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Leopard Server provides new features designed to enable easy, UI-based setup, management and monitoring of systems on the network. Server Assistant configures server applications, network settings such as IP addresses and DNS configurations and user accounts with just a few clicks. Server Preferences provides management of users, groups and key server applications, and a Server Status Dashboard widget remotely monitors activity and usage. Leopard Server also eliminates the need to manually set up Leopard clients by automatically configuring client applications, including file sharing, Mail, iChat, iCal, Address Book and VPN from user information stored on the server.

A new Podcast Producer application combines a tools for recording content, automatically uploading it to the server and converting it into a podcast optimised for playback on almost any device, including a HD-TV, iPod or mobile phone.

Leopard gains a Wiki Server with 20 Apple-designed wiki themes. It provides a complete revision history to make it easy to restore previous entries and merge or compare different versions and can automatically notify users whenever a change is made. Users can also tag keywords to find content quickly.

Calendaring has been an area where the Mac OS has lagged in recent years. Leopard addresses that with the introduction of iCal Server, the first open, standards-based calendar server that works with popular calendar programmes which

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support the new CalDAV standard. iCal Server does not require client access licences, so organisations can at any time increase the number of employees who share calendars, schedule meetings and co-ordinate events at no extra cost.

Leopard Server is fully UNIX compliant and its core services, including Apache 2, MySQL 5, Postfix, Podcast Producer and QuickTime Streaming Server, are 64-bit. Leopard Server is fully 32-bit compatible and users can run 32-bit and 64-bit applications natively side-by-side.

Leopard Server extends Apple's legendary ease of use, making it even easier to take advantage of the benefits of a server, said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing

"Leopard Server is the best release of Mac OS X Server yet, bringing more great innovations, like Podcast Producer, Wiki Server and iCal Server," he said. "With new setup features that have a server up and running within minutes and no client access licenses, Leopard Server is the ideal alternative to complicated and expensive server offerings for small and large businesses."

Mac OS X Server 10.5 Leopard will be available from 26 October 26 for a suggested retail price of £271 (exc. VAT) for a 10-client edition and £535 (exc. VAT) for an unlimited-client edition. Current subscribers to the Apple Maintenance Program will receive Leopard Server as part of their service agreement and standard Mac OS Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Xserve system from Apple or an Apple Authorised Reseller on or after 1 October 2007 for a shipping and handling fee of £5.95. Volume and maintenance pricing is available from Apple.

Leopard Server can run on any Macintosh computer with an Intel or PowerPC G5 or G4 (867MHz or faster) processor. An unlimited client licence of Leopard Server is included with Apple's Xserve rack-mount server hardware