Looking ahead to Leopard Server

Dear OS X Server-owners, and dear those-destined-to-be-OS X Server-owners,

I was just looking again at Apple's pages on the features of the new OS X Server 10.5, due in October. This is the first time I've been flat-out excited about a server release. Don't get me wrong, I dig them as much as the next geek, but they've never stirred me to, say, write an email to 20 non-IT people.

We can't invest too much in the hype, but there's stuff in here that I've been waiting for for years, and that I was always baffled Apple didn't have. And they say this:

"If you think it takes a dedicated IT department to deploy and use a server, think again. Leopard Server is designed to allow you to easily set up and manage servers."

I've never viewed J2 Consulting as your IT department, because Macs don't require that, and that's one of the things I love about 'em. We're advisers and technicians, and the solutions we get to put in place tend to keeping working, with relatively little maintenance. If Leopard Server can make our job easier, so we can serve more people, while each client pays less, sign me up!

Here are some of the tools they're including:

http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/leopard/simplesetup.html
http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/leopard/directory.html
http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/leopard/icalserver.html
http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/leopard/spotlightserver.html


And here are some of the other phrases I'm glad to read:

"The end of manual labor

Adding clients to the network is now a quick and easy process. Just plug the new Mac into the network and launch the Directory Utility application. It will automatically detect and sign on to the server."

"Who's who

With Directory you can search for and, more important, find people in your organization. Just type in a name. ... it even shows you a map of their location. You can also manage your own record and distribution of personal contact data."

"Portable Home Directories 2 
External Accounts is a new Portable Home Directory feature that allows you to have a home directory on an external FireWire or USB portable drive."


Give me a shout to discuss how these technologies might play a part in your environment.

Jonathan

J2 Consulting ~ Chicken soup for the Mac ~ www.j2mac.com ~ 210.367.3420