What exactly is the purpose of the Mac server?

[applefan289]

...and how does it work? If I were to buy a Mac Mini or Mac Pro server right now, what could I do with it that I couldn't do with a normal Mac LAN?

 

[miles01110]

Here's what Wikipedia's Simple English page says.

In net jargon (words people use about the Internet) a server is a computer that serves many things to user, or client machines. Usually a server will only do a few things. Every type of thing a server does is called a service. Services are used by other computers that are called clients. The relationship between the client and the server is called a client-server relationship. For example, Wikipedia has a web server which has a service for sending web pages over the Internet. Your client computer talks to the Wikipedia's web page service to get web pages for you. A server can also host internet games and allow file sharing.

So that servers and clients can talk to each other, they need to be connected to a network, and they need to use the same protocol. In networks, a protocol is a set way for machines to talk to other machines - like a language. For example, the Wikipedia server runs the HTTP (Hyper-text transfer protocol) to send web sites to your computer, and your computer uses the HTTP Protocol to ask Wikipedia for pages.

Usually, servers are specially made to be more powerful and reliable, and they are more expensive than normal computers. Sometimes, servers can be clustered, which means that lots of servers work together to do one service.

The server might slow down if there are too many people accessing the server at the same time, resulting in a high load. It might also be unable to take the high load, resulting in a shut down.

In a peer-to-peer system, every computer is both a client and a server to each other. This is commonly implemented in file sharing and VOIP. However, this can aid in attempts at piracy.

There is probably nothing a server would do for you, since you have no idea how to use one.

 

[GGJstudios]

This may help: http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/

 

[applefan289]

Well, I'm not buying one, I'm just asking how a server is set up and what features it has over a regular Mac network. And how would one computer serve many people (isn't serving many people what a server does?)?

 

[jdechko]

Mac OSX Server allows you to do some of the following:

iCal Server
Account Server (like MS Active Directory)
Address Server (LDAP Server)
Mail Server
(more in depth) Web Server
VPN Server
Wiki Server
DNS Server
Private iChat Server (encrypted and more secure)
Mobile Server (connect iPhones to local network)

If you were a business or really tech savvy person, some of this stuff would make sense. But for file sharing, printer sharing and general remote access (SSH & VNC), the non-server version is usually plenty.

 

[calderone]

Mac OSX Server allows you to do some of the following:

iCal Server
Account Server (like MS Active Directory)
Address Server (LDAP Server)
Mail Server
(more in depth) Web Server
VPN Server
Wiki Server
DNS Server
Private iChat Server (encrypted and more secure)
Mobile Server (connect iPhones to local network)

If you were a business or really tech savvy person, some of this stuff would make sense. But for file sharing, printer sharing and general remote access (SSH & VNC), the non-server version is usually plenty.

Correction:
Address Book Server is CardDav piggy backing on OD (LDAP).

 

[jdechko]

Correction:
Address Book Server is CardDav piggy backing on OD (LDAP).

True, I meant to go back and put that it was similar to. But unless you even know what LDAP is and much less why you'd use it, the address book server is of little use for individual users.