Clearly, Apple doesnt want to spend the time in this arena anymore; it would rather relegate its pro efforts to creative software like Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro.
App For Server Management Mac Into AA quiet post on Apples support site last month revealed that the company is significantly dialing back the capabilities of its macOS Server package, the 20 add-on software that turns your Mac into a full-featured piece of server hardware.Instead, Apple says it is re-focusing macOS Server on management of computers, devices, and storage on your network.![]() ![]()
App For Server Management Pro Efforts ToApp For Server Management Mac OS X ServerFor a long time thereafter, Mac OS X Server was an entirely separate product that you had to purchase separatelyat a hefty price. At that price, very few customers who werent IT professionals were actually ponying up for the product. After that point, though, the price tag dropped precipitouslyby half for the Snow Leopard version. With Lion, the price dropped to just 50, and instead of being an entirely separate installation it was a package of tools that one added on to a standard OS install. As of Mountain Lion, that price dropped to just 20, and the product had by then transmuted into the Server app, available through the Mac App Store. At those prices, it was more than reasonable for even a dilettante hobbyist like myself to invest in the app, even if only to take limited advantage of the functions therein. But that experimentation led me into a couple areas where Mac OS Server was actually a phenomenal tool for casual users. Apple. Earlier on in life, when I was still a web developer, I spent time setting up test environments on my personal machine. There were packages to easily install tools like the mySQL database in addition to the existing personal web hosting services that Apple originally included in OS X. So when I wanted to set up a VPN on my Mac mini, I turned to the Server app. With relatively little command-line intervention, I was able to set up a secure tunnel back to my home network for when I was on the road. Yes, the Back to my Mac feature built into the macOS is supposed to provide similar features, but its notoriously unreliable.) The Server apps user interface for managing a VPN was surprisingly straightforward, putting a convenient wrapper around tools that can otherwise be complex. And I should know because Ive since installed one on a server elsewhere. The same goes for other tools that can be complicated to manage, such as web servers and DNS support. Apple macOS Server: Looking forward Now that these tools are on their way out, what next As my colleague Jason Snell pointed out in a recent conversation on this topic, Apples presence in this area was probably enough to deter other companies from building friendly front-end tools for these services. After all, why invest in the market if Apple itself is selling the functionality for cheap Perhaps third parties interest will be piqued now that Apples not in the game anymore. Meanwhile, some of the tools that used to only be available as Serversuch as Content Caching, which tries to prevent you from having to download the same data multiple times for multiple deviceshave moved into the consumer-level OS. But others, such as web hosting or the aforementioned VPN, dont seem to be heading that way. On the upside, though Apple has deprecated the tools, they will continue to work for the foreseeable future if you have them enabled. Ive already heard from a few people peeved about this decision, seeing it as Apples abandonment of the network server market.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2020
Categories |