Product Reviews

Apple's new Leopard system is not just made for regular single-Mac users; it also comes in industrial-strength form as Mac OS X Server 10.5. This may escape the attention of some system admins, but Apple's server software has been highly respected for years - and the new Leopard server looks like a system that's ready to take on serious work in Mac-only, mixed and even Windows-only environments.

Leopard Server's email services include good support for Active Directory, and handle anti-virus and anti-spam processing and other security measures (using ClamAV, SpamAssassin and SSL/TLS) at the server level. The calendar services take iCal to a much higher level than we've seen before, with group scheduling abilities and support for CalDAV and other related standards.

This isn't a complete challenger for Microsoft's Exchange, but it's certainly more than adequate for a lot of people. VPN services can handle many hundreds of connected users, although the exact figure is hardware-dependent rather than limited by software. IP failover now supports full active pairing, balancing network loads between linked hardware actively as well as providing seamless takeover if one fails. Previous OS X Server implementations didn't balance loads actively, so this represents a significant further step into enterprise requirement territory.

Media-oriented services are OS X Server's home ground, and it handles them extremely well. The Podcasting server features are a perfect example of the advanced integration; taking video input and processing it for multiple forms of output, along with the necessary deployment steps and data management processing. This can be implemented and even triggered on client machines automatically with iCal and Automator scripts. So, for example, it can give education environments the kind of end-to-end podcasting abilities that many are struggling to achieve.

Right from installation the attention to detail is impressive. Setting up a serious server OS from scratch isn't something the average network admin would do lightly, but in most

ADVERTISEMENT

respects it is as easy as installing the regular (aka client) version of Leopard. For example, at the end of the main installation process you're asked how you want to configure your server. You can opt for a straightforward standalone server that handles normal tasks such as file sharing, calendar services, mail and web, network backup and the like, a workgroup-oriented server that doesn't include mail, remote access or similar services, or an Advanced server, which includes everything from Podcasting to System Imaging and everything in between. Once the setup process has finished, the services bundled in the selected configuration are activated and ready to use, although things such as email serving will need further configuration.

This sort of assisted setup might sound a little simplistic, but it is a good way to get the basics in place before sorting out the details for your specific needs.

Some of the new features are a delight. For example, users automatically get access to their own workgroup-based collaborative wiki, including blog, shared calendar and mail services from a single web interface. If you prefer a more complex, customisable blog, such as a WordPress installation, this may not be quite what you want, but it is a perfectly functional and well-integrated system that is available from the start.

Administrators will like the management facilities for client installations of Leopard. The client setup process, which is necessary to provide access to the services that might be run on the server, can be done more or less automatically while installing the client version of Leopard, or by clicking on a link in an invitation email or running the Directory Utility if you set up the users on the server first. (You can set up users as part of the initial guided server installation and configuring stage, or later on.)

Backup using Time Machine is integrated into the OS, both for the server and clients. Networked client machines can be allowed to back up to a hard drive attached to the server, centralising the backup process and making it a no-brainer for the admin and the end users. Of course, users must be running Leopard for this. Those running older versions of the Mac OS or other operating systems will need another backup solution.

Mac OS X Server 10.5 is a significant upgrade and should be considered seriously for any managed network environment, even those in which no other Macs are involved. From setup to day-to-day work, it's a robust, elegant and manageable system, and other than the issue of the 10-client (for 10 concurrent users) or unlimited-client licence there are no per-user costs at all.