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In what type or roles and network is Mac OS X server commonly used. What does OSX server have that is not available on other Unix enviroments like Linux, or OpenSolaris. What benefits does it have over the Microsoft?

Chealion
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Gordon Gustafson
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    Sorry, but your basic premise is flawed. Apache (largest market share) is available for Windows as well as nix. So if you're basing your wild claim ("*nix dominates the webserver market*") on Apache statistics, you're simply wrong. You're comparing apples and oranges. – Izzy Oct 30 '09 at 00:21
  • I don't know what unix you're using but hpux and solaris can be a a bit pricey. – egorgry Oct 30 '09 at 00:43
  • web was actually born on a NeXT Computer – monomyth Oct 30 '09 at 00:58
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    I updated your question to be much less argumentative. Please set to to be community wiki since it is more of a poll then an solvable question. – Zoredache Oct 30 '09 at 01:08
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    Exact duplicate of http://serverfault.com/questions/49639/who-uses-mac-os-x-server-and-why and closely related to http://serverfault.com/questions/30418/what-are-the-benefits-of-xserve-hardware-and-mac-os-x-server – Chealion Oct 30 '09 at 04:45
  • just so you know, the original frasing of the question by me was not subjective, and contained no Mac vs. windows controversy – Gordon Gustafson Oct 30 '09 at 23:55

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Some schools use it together with their iMacs because easy deployment and management is promised. However Apple's lack of commitment and a good release plan made OS X server an unpopular choice among large scale deployments in corporations.

KahWee Teng
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One place that OSX server is pretty common is in K12 schools. The combination of Open Directory, Workgroup Manager, and other features make it a nice server for a small network that has mostly OSX/Linux Desktops. Typically OSX server will be used to provide most of the common services like fileservering, web, mail, dns, dhcp, and so on.

The advantage OSX server has over something like Windows Server is that Apple doesn't try to nickle-and-dime you to death for buying Client Access Licenses. You can cheaply buy a OSX server license that allows an unlimited number of clients to connect. You don't have to pay per user for access, and pay another license per user for mail server access.

Also check out this facility devoted to Mac Mini Colocation.

Zoredache
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I setup an Xserve not long ago at a company that was all Mac-based. It provides a calendar server that all the Macs could easily use, as well as easy to setup and admin file sharing and centralized time machine backups.

Most of the places using OSX server soft and hardware I've seen seem to be Mac-centric.

Mike Sisk
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