#APPLE SERVER OPERATING SYSTEM UPDATE#
#APPLE SERVER OPERATING SYSTEM PRO#
#APPLE SERVER OPERATING SYSTEM SERIES#

#APPLE SERVER OPERATING SYSTEM SERIES#

Our Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўAll-Cloud SolutionР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ from last yearР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s series provides some possibilities for organizations that are either thinking of setting up a Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўserverР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ or that will need to move from macOS Server in the near future. When would this happen? Probably not until 2019 at the earliest if Apple is still considering future releases of macOS Server. This is pure conjecture, but it would be a logical step for Apple. Perhaps Apple is considering expanding the iCloud services - Mail, Contacts, Calendar, iCloud Drive, Notes, Reminders, iWork and so on - to workgroups and enterprises, with administrative tools that would make it possible for a company or workgroup to set up individual users and groups, keep track of devices through Find iPhone, and even use a custom domain name. For those who are just thinking about setting up their own servers, however, the thought of downloading, configuring, and maintaining a grocery list of open source apps could be daunting. Most of those services are open source and in many cases are what savvy macOS Server admins have been using anyway. In the support document, Apple provides three alternatives for each service that will be deprecated. JAMF doesnР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t provideР В РІР‚в„ўР вЂ™Р’В the standard services like those in the list above, so if Apple is considering changing macOS Server to a JAMF-like server, the company will be going against a well-established and respected competitor. It could be that Apple is thinking of macOS Server becoming more like the powerful JAMF services that are used by enterprise and small businesses alike to keep track of computers and mobile devices. The comment that macOS Server is Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўchanging to focus more on management of computers, devices, and storage on your networkР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ seems to indicate that the company realizes that there are many hosted services that actually do a better job than macOS Server - we even alluded to that in Part 7 of the 2017 macOS Server series, when we discussed the Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўAll-Cloud Solution.Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ So What Will macOS Server Actually Do In The Future?

#APPLE SERVER OPERATING SYSTEM UPDATE#

(The Mac mini hasnР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t seen an update from Apple in years.)

#APPLE SERVER OPERATING SYSTEM PRO#

The updated Mac Pro still has no firm delivery date, and the Mac mini - which has been the server hardware of choice for many small businesses - has been ignored for years. Add to this the fact that Apple doesnР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t really sell server-specific hardware anymore, and itР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s rather obvious that they want out of the business. Keeping the app up-to-date and supported takes significant resources, and the number of actual users of macOS Server is probably quite small. One other reason could be the size of the market for macOS Server. As a result, many administrators would actually replace the old Apple versions with newer open source ones. ItР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s known that in many cases, the services used by Apple were Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўofficially-supportedР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ open source projects, and the versions found in macOS Server often lagged badly behind the open source versions. ThatР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s a good question! Sadly, thereР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s no real answer available from the company. These services are the Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўmeatР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ of macOS Server, and theyР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ll be gone in a future release: Looking at the services that are disappearing, itР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s obvious that macOS Server will no longer provide the majority of services that most administrators use it for. However, it goes on to say that Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ў These deprecated services will be removed in a future release of macOS Server, so those depending on them should consider alternatives, including hosted services.Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ The document goes on to say that if youР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ve already configured one of the services, youР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ll still be able to use it after the spring 2018 macOS Server update. A number of services will be deprecated, and will be hidden on new installations of an update to macOS Server coming in spring 2018.Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ As a result, some changes are coming in how Server works. A recentР В РІР‚в„ўР вЂ™Р’В support document from Apple notes that Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўmacOS Server is changing to focus more on management of computers, devices, and storage on your network. Little did we know at the time that Apple was preparing to remove the majority of those services.

Last summer, the Rocket Yard ran a 7-part series on macOS Server and how it could be used to provide a variety of services - calendar, contacts, mail, messages and so on - to small businesses or individuals.

Apple server operating system