Mac OSX Server Benefits

[jimmy5000]

Hi,
For the longest time i have been interested in an answer to this question:
I am a mac user, i have several macs ranging from desktops to laptops, i am mobile (within the US and around the world occasionally). I do a range of stuff, from running businesses to web development sometimes, i have many email accounts, would like to setup a web site shortly, and i am computer literate.

What would be the benefits for using a server? What will it provide me that might be worth my setting this up? I can read product description pages, however i simply cannot understand the server logic and how it could be of use to me other than being a host to pictures...

Thank you in advance,
Jim

 

[Consultant]

http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/

 

[jimmy5000]

http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/

I was actually looking for the reasons one would move from using a single computer infrastructure to running a server, wether it be for email integration, file sharing, off-sight access to information not stored locally, etc.

Thanks for posting a generic apple website link stating absolutely nothing of the above. Maybe someone else could provide me with such reasons, as i am sure i am not the only person trying to assess if making that switch is worth my while.

 

[Tallest Skil]

I was actually looking for the reasons one would move from using a single computer infrastructure to running a server, wether it be for email integration, file sharing, off-sight access to information not stored locally, etc.

Thanks for posting a generic apple website link stating absolutely nothing of the above. Maybe someone else could provide me with such reasons, as i am sure i am not the only person trying to assess if making that switch is worth my while.

By reading the contents of that page, you'll find your reasons. If you don't understand that page or what it offers, you might not need Server.

 

[alphaod]

By reading the contents of that page, you'll find your reasons. If you don't understand that page or what it offers, you might not need Server.

If you read the webpage, it doesn't answer the OP's question. If it does, your response would be more helpful if you copy and pasted where the response is.

 

[belvdr]

I was actually looking for the reasons one would move from using a single computer infrastructure to running a server, wether it be for email integration, file sharing, off-sight access to information not stored locally, etc.

Thanks for posting a generic apple website link stating absolutely nothing of the above. Maybe someone else could provide me with such reasons, as i am sure i am not the only person trying to assess if making that switch is worth my while.

Your reasons are what you stated. They are all over the map:

1. Email service
2. Web service
3. Calendar sharing
4. Collaboration suite
5. File sharing
6. Backup storage
7. Database

 

[jimmy5000]

Your reasons are what you stated. They are all over the map:

1. Email service
2. Web service
3. Calendar sharing
4. Collaboration suite
5. File sharing
6. Backup storage
7. Database

belvdr,
thanks, i appreciate it.
Now to be specific, other than Databasing, which the advantages are pretty obvious to me, in these other areas what are the specific advantages with a server?

Email service-
what do i get out of a server that i dont get out of IMAP setup such as mobileme?
Web service-
what does this translate to?
Calendar sharing-
I use google calendaring for multiple user sharing. what does this provide me with that differs from my current capability?

Collaboration suite- what do you mean by this?

File sharing- Self evident.

Backup storage- how does this actually work and what does it allow you to do?

Thanks for the clarification, still trying to understand if it is worth it for me to set this up...

 

[belvdr]

belvdr,
thanks, i appreciate it.
Now to be specific, other than Databasing, which the advantages are pretty obvious to me, in these other areas what are the specific advantages with a server?

Email service-
what do i get out of a server that i dont get out of IMAP setup such as mobileme?

For one person, nothing other than learning about configuring the system.

Web service-
what does this translate to?

Hosting your own web site on your own box. Same reasoning behind the email above.

Calendar sharing-
I use google calendaring for multiple user sharing. what does this provide me with that differs from my current capability?

Same thing as web/email above.

Collaboration suite- what do you mean by this?

One example is MS Exchange/Share Point. Those two integrate so that file sharing includes versioning, email notifications, publishing with one click in Office, etc. In other words, collaboration suites enable seamless integration between products, so that users don't have multiple clients and different access methods for each.

Backup storage- how does this actually work and what does it allow you to do?

Keep backups close to you, which usually means it is faster. However, if your house were to burn down, you could lose the data and the backups. So it is important to keep backups off site for critical data.

Thanks for the clarification, still trying to understand if it is worth it for me to set this up...

Honestly, if you're the type that would enjoy learning the configuration and maintenance of it, I'd recommend you doing so. However, do it as a backup to your current systems so as not to cause disruptions.

If you couldn't care less about server configs, then keep what you have.