Mac OS X 10.3 Server review

Apple's server version of Mac OS X 10.3 is now shipping.

This is the version of the Mac OS designed to provide network services to other machines on local networks and the Internet. Although there have been a few hiccups with the client version of OS X 10.3, the focus of the server version of the OS is somewhat different; more than ever before, OS X Server is based on established Internet and networking standards.

Apple's push to make the Mac a totally platform-agnostic machine on the network is paying dividends, with the regular client release of OS X 10.3 being easier than Windows XP to set up on Windows networks. Now the same can be said for OS X Server; it is arguably the best way to serve data and services to PCs as well as Macs, being easier to set up, configure and manage than Windows servers, whatever the administrator's previous experience or expertise.

Improved controls

The new Server Admin utility is the star of the show as far as the front end goes. Just the list of protocols and services handled in this tool is impressive; AFP, Application Server, DHCP, DNS, Firewall, FTP, Mail, NAT, NetBoot, NFS, Open Directory, Print, QuickTime Streaming, VPN, Web and Windows. Elsewhere you'll find the MySQL Manager, ODBC Administrator and other more specialist tools, but Server Admin is the heart of most OS X Server 10.3 configuration and monitoring.

The large list of services is presented in a list on the left in Server Admin, with the majority of the window's space devoted to showing the various controls for the selected item; overview, log, settings and more. Launching any of these is virtually a one-click operation, with clear configuration controls. We set up DNS, Web, file and print serving, and media streaming services in minutes, and found the process to be even simpler than in previous releases of OS X Server. If administrators want to tweak things at levels not provided by the Server Admin, and other tools the traditional command-line approaches are still valid - but we suspect that few will actually need to do this.

The QuickTime Streaming Server Publisher utility teams up with the QuickTime Streaming services controls in Server Admin to allow video footage and MP3 audio files to be streamed live to network and Internet users, while the QuickTime Broadcaster utility makes it easy (yes, easy) to set up live streamed video or audio using cameras and audio input sources.

Apple always likes to point out the lack of client access fees with OS X Server, and this is a valid point. With OS X Server 10.3 administrators can provide native network services for all, and without the cost overhead of deploying a multiple-client Windows server OS. Users can authenticate directly from the Windows login window, and the server can host Windows home directories alongside Mac home directories, offer 'roaming' remote login, and more.

The printed documentation provided with OS X Server 10.3 is much better than that shipped with 10.1 and 10.2; a 140-page book as opposed to a fold-out reference card. Given the scope of OS X Server this is a move which deserves praise in itself. We would have liked to have seen more detail on the different aspects of the core services and related tools and how things work together, but the manual was undeniably very useful.

In standard local use, OS X Server 10.3 works virtually identically to the client version of OS X, the chief differences being the login screen (text entry only, no icons) and the lack of pre-installed tools such as iTunes, iPhoto and so on. There's also no File Vault utility provided, although iChat, Mail and Safari are installed. Rather than client-oriented applications, the focus is on industrial-strength, industry-standard tools and services. It runs on everything that the standard client version of OS X 10.3 handles; any G3 Mac excluding the beige models, although faster processors will obviously be better for handling demanding network services.