OS X Server

OS X Server Updated For Faster Mac App Store Downloads & More

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If you run a Mac server, check your Mac App Store updates: OS X Server 2.2.1 has arrived, bringing a panoply of new features and bug fixes.

Headlining is a new feature called Caching Server, which Apple claims will speed up Mac App Store downloads. Although the exact mechanism isn’t stated, it’s easy to imagine that what will happen is if one Mac connected to the server downloads an update, it’ll be cached locally for other Macs to download instantly.

There’s also a monitoring service for Time Machine, telling admins which Macs have backed themselves up and when. Wiki Server support for Retina MacBook Pros and a new Centralized Certificate Management interface are also new.

You can download OS X Server for any Mac running Mountain Lion at the link below.

Source: iTunes

Apple Issues OS X Server 2.2 Update With App Update Caching, Time Machine Monitoring, And More

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Apple has released a big update for all OS X Server users on Mountain Lion. Version 2.2 adds a number of notable features, including the ability to cache app and software updates in the Mac App Store for faster downloads. Administrators can also monitor multiple Time Machines connected to different Macs on the same network and see when they last backed up.

Apple Releases OS X Server 2.2 Seed 2 To Developers

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Developer Seed 2.2

The new developer seed for OS X Server v2.2, Seed 2, is out. In an email sent to developer accounts, Apple announced the new download, and included a link to the seed download source, a set of instructions on how to instal and/or upgrade from various previous versions of OS X Server, and a PDF with the new changes detailed.

Apple Is Still Failing When It Comes To Selling Apps To Businesses And Schools

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Apple's volume purchase program falls short for many schools and businesses.
Apple's volume purchase program falls short for many schools and businesses.

Apple’s Volume Purchase Program (VPP) is the company’s half-hearted attempt to deliver some form of enterprise licensing program for the iOS App Store. The program does make it marginally easier for businesses to bulk purchase and deploy apps to iPhones and iPads than telling employees to buy apps and then reimbursing them, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. As we reported earlier this summer, many businesses and school still feel Apple doesn’t meet their app purchase and deployment needs.

Mobile app management (MAM) vendor App 47 summed up some of the key issues and how it can help companies deal with them as part of the company’s summer lecture series on app management.

MacTech Conference 2012 Registration Opens With Early Bird And Education Discounts

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Pre-registration open for this fall's MacTech Conference 2012.
Registration is available for this fall's MacTech Conference 2012.

Registration is now open for MacTech Conference 2012. The annual conference, which is a great learning and networking experience for IT professionals and developers, will be held October 17 – 19 in Los Angeles. A pre-registration discount is available for anyone who registers by the end of August.

The conference is sponsored by MacTech magazine and was launched in 2010, the year that Apple chose to focus its annual Worldwide Developers Conference solely on iOS. Since then, the conference has grown into a major event for IT professionals that need to support Macs and/or iOS devices in business, enterprise, and education environments. The conference has also become a serious event for Mac and iOS developers.

Apple Begins Offering Mountain Lion Training And Certification Options For IT Pros

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Following the launch of Mountain Lion, Apple has started rolling out Mountain Lion IT certifications.
Following the launch of Mountain Lion, Apple has started rolling out Mountain Lion IT certifications.

Apple has launched its first Mountain Lion training guide and certification for IT professionals. The certification is the Mountain Lion edition of the Apple Certified Associate – Mac Integration certification, which can be viewed as the introductory Mac IT certification.

Apple began offering the certification following last year’s launch of Lion. Unlike Apple’s other certification options, Apple provides a free guide to the material on the Mac Integration Basics Exam on its training site. You can also register and take the exam online for $65. Should you fail the exam, Apple will let you retake the exam at no additional charge.

Apple’s Profile Manager And The Future Of Mac Management [Feature]

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Mountain Lion Server's Profile Manager illustrates the future of Mac and iOS management.
Mountain Lion Server's Profile Manager illustrates the future of Mac and iOS management.

Since the release of Snow Leopard Server three years ago, Apple has been steering its server platform away from large enterprise deployments. Instead Apple has redesigned OS X Server to meet the needs of the small to mid-size business market as well as the needs of Apple-centric departments or workgroups in larger organizations. That focus is very clear if you download and install Mountain Lion Server or look through the Mountain Lion Server documentation from Apple.

One of the transitions that Apple began in Lion and Lion Server, which were released last summer, was a move away from the traditional Mac management architecture that Apple has provided in OS X Server since it launched the platform more than a decade ago. In its place, Apple has built a management system for Macs that is very similar to the mobile management features available in iOS.

Apple Continues To Support Traditional Mac Management In Mountain Lion Server

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Workgroup Manager and Managed Preferences are alive and kicking in Mountain Lion Server.
Workgroup Manager and Managed Preferences are alive and kicking in Mountain Lion Server.

In addition to launching Mountain Lion Server last week, Apple rather quietly released a Mountain Lion Server version of Workgroup Manager – the traditional Mac management tool included in previous releases of OS X Server. The move was unexpected after Apple released the Advanced Administration guide for Mountain Lion Server, which implied that administrators would need to begin an almost-immediate shift to Mountain Lion Server’s Profile Manager.

The move is good news for many organizations that have an existing investment in OS X Server and Mac clients. Although Mountain Lion Server’s Profile Manager is arguably a more modern and enterprise-friendly solution, it only supports Macs running Lion and Mountain Lion. Any schools or businesses with clients still on Leopard or Snow Leopard would be out of luck if Profile Manager were the only available option.

Apple Releases Feature Packed Mountain Lion Server For Just $20 In The Mac App Store

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Apple launches Mountain Lion Server for the bargain price of $19.99.
Apple launches Mountain Lion Server for the bargain price of $19.99.

In addition to Mountain Lion, Apple today launched the latest generation of its OS X Server platform known as Mountain Lion Server. The release includes several new features that will appeal to small business and larger enterprises alike.

Like Mountain Lion, Mountain Lion Server is available from the Mac App Store. The  $19.99 price tag is a huge bargain given Mountain Lion Server’s feature set.

The release functions as an add-on to Mountain Lion in the same way that Lion did last summer. That means that you will need have Mountain Lion installed before you can purchase and download Mountain Lion Server.

How To Deploy Mountain Lion In Business And Education The Right Way [Feature]

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Deploying Mountain Lion across dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of Mac can be easy and efficient if you do it the right way.
Deploying Mountain Lion across dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of Mac can be easy and efficient if you do it the right way.

Among Mountain Lion’s more than 200 new features are many that have distinct appeal for business users. AirPlay Mirroring, the ability to share items with colleagues, secure and unified messaging across Macs and iOS devices, one-step encryption of hard drives and flash drives, Reminders, Notification Center, VIP prioritization in Mail, and dictation are just handful of the Mountain Lion features that are poised to become great business and education tools.

With so many great features, IT departments big and small are likely to hear requests for Mountain Lion from employees, managers, educators, and even students. While Mountain Lion may be an easy and painless upgrade for consumers, any major OS upgrade poses challenges and concerns for technology professionals and Mountain Lion is no different. In this guide, we’ll show you how to prepare for Mountain Lion, test it for compatibility issues, and plan a successful roll out.

OS X Lion Server Video Course [Ending Soon]

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You already know that OS X is one of the most powerful and easy to use UNIX based OSes around. You wouldn’t be reading Cult of Mac if you didn’t. The thing that a lot of us don’t really know—or tap into—is the server version of OS X.

Sure it’s like OS X, but it also has all the power of an enterprise server behind it. Email server? Check. Calendar server? Yep. Document server, chat server, wiki…you get the idea. Anyway, it’s powerful stuff. And, so I’m told, pretty easy to manage. Pretty easy, not drop dead easy. Which means a few lessons and tutorials might come in handy just to make sure you get your OS X Lion Server set up the right way the first time. Hence today’s deal—OS X Lion Server Video Course – Cult of Mac Deals.

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs Mountain Lion Server [Feature]

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Profile Manager is a killer feature in Mountain Lion Server, but it isn't the only killer feature.
Profile Manager is a killer feature in Mountain Lion Server, but it isn't the only killer feature.

Apple is expected to launch Mountain Lion next week. At the same time, the company will be launching Mountain Lion Server. The new edition of Apple’s server platform is revolutionary in a lot of ways, not the least of which is its $19.99 price tag.

Mountain Lion Server includes the basic server functionality that you’d expect from a product intended for the small to mid-size business (SMB) market. That means features like file sharing, network printing, client backups, website hosting, VPN, email services, centralized contacts for an organization, and shared calendaring. All of that is important and Mountain Lion Server seems destined to make those services easy to set up and manage.

In addition to those basic capabilities, however, Mountain Lion Server comes with some pretty incredible functionality for businesses or workgroups of any size or type. Here are ten of the big money features that are easy to overlook.

Mountain Lion Server May Look Limited, But It Still Has Enterprise Bones [Feature]

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Appearances can be deceiving. Mountain Lion Server still has solid enterprise capabilities.
Appearances can be deceiving. Mountain Lion Server still has solid enterprise capabilities.

Apple has released two documents about Mountain Lion Server ahead of this month’s Mountain Lion (and Mountain Lion Server) launch. The first, a 25 page product guide, offered a some insights into the changes and new features that Apple wants to highlight for customers. The second is Apple’s Advanced Administration guide, an in-depth document that would be nearly 400 pages is it were printed or packaged as a PDF. This guide is the full documentation for Mountain Lion Server and it offers a lot of information about all the changes that Apple has made since Lion Server shipped last summer.

On the surface, these two guides are enough to make longtime OS X Server administrators nervous at Apple’s removal of the advanced admin tools and features that have been in nearly every previous OS X Server release. It’s very easy to look at the contents of the Advanced Administration guide and assume Apple is completing the consumerization of its server platform.

Digging a bit deeper, however, reveals that Apple may actually have a winning strategy in the way that it continues to integrate iOS and Mac management into a single workflow and that not all of the capabilities from previous iterations of OS X Server have been scrapped.

New Guide To Mountain Lion Server Confirms Apple Is Cutting Enterprise Tools And Features

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Mountain Lion Server guide confirms that Apple has cut many advanced tools and features from previous releases.
Advanced Admin Guide for Mountain Lion Server confirms Server Admin & Workgroup Manager aren't included.

Mountain Lion Server is the final chapter in Apple’s march from the enterprise data center – a march that started five years ago when Apple introduced a simplified management interface for small business as part of Leopard Server. The first sure sign that Apple had decided to tailor its server platform only for smaller organizations came with the cancellation of the Xserve.

To experienced OS X Server administrators, Lion Server looked like a patched together product that still had much of its former enterprise capabilities but with advanced administration tools that had been gutted like a fish. All of which pointed to Apple moving forward with its narrower focus and a simplified management app call simply Server.

How Mountain Lion Server Stacks Up To Windows Server [Feature]

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Think OS X Server doesn't have equivalents to Active Directory and Exchange? Think again.
Think OS X Server doesn't have equivalents to Active Directory and Exchange? Think again.

Last week, I compared the costs of Mountain Lion Server with the licensing for Windows Server 2012 Essentials Edition. Both products are pretty clearly for the small business market. One of the big questions or concerns from readers centered around Microsoft’s Active Directory and Exchange. The assumption being that Apple didn’t provide anything similar.

That assumption, however, isn’t accurate. To clear up confusion, let’s take a look at what the core services and features in OS X Server actually offers and the audience that can best benefit from Mountain Lion Server – small businesses looking to set up a handful of services for a relatively small number of users.

Microsoft Makes Mountain Lion Server Very Attractive By Gouging Small Businesses With Windows Server 2012 Licensing

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Microsoft's small business server will go up against Mountain Lion Server at 10X the cost and with artificial limits on it.
Microsoft's small business server will go up against Mountain Lion Server at 10X the cost and with artificial limits on it.

Now that Microsoft has unveiled the pricing and licensing models for Windows Server 2012, it’s easy to see why Apple’s focus on the small business market has been a genius move. Apple has been positioning its server platform as a small business solution for a while and Mountain Lion Server is the premier example of this focus.

Mountain Lion Server provides all the core needs for a small or mid-size firm – file sharing, email and messaging, shared contacts and calendars, and collaborative tools – for both Mac and Windows users. It also provides Mac deployment and update services as well as Mac and iOS device management capabilities. All of that is insanely affordable at just $31.98 ($19.99 to buy Mountain Lion, if needed, and then $19.99 for Mountain Lion Server).

By contrast, Microsoft’s so-called streamlining licensing for Windows Server 2012 lists a Windows Server Essentials Edition, which is the new equivalent of Windows Small Business Server, as starting at $425 with serious limitations.

Why Businesses Should Think (And Think Twice) About Going SSD

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Should businesses consider SSD options for Macs running OS X Server like the Mac mini Server?
Should businesses consider SSD options for Macs running OS X Server like the Mac mini Server?

Mac and iOS users are strangers to NAND flash storage. After all, Apple has been using flash as a storage medium for years now. iPods, iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, and some MacBooks all rely on NAND flash as a storage medium of choice. The success of those products has led Apple to be world’s biggest buyer of NAND chips and was no doubt a factor to mention the company’s purchase of Israeli flash memory firm Anobit.

Solid state storage based on NAND flash isn’t Apple-specific. Plenty of other companies offer flash storage in an array of form factors for a huge variety of uses including smartphones and mobile devices. Solid state drives (SSD) drives are available as options for a range of PCs. They’re also becoming common options for servers and network devices. For businesses looking to implement Lion or Mountain Lion, SSDs can be an attractive option. They can also be an expensive prospect, and there may be better ways to spend your business dollars.

Mountain Lion Server Preview – It’s All About Small Business [Feature]

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Server app is Apple's current approach to OS Server Installs
Server app is now Apple's primary OS X Server interface

Apple’s 2007 launch of Leopard Server was the beginning of a new business strategy for the company. Leopard Server included a number of new features – shared calendaring with iCal Server, Apple’s wiki-based collaborative tools, and streamlined Podcast creation and hosting through Podcast Producer were some of the highlights. The biggest new feature, however, was the introduction of a simplified setup assistant and Server Preferences – a utility designed to look and feel similar to System Preferences that enabled easy management of key server features for smaller organizations with limited technical knowledge or resources.

Fast forward nearly five years to today and you can see the focus that Apple introduced in Leopard Server has become the core of Mountain Lion Server. You can also see that many features that used to be OS X Server staples are gone (or at least are being handed their hats and coats). What remains is a very inexpensive but still relatively powerful server OS with a focus on easy setup and management as well as collaboration.

Apple Quietly Releases Mountain Lion Server Guide, Previews The Future Of Mac Management

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Apple offers an early glimpse into Mountain Lion Server and Mountain Lion Mac management
Apple offers an early glimpse into Mountain Lion Server and Mountain Lion Mac management

 

Apple has quietly posted an overview guide to Mountain Lion Server. The 25 page PDF document is available from Apple’s OS X Server Resources page, which barely references Mountain Lion at all. The generically named OS X Server Product Overview link in the page’s Documentation section, however, links to the new Mountain Lion Server product brief.

The overview guide is listed as being updated for June. That implies that it was deliberately placed there in advance of next month’s Mountain Lion release (as opposed to going live early by mistake). The guide primarily focuses on introducing the various features in Mountain Lion Server. While not in-depth, it definitely provides a sense of where Apple is going with Mountain Lion Server as well as with Mac and iOS management.

How Apple Threw Away The Opportunity To Launch A Facebook For Businesses

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Apple's wiki server could have been a major social network option for businesses
Apple's wiki server could have been a major social network option for businesses

 

Microsoft confirmed yesterday that it plans to purchase Yammer, a four-year old company that specializes in providing enterprise social networks. The move, which has been rumored for months, offers Microsoft a chance to develop business collaborative systems that go well beyond the company’s Sharepoint service.

The move is an interesting one that could be significant in the enterprise space. The success of public social networks has led a number of organizations to attempt to bring the social concept into the workplace. The rate of success has varied with NASA’s Spacebook project being one of the more notable failures (and one lampooned by Stephen Colbert).

Mountain Lion’s New Security Update Feature – Good For Users, A Potential Headache for IT

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Will Mountain Lion's new security system be a hit or a miss for schools and businesses?
Will Mountain Lion's new security system be a hit or a miss for schools and businesses?

Following the Flashback malware scare this spring, Apple is stepping up its focus on security and malware protection in Mountain Lion. The release notes for the latest Mountain Lion developer preview include references to a “new Mountain Lion Security Updates system” that checks for security updates on a daily basis, uses a more secure connection when communicating with Apple’s update servers, and can install required updates automatically when a Mac is restarted.

Based on the release notes for the system, Apple is making the security update process automatic and has designed it to  runs as a system process rather than a user task. Presumably that means it will function without a user logged in or while non-admin users are logged in. All in all, that’s similar to Microsoft’s Windows update feature and a good thing for users.

That doesn’t mean that this setup will be great fit for businesses, schools, and other organizations with large Mac populations.

Why The Mac Pro Matters And Why It Isn’t Designed For Most Mac Users

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The Mac Pro is the most PC-like Mac, but it serves niches that other Macs and PCs can't
The Mac Pro is the most PC-like Mac, but it serves niches that other Macs and PCs can't.

Apple quietly updated its Mac Pro line last week. The update was an important move even though the actual changes were so minor as to be barely noteworthy. The minor refresh gave high computing customers a sense of confidence that Apple wasn’t going to abandon the Mac Pro line anytime soon. That sense of confidence got a boost from New York Times columnist David Pogue, who was assured more substantive Mac Pro upgrades were in the works for 2013.

The Mac Pro is something of a relic when it comes to Apple’s current strategy. It’s the only Mac that features significant expansion options using industry standard hardware – a point made by Lifehacker columnist Adam Dachis, who compared the Mac Pro’s specs and costs to three hackintosh options. Looking at the Mac Pro as simply a series of specs, performance, and cost is appropriate for most users – but not for some important niche markets.

At $19.99 Mountain Lion Server Promises To Be A Great Bargain

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Apple's pricing for Mountain Lion Server is a great bargain for small businesses
Apple's pricing for Mountain Lion Server is a great bargain for small businesses.

OS X Server has always been something of a bargain compared to the various flavors of Windows Server. Unlike Microsoft, Apple never focused on a client access licensing model in which organizations must pay for the server software itself plus additional licenses for users or devices that connect to it. Apple also doesn’t break OS X Server down into multiple variations each with its own features, licensing needs, and upgrade limitations.

When you buy OS X Server, Apple gives you everything from file sharing to Internet and collaborative services like wikis and internal messaging through Mac and iOS device management. If you start as a small business with a single basic server and eventually grow to the point where you need to support and manage dozens or hundreds of Macs, PCs, and mobile devices, there are no limits imposed on licensing or data migration.

New Mac Pro Delivers Unprecedented Performance, Proves Apple Supports High-End Computing

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Inside the Mac Pro, Apple's most powerful and configurable Mac
Inside the Mac Pro, Apple's most powerful and configurable Mac

 

There have been concerns about the fate of the Mac Pro ever since Apple killed off the Xserve a year and a half ago. Although Apple didn’t say the Mac Pro was on the chopping block, the company did let it go without an update for quite some time. Although the Mac Pro didn’t get featured in today’s WWDC keynote like the MacBook lineup, which includes the new MacBook Pro, it did receive a long-needed update.

The biggest reaction to the Mac Pro’s update today is a sense of relief by many creative professionals and Mac-focused IT departments. The update proves that Apple isn’t signing the death warrant for its most powerful and most expandable Mac. That makes the updated specs a symbol of Apple’s commitment to high-end and high-performance systems in addition to being a major product update.