Apple's back-end platform for Mac users have become the perfect server solution for enterprise use. Mac OS X Leopard Server is not a competitor of Windows Server 2008, but aims to be the first choice for small-business.
The server installation doesn't require too many technical skills. The simple process is guided by the installation wizard which ask a few questions about the network configuration. There might be needed some command line knowledge for long time administration, but that shouldn't be an issue for medium-experienced users.
Unlike the previous server versions, Leopard Server features two administration interfaces: Server Admin and Server Preferences. The first one has many tools that offer functionality and allow to create category groups for servers, "a set of servers as storage, production, or even sales, and then build widget-style dashboards that show the state and behavior of each group". Furthermore it permits to manage the file-administration tasks. The Workgroup Manager tools allows admins to set user accounts and manage machine permissions. Another great tool would be the System Image Utility which lets you build both server and client disk images for later deployment in case of trouble. The latter interface - Server Preferences - is much simpler for unexperienced users.
The Leopard Server features services for wikis, blogs, a user directory, and a new calendar server. The collaboration tools install almost automatically. Comparing with Windows, Apple's server doesn't have same third party support regarding the plug-ins and applications. However, Apple Leopard Server remains a good competitor for the future to be released Windows Small Business Server.
The article was based on the review of Apple Leopard Server done by PC Magazine.
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