited or no server experience to successfully deploy and manage Leopard Server. When used in workgroup mode, Leopard Server can take advantage of network user accounts already being used within the larger corporate network.

The entire range of Leopard Server features is not available in the new simplified setup modes (most likely Apple limited the features to those that it could successfully engineer for automatic configuration and simple management from within Server Admin).

Because of the complex nature of many Leopard Server features, Apple has included only those that could be successfully engineered for the simplified setup modes. Although this may sound limiting, the services included are among the most commonly used by small businesses or by individual departments within a large company or school.

These include file and printer sharing for both Macs and Windows PCs, e-mail, access to Leopard's new collaborative tools, remote access using VPN, internal instant messaging via iChat Server, shared calendars (thanks to the new iCal Server), and the ability to establish server and client backups using Apple's new Time Machine.

For larger organizations that have more robust server needs and can employ a staff of experienced server administrators, Leopard Server continues to provide services for networks of virtually any size and complexity.

When used in advanced administration mode, Leopard Server remains a highly stable and scalable platform for supporting Mac, Windows and Unix/Linux clients, and fully interoperates with Windows Server and Microsoft's Active Directory. For these environments, Leopard Server represents a significant increase in scalability, increased multiplatform support, more flexible administration and new collaborative tools.

Here is a rundown of some of the biggest changes and new features.

  Server Preferences

The new Server Preferences window. (Click for larger view.)
 
Simplicity redefined

One of the biggest features of Leopard Server is simplified setup and management. Apple has built two new administration modes into Leopard Server to make managing the platform as easy as managing local user accounts on a Mac or PC. This new setup asks a series of guided questions to configure a server and then involves a brand new, simplified administration tool called Server Preferences for user and service management.

Server Preferences is modeled after Mac OS X's client-side System Preferences in terms of look, feel and ease-of-use. In fact, Server Preferences' user account management is so similar to that found in the Accounts pane of System Preferences that it would be easy to confuse the two.


In this story...
 



Additional Resources
Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
WHITE PAPER
Solving application issues over the WAN requires careful consideration. Based on their independent research, Forrester Consulting offers recommendations on how to tackle application performance issues, insufficient bandwidth and the inability to quickly restore users in a disaster.

Read now.

Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Data Center White Papers
Optimize Data Backup to Ensure Data Protection
Protecting data, a top IT priority, is made even more difficult as rapid data growth pushes traditional backup processes beyond their capabilities. Integrating...
Enabling Storage Flexibility to Better Manage Data Growth
Virtualizing file storage gives organizations the flexibility and data mobility required to reduce backup windows and costs, improve storage efficiency, and seamlessly integrate...
Case Study: Publisher Cuts Backup Times by 98 Percent
Learn how John Wiley & Sons, Inc., a leading publisher for scientific, technical, and medical communities, successfully reduced backup times from 36 hours...
Case Study: Firm Optimizes Storage, Shrinks Backup Window
By optimizing its existing storage environment, multi-skilled architectural firm RHWL reduced backup times from 14 hours to 1.5 hours, slashed tape and offsite...
Indiana University Virtualizes Mission-Critical Oracle Databases
The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University deployed VMware Infrastructure which decreases costs, streamlines server deployment, and reduces energy consumption.
All Data Center White Papers
Data Center Webcasts
Live Webcast
North Pole to South Seas: Overcoming the Pitfalls of remote Performance
In today's always-on world, connectivity is a business requirement. You need the tools that allow you to operate as if you were on...
Live Webcast
Playing Defense: Staying on Top of Your Disaster Recovery Game
When it comes to disaster recovery, rapidly growing data volumes, distributed computing models, and new technologies all combine to present an ever-changing playing...
Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware
Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn...
Introduction to VMware View 5
VMware View™ 5 simplifies IT management while increasing end user freedom by delivering desktop services from your cloud. Building upon VMware's leadership in...
Reliable Disaster Protection with VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager
A simple, cost-effective disaster-recovery solution for virtual environments is high on the agenda for IT organizations as they virtualize more business-critical applications with...
Introduction to VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5
Traditional disaster recovery solutions are often too expensive, complex and unreliable to meet business requirements. As a result, IT departments are hesitant to...
Introduction to Virtualization
This video webcast is designed to help those with little to no virtualization experience understand why virtualization and VMware are so important to...
All Data Center Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs