Jargon Free thoughts
There are pros and cons to using a Mac OS X Server. The Pro side is hard to explain without the jargon, so I will stick to the con side. Simply put, it is a little overkill as a solution to manage storage centrally. A few things to consider:
1) Storage: One of the users posted the term NAS (Network Attached Storage). The concept of a NAS is that it is a hard drive or a series of hard drives that are networkable. Time Capsule can serve this function. I used to work in an Apple Store and I would typically suggest either using the Time Capsule, or "slaving" or connecting a hard drive to the time capsule for this storage. The disadvantage of Time Capsule is that it is a single point of failure. If the device crashes, you lose your router, back ups and data. If you want to upgrade, copying gigs and gigs of data is time consuming. Another storage idea is some device with swappable drives. For example something like this (
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10506). If a drive fails, it is easy for any end user to replace. Finally on storage, I would not buy more than you think you will use in the next 2 to 3 years. Drives fail, and storage is getting cheaper by the month.
2) File Management: Mac OS X allows us to 5 users to connect to it as a server. Running an OS X desktop is one way to manage files. Mac OS X Server will be a better solution for more than 5 users accessing the central computer at the same time.
3) Services: First, I would not host a website on the same computer that I was running other essential services (mail, contacts, calendars) on. Web services can take a lot of "overhead" meaning that it can slow the computer down. I would run this from another box. Mac OS X offers a lot of interesting services that you might like. They are not hard to set up, but it can make managing multiple Macs very easy. For example, Mac OS X server can help manage software updates (store them on a computer in your house, you can apply them faster), it can "serve" contacts to other PC and Mac computers, It can support Mobile Home Directories (Users Home folder lives on the server... User can use computer remotely. When back on the network, home folder is synced with "Master computer" or server. It can also manage Time Machine backups centrally.
I would start with the storage. Plan for that. Then plan for how you serve data. Keep in mind, many of the programs on the Mac are not "client server ready". For example, if you are in iPhoto, the database is locked and other users cannot attach to that same iPhoto library. The best way to manage this is via Photo sharing. iTunes is the same thing. So a little planning is needed
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There are pros and cons to using a Mac OS X Server. The Pro side is hard to explain without the jargon, so I will stick to the con side. Simply put, it is a little overkill as a solution to manage storage centrally. A few things to consider:
1) Storage: One of the users posted the term NAS (Network Attached Storage). The concept of a NAS is that it is a hard drive or a series of hard drives that are networkable. Time Capsule can serve this function. I used to work in an Apple Store and I would typically suggest either using the Time Capsule, or "slaving" or connecting a hard drive to the time capsule for this storage. The disadvantage of Time Capsule is that it is a single point of failure. If the device crashes, you lose your router, back ups and data. If you want to upgrade, copying gigs and gigs of data is time consuming. Another storage idea is some device with swappable drives. For example something like this (
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10506). If a drive fails, it is easy for any end user to replace. Finally on storage, I would not buy more than you think you will use in the next 2 to 3 years. Drives fail, and storage is getting cheaper by the month.
2) File Management: Mac OS X allows us to 5 users to connect to it as a server. Running an OS X desktop is one way to manage files. Mac OS X Server will be a better solution for more than 5 users accessing the central computer at the same time.
3) Services: First, I would not host a website on the same computer that I was running other essential services (mail, contacts, calendars) on. Web services can take a lot of "overhead" meaning that it can slow the computer down. I would run this from another box. Mac OS X offers a lot of interesting services that you might like. They are not hard to set up, but it can make managing multiple Macs very easy. For example, Mac OS X server can help manage software updates (store them on a computer in your house, you can apply them faster), it can "serve" contacts to other PC and Mac computers, It can support Mobile Home Directories (Users Home folder lives on the server... User can use computer remotely. When back on the network, home folder is synced with "Master computer" or server. It can also manage Time Machine backups centrally.
I would start with the storage. Plan for that. Then plan for how you serve data. Keep in mind, many of the programs on the Mac are not "client server ready". For example, if you are in iPhoto, the database is locked and other users cannot attach to that same iPhoto library. The best way to manage this is via Photo sharing. iTunes is the same thing. So a little planning is needed
