Using Mac Mini with OS X Server as a Client machine

Hi

OS X Server is simply an App and not the operating system. Mavericks (10.9) is the OS. So what does that mean? It means that you have a client anyway as nothing is pre-configured and won't be until you launch the Server.App and go through the configuration wizard. Alternatively you could simply bypass the configuration wizard by deleting the Server.App on first login.

HTH?

Tony

If you're thinking of logging into the server directly (that "also" you mentioned), there are two salient differences: workstation and client outages and downtime usually adversely effects just one user, and users with network homes cannot and should not log in locally.

Server outages can and usually do effect multiple users and multiple services. Typical workstation and client management thinks nothing of shuffling configurations and rebooting. Or of opening ports, or random software.

Servers tend not to be reconfigured very often, and server reboots and upgrades and related tend to happen only when necessary and then variously also outside of business hours. This because server outages can effect more than one user.

Servers can also sometimes be exposed to the Internet (such as running a publicly-accessable web site) which means uptime is preferred, and some care around what's stored on the server and what can be accessed (and trashed or deleted or exposed) in the event of a breach can also be a consideration.

The usual next question that arises: the overhead from sharing interactive and served access with a server can range from inconsequential to untenable, depending on what you're doing with the server. Typical mail services and DNS for a few dozen folks to maybe a hundred or more usually won't be noticable. Providing disk services or netbooting large numbers of clients and related heavy-I/O or heavy-network tasks might not be quite so innocuous for those folks sharing access on the server.