PC Magazine apreciou o Mac OS X Leopard Server

A PC Magazine, deu a sua apreciação ao sistema operativo de servidor da Apple, o Mac OS X Leopard Server.

Começa por referir que a "Apple's put a load of work into Leopard Server, and it shows. What was mainly a niche back-end platform for Mac users has evolved into a slick server that caters to a general small-business audience and will likely go head-to-head with Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 when that comes out later this year."

"For now, this review comes from the perspective of a Windows SBS 2003 administrator playing around in Apple's server-side orchard for the first time. From that perspective, Apple's done a hell of a job.

My experts tell me that although Apple has always said that its server OS could work for any small business, Leopard is the first OS X server they've seen with real evidence of that. Previously, Apple-centric businesses, as well as Apple-oriented departments in large companies, made good use of OS X Server, especially when combined with Apple's XSAN high-end storage hardware. I won't comment on Tiger's success or failure in that area, but after exploring this OS for a while, I've concluded that Leopard is definitely a competitive all-purpose small-business server.

One feature I liked immediately was that, unlike Microsoft, Apple doesn't give you a hard time about buying just the OS software. You don't have to hire a Small Business Server 2003 certified partner to install Leopard Server or purchase a brand-new machine with SBS 2003 preinstalled. Plunk down your credit card and Apple sends you the DVD, no questions asked. You can then upgrade your existing Xserve or install the server on an unused Mac workstation or even a MacBook laptop."

Dá uma perspectiva sobre a forma de instalar o Leopard Server:
"Installation immediately shows Apple's new small-business focus. While full-on Unix-guru advanced installation options are still present, there's also a medium-difficult Workgroup installation option (which loads just the services Apple thinks are needed for integrating the server into an existing corporate network) and a no-brainer Standard mode (which installs only those services Apple thinks are needed for a standalone server in a small-business environment). The installation wizard is what earns Standard mode its no-brainer rating: It asks just a few questions concerning your network environment and then clicks into auto-install mode."

Faz uma boa apreciação ás caracteristicas de colaboração que o Leopard Server oferece:
"Collaboration tools are where Leopard really starts chasing Small Business Server. The new OS X Server sports services for wikis, blogs, a user directory, and a new calendar server. The last is big news, as it's been a requested feature for some time; Apple finally listened. The new iCal Server is based on the Internet CalDAV standard, which sounds nice and open on paper but actually has few working clients today."

"The wiki and blog servers are almost entirely automated. Simply selecting the services during installation enables them on the local network, with individual users automatically getting their own wiki and blog assignments right along with their Home folders (though administrators can disable or modify this on a user-by-user basis). Publishing wiki or blog entries to the Internet is merely a matter of adding a proper domain and punching the right holes through the firewall."

E conclui com estas afirmações:
"A single Leopard server is a solid matchup against Windows Small Business Server, and probably against a Windows Essential Business Server (Centro) as well."
"But for small businesses making their first server-buying decision, Leopard is a viable option—no matter what their clients are running. As a sometime Windows Server admin, I had to put in a little work learning to maneuver in OS X, but it's not that big a chore. Dealing with the command line might be painful for some, but if you've got a little Linux experience, then FreeBSD shouldn't scare you."

"The bottom line is that Apple's done an excellent job of putting an accessible face on top of a Unix server's guts. Leopard lets businesses take advantage of Unix's security and reliability, while keeping much of that Apple ease of use. Make sure your business software and processes are supported, and this server will work no matter what's running on the rest of the network."

Recomendo que vejam todo o artigo para terem uma apreciação global da review ao Mac OS X Leopard Server.

Clique aqui.

Entretanto, parece que o nosso país continua a assobiar para o ar ou para o lado. Ninguém dá uma palavrinha sobre este sistema. Tantos sites e blogues erguidos sobre o mundo Apple, alguns com super-colaboradores... e nadinha! Nem uma palavra!

Caramba, que eu apesar de perceber pouco do mundo dos servidores vou lembrando deste OS X, com vários artigos.

Clique aqui para ver os artigos todos seguidinhos.

E está prometido para breve um artigo sobre o Leopard Server que uso na empresa, no meu departamento. Com imagens e tudo!

Stay tunned folks!