OS X server features

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Level 1

28 points

OS X server features

I am retiring a quad 2.5 running OS x Leopard server. and buying a 2010 macpro apple refurb. I know that Apple dropped building a separate server image as of Mountain Lion.

1. Were features and core functionality lost in this transition?

2. Given the depth of server permission sets, are servers running as apps inherently more unstable and potentially buggy then a dedicated install.

3. Is OS X server for any of these reasons( or others) really a viable enterprise solution?

PowerMac, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Nov 18, 2015 7:05 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 19, 2015 2:30 AM in response to Pheidius1

Even back when Apple provided a dedicated version of OS X as the Server operating system e.g. Snow Leopard Server it was not actually that different to the client operating system. The client version of the operating system had all the same server components like Apache installed as well it was more that the settings and sometimes locations and versions of those components where different.

So the current situation with Server.app is that it installs extra settings to turn on those components and provides a very easy to use interface for configuring them. Once again things like Apache, Bind, bootpd, etc. are already there on standard OS X.

So the answers to your questions are -

Yes features have been lost
No Server.app itself does not make things more unstable, in fact once you have set things up just like the old days you do not have to have Server.app running all the time and you don't even have to have the computer logged in as a user
No OS X Server is not a viable Enterprise solution, but neither was Snow Leopard Server really, this is more down to the limited functionality and the almost complete lack of ability to create fail-over or clustering configurations, etc. however look at the price, you are not being charged Enterprise level costs

Where some functionality has been lost in Server.app vs. Server Admin, some of this can still be done manually via the command line, for example installing MySQL, configuring FreeRADIUS, etc.

In particular Apple's own VPN server module is still present but is from an Enterprise point of view extremely dated technology not fit for Enterprise use - it cannot even do VPN-on-Demand for use with Apple's own iPhones!

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Answer 2

Pheidius1 Author

Level 1

28 points

Nov 19, 2015 4:24 PM in response to Pheidius1

My primary use for this server will be a web hosted POS system that takes credit card payments and then issues a activation key to the end user that is generated by a mission critical piece of proprietary software whose loss to a hacker would destroy the business model. The security of the portal, the pipeline between the two host machines, and the algorthym re-encypting this information's handshakes are the top priorities. The machine hosting the license generator also hosts the database of the aggregate transactions. That is the entire extant of the server's duties.

So would a front end local host running the POS be better off on Free BSD? The security of this portal is paramount. Does anyone know what OS hosts Apple Pay?

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Answer 3

Pheidius1 Author

Level 1

28 points

Nov 23, 2015 4:44 PM in response to John Lockwood

My primary use for this server will be a web hosted POS system that takes credit card payments and then issues a activation key to the end user that is generated by a mission critical piece of proprietary software whose loss to a hacker would destroy the business model. The security of the portal, the pipeline between the two host machines, and the algorthym re-encypting this information's handshakes are the top priorities. The machine hosting the license generator also hosts the database of the aggregate transactions. That is the entire extant of the server's duties.

So would a front end local host running the POS be better off on Free BSD? The security of this portal is paramount. Does anyone know what OS hosts Apple Pay?

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Answer 4

Nov 24, 2015 3:06 AM in response to Pheidius1

By itself no particular operating system i.e. OS X vs FreeBSD vs Linux vs Windows is going to be any more secure. It will depend on how you configure it and that you make sure to install security fixes when they become available.

Apple, Microsoft and the Linux community and presumable the FreeBSD community all work on security fixes but I would say that the Linux community is probably the quickest at doing this.

If you wanted to use a Mac then you have two options, ok three.

Use Apple's built-in software which means you are likely to not have the latest versions of various components e.g Python, Perl, Apache, etc. and would have to wait for Apple to issue updates
Install your own separate copies of any such components in a separate location, you are pretty much then on the same terms as a Linux system
Install Linux on the Mac perhaps in a virtual machine

I think I can say with great confidence that Apple do not use OS X to run Apple Pay or any of their web systems.

I would also say that simply having an up-to-date operating system while a start is only part of the proper approach for a major online system. Other considerations would be encryption of data both in transit and when in the database (at rest), designing against SQL injection attacks, resiliency measures so that if a single server crashes or is overloaded others are available and so on.

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