Switching Between OSX User and Server?

[Makosuke]

I've got a question for those familiar with OSX Server; is it possible to crossgrade between the user and server versions? Or, alternately, upgrade from, say, 10.2 server to 10.3 standard or vice versa?

This question is purely curiosity, since it's essentially impossible on Windows (been fighting with this fact all day) and I'm wondering if the situation on the Mac is the same.

The irony of Windows Server vs Workstation/Pro (depending on the version) is that they're the same outside of some addons (you can switch between them with a registry tweak). Here I want to upgrade a Windows NT Server installation to a Windows 2000 Pro installation, which should be quite possible, but MS isn't about to let me do it.

How about Apple?

 

[madamimadam]

I've never tried "cross-grading" but I know that with Apple is has always been the same product but with more. In the OS 9 days, a server was a PowerMac with OS9 and AppleShareIP installed... these days they incorporate the extra software into OSX Server but it is still OSX Client with Server software added on. Also, a lot of the tools related to XServe and XServe RAID management are Java so they can be copied to virtually any machine but most tools in Server are great because they provide a GUI for the otherwise daunting command-line services. While I use OSX Server, I speculate that you could turn Client into server with the appropriate opensource software if you are happy to waste time in the terminal.