Apple is eliminating all the services associated with OS X Server.
Prepare for changes to macOS Server - Apple Support
No mail server is the biggest thing I am concerned about.
Does anyone else care?
Mac Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)
Folks,
Based on your comments, some of this may be of help to you in moving from MacOS server to something better.
As a diehard Apple fan I really wanted to love OSX/MacOS Server. In the end I was forced to ditch it and look for alternatives, and haven't looked back. In MacOS Server, the features I most wanted, like a proper webserver, always felt like a lame afterthought with no meaningful support or community to speak of.
In a way I welcome this piece of news because it clarifies things and forces us to look into other, better alternatives of server while otherwise fully staying in the Mac ecosystem.
Since I already had to make this leap a couple years ago, allow me to share with you what has worked for me very well as replacement. (Admittedly, I only used the standard features of MacOS Server, such as web, dns, filesharing, some routing etc - not mail or the iOS management features.)
Just as MacOS is a pretty face over the gears and machinery of UNIX (including opensource server features like Apache webserver), there exist serveral options which let you come close to putting an easy-to-use server-focused interface over Linux.
The one that has worked best for me is Webmin. http://webmin.com/. This is a free user interface available for install over many distributions of Linux. Unlike MacOS server, in which all available features are just a limited and introductory subset, Webmin lets you configure any and all features a Linux server offers. (Just stop and think what that means... Entire corporations run on Linux!)
In my opinion, Webmin is such a good and complete server interface that you can in fact choose and install a desktop-free, server version of Linux, install Webmin over that, and manage the whole thing locally or remotely just that way. And I do just that. (It also has a module extension called Virtualmin which I also use and recommend for people who need all advanced features of a webserver.)
With the giant ease-of-use issue out of the way, you are now able and ready to avail yourself to all the benefits of using a Linux server without being a Linux expert. By far the two most important are:
- A truly full and regularly updated set of features of Linux. Including all the open source server features that haven't been updated by Apple in MacOS's behind-the-scene open-source packages in many years
- Yuuuge number of books and multitude of user communities at your fingertips that enble you to successfully deploy and troubleshoot even if you are totally on your own as manager your small company IT.
My choice of Linux is Ubuntu Server, with no desktop. Very clearly delineated, server focused features. Just choose that when running the installer off the downloadable Ubuntu Desktop ISO image.
You can install all that on any old PC or intel Mac, or as I do, run it virtualized, installed in VirtualBox (also free), a virtualization software package. (www.virtualbox.org). This means that the Mac and its MacOS are your actual base computer and running over it is another full-fledged Linux computer. Once you set in VirtualBox's preferences that you want the virtual Linux computer to get its own, separate IP address on the LAN, it behaves totally as though you actually had a Linux server box sitting in the corner of your office.
Finally, because I never wanted to mess with mail service in MacOS Server, I went straight to cloud-based for my business. For a few bucks a month per user, you can get MS Exchange Server-based service for your small business using your own domain name. I use Microsoft's 365 offering, Office 365 Business Essentials. Just Exchange mail, business Skype and online-only use of MS Office, so I can open and convert .doc files without losing any formatting.
Then, of course, there are "socialized" and cloud-based business communication offerings such as Slack. It's just awesome. I might be wrong, but I cannot imagine any feature MacOS Server mail service has that cannot be fully replaced (and then some) with a few clicks by such offerings.
I hope this helps. Happy to answer any questions.
I am really kinda ****** at apple for this. I mean the server app has been slowly getting worse and worse but it was a nice alternative to Micr$oft and Linux.
I migrated from Linux because it worked best with my iPhones and Laptops. I use almost all of it's features. It was easy clean and simple to distribute to devices. Plus the macMini was a nice small spaced device with a lot of reliability.
Just ***** apple.
I care. We have an entire small org (30+ people, so not tiny) using OS X Server. Wikis. Calendars. Contacts. Mail. DNS. DHCP. VPN. File sharing. For most of the 10 years we've been in operation we've not needed a full time sys admin as it was all easy. Now it seems we have to migrate. Quite a lot of pain. Made worse by the fact that Apple haven't so far been helpful on HOW to migrate. For example, how do you migrate hundreds of Wiki pages without rewriting them all (very expensive)? How do you migrate calendars (and meeting room resources)?
Me too. Have been using macOS Server as my one and only server platform in many organizations for more than 10 years because it brings the best of the Microsoft and Linux worlds together – an easy to use interface plus all the extra horsepower and extendability via command line.
Not sure where we're going from here.
YES!
Every time my in-house installs work when the internet goes out...
How about businesses in rural areas with crappy internet?
Does anyone in Cupertino design for anyone outside of Cupertino? That fabulous lifestyle in the infinite loop is beginning to contrast with most of the rest of the world that isn't in the 1% of income or the kids of them.
I don't care. The 2013 "Trash Can" Mac Pro forced me to run my 2010 Mac Pro for 6 years while hoping, waiting that a suitable replacement would come along and that the Trash Can was just another G4 Cube fluke and would be discontinued in 12-18 months. I've since moved my entire office to Win10+Server2012 running Dell Precision workstations. The upfront of all new software licenses was unenjoyable. Now, I can buy any piece of hardware I want and it just works. Never realized how badly I was drowning in the locked-up environment. Win10 plays very nicely with i-Devices by the way. I had real concerns about syncing iPad/iPhone to Win10. Fix for not having iMessage on my desktop machine? Switch it OFF on iPhone.
Agree 100%. I'm actually trying to figure out if there's a secure way I can run 10.6.8 server on a VM so I can keep using it. Alas, tho, it's long in the tooth and more and more limited each day that passes—almost certainly not worth the effort to put it on a VM at this point.
I'm with you on that.... but equally security and reliability is important. Server.app is failing to keep up so now it is a fait accompli what is needed is sharing of ideas for easy exit. Apart from file sharing which was pulled without any notice.... we have as least been told to make plans.
I'll bet Steve Jobs is turning over in his grave.
Apple used to be committed to providing educators with an easy to use, yet robust set of tools. Not anymore. Not only have they been getting rid of the tools, but they also crippled the performance of the OS with unnecessary background services.
After replacing all our PCs years ago with Macs, I can see it's time to move back to Microsoft (unfortunately, Linix is not an option, because my systems need to interface with data collection devices).
I really wonder if Apple management realizes how big of market (in Education) relied on their server products.
ARE YOU LISTENING APPLE!
How to migrate? I'm thinking Linux is going to have to be the answer I'm afraid. Sad thing is Apple will be happy as they only want consumer level devices these days. I wonder where they think their developers come from?
It seems that using this as the decision to move from Mac to another platform is a bit premature. It seems the one thing that will remain is the management of Mac and IOS devices. Moving to non iOS platform will not make things easier.
I care.
I finally have roundcube working with High Sierra and Server 5.5.
What can we do about it?
If I understand the Announcement correctly? these services are only going to be removed in future releases for new installs, For those of us already running Server, these services will remain.
Same here... This is a software issue, not a hardware problem. There is no reason to jump to different hardware because of the loss of Server app. It is just a question of convenience.
We will die of iPhones and iPads.......
Since the Xserve death, Server application became a pain in the *** for Apple.
And for those like us who work in the professional area, became a disaster.
Apple should consider to stop definitely and not "joke" with our professionality
This is just one more recent betrayal by Apple, undermining its own ecosystem. My message to the company is, teenagers diddling with phones does not make Apple cool, rather it's creative professionals who create the market mystique. Don't drive us from the platform.
Apple is killing OS X Server. Does anyone else care?
