hi all. im contemplating on getting a mac mini server for home and educational use. my problem is that im not sure if ill need the the actual server version or just the plain jane version to run server. i plan on using all the features i could use for home use, but will only have 2 clients connected to it for the most part, my macbook pro and my wifes macbook. id rather buy a new one when tax season comes around, but ill consider a older one if the price is right. what do you all think?
can you elaborate on this point? because this can mean any number of things. i
think what you mean is for File Sharing (via say, AFP). if that's the case - you can do that with regular OSX without any issues.
might i also bring to your attention Virtual Machines. they are your best friend in this type of environment, and the mac mini is very good at handling them. they give you the ability to test/run any environment you want on the host system. so honestly, i suggest just the plain mac mini, then if you really want, spend some money on a virtual machine host + OS to play with.
for me personally, i have a dual core 2011 mac mini (base model) with 16GB RAM. i have 1x windows 2008 VM on it, 1x web server (linux) VM, a client 10.8 VM (for testing builds, etc) and at times 2-3 other VMs running. i would consider myself a very heavy consumer (prosumer, to be exact) but the stock mini with 5400rpm handles the job "ok". when i say ok, i mean that it's too slow for me, but i can put up with it. so if the base model is good enough for me - it's good enough for anybody!
goodluck with your decision.
The server app is overkill for 95% of people out there. Don't be fooled into thinking you need it to run a home server for basic media/document sharing etc. It can all be done through regular old OSX with minimal fuss
without a doubt. traditionally, Mac OS X server was always for use within an enterprise environment. Since Lion, that's changed a lot (to my hatred, mind you).
Mountain Lion Server, or rather, "Mountain Lion with OS X Server" as Apple calls it, is a joke. There are very few things that such a server would do that would be relevant or even useful in a "home server" setting. You can set one as a Time Machine Server, though, if that's all you're doing, a Time Capsule is cheaper and offers more storage. You can use such a server for storing files, though you could just as easily use a Time Capsule for that as well, let alone a standard AirPort Extreme with a drive attached via USB, or an older Mac capable of running "Mountain Lion with OS X Server" or "Lion Server" or "Snow Leopard Server" for that matter, also for cheaper than a Mac mini Server would cost you. You could use it as a software update server, though that's mildly annoying to set up if you're only managing two computers. You could set it up as a Netboot server, though that would be needless unless you have a computer repair side-business or want a significantly faster means of restoring your computer to a given OS. I don't know, for most things that you could use it for in the home, a proper Mac mini Server would be overkill and a waste of money.
so, you use the server.app and consider yourself an expert?
seriously though, OSX Server has a LOT to offer. in a lot of regards, it is more powerful and customisable than the Windows counterparts. i really enjoy using it, i just HATE server.app. -grumble grumble-