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MacOS X Server, at its simplest, is an enhanced version of OPENSTEP for Mach, an enterprise-level operating system which was acquired by Apple in the purchase of NeXT Computer. After Apple canceled the Copland project, which had aimed to bring a "modern" operating system to the Macintosh platform, the company started an external search for an operating system to replace the MacOS. Following a long technically oriented search for the best MacOS replacement, including a very public look at Be Inc.'s BeOS, Apple decided to go with NeXT Computer and their OPENSTEP operating system. The old Apple operating system plan had been to go from System 7 to Copland (after Aaron, the composer) to Gershwin (after George, the composer). With the abandonment of Copland, and the realization by then-Apple-CEO Dr. Gil Amelio that Gershwin was a pipedream with little or no code actually written for it, Apple needed to turn OPENSTEP for Mach around in a hurry. Shortly after Apple and NeXT had finished all the paperwork for the puchase came the announcement of Rhapsody, a plan to transform the recently-purchased technology which comprised OPENSTEP for Mach into the long awaited MacOS replacement. (the code name was chosen from the name of a Gershwin composition - "Rhapsody in Blue") Developers were sent out a CD called "Prelude to Rhapsody" that contained a copy of the Intel hardware version of OPENSTEP for Mach. Rhapsody Developer Release 1 (DR1) was made available to developers within a few months. Not only would OPENSTEP for Mach be ported to Macintosh hardware, but the OPENSTEP UI would be replaced by an "advanced Mac look and feel" to address the needs of users and UI conventions of the MacOS. Apple pledged to transform many of the complex tasks which were handled by the command-line interface into graphical elements wherever possible. Most importantly for Mac users would be a new "compatibility layer," code-named BlueBox. The Blue Box would allow Mac applications to run on the new operating system without missing a beat. Following a very public, very fierce, very negative questioning of Apple's new scheme by Macintosh users in all fields, Apple decided to refocus their operating system future. In 1998, Apple concluded that the Rhapsody plan would not be adequate for either Apple's business model or their customer base. Giving in to developer and user input, Apple hatched MacOS X, which will replace the current MacOS 7.x/8.x/9.x line as Apple's consumer operating system for the future. At the same time, Apple refined and renamed the Rhapsody project for a number of reasons, including Mac user confidence and product positioning. The new name, MacOS X Server, was supposed to assuage fears of current Mac users and help to position the new software as server software and therefore not feed what Apple knew to be anti-Apple feelings within the IS community. Registered Apple developers were given copies of Rhapsody DR 2 in 1998. The software was an update to the previously released Rhapsody DR1, fixing a number of the early bugs brought about from porting OPENSTEP to Apple/PowerPC hardware as well as adding features and stability to the programming frameworks. Following the release of Rhapsody DR2, however, no further updates were delivered to the general developer community, and the community at large become very cautious of what this meant for the project at Apple. Apple remained fairly tight-lipped throughout the Rhapsody development and testing stages, though it should be noted that special clients were seeded post-DR2 copies of MacOS X Server throughout the testing phase. Apple announced many dates for the release of MacOS X Server, including a guarantee of Fall, 1998, but the date for release kept slipping and slipping. Until... At the 1999 MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, Apple finally announced MacOS X Server for $999. While late (and what operating system isn't?!?) the announcement included much more than had previously been expected. MacOS X Server was promised to be made available in the United States "in the first quarter of 1999," and in Asia and Europe approximately April. On March 17, 1999, Steve Jobs called the media together to announce the availablility of MacOS X Server. Having listened to some of the criticism of developers, IT professionals, and other segments of the business community, Apple lowered the price from $999 to $499 per server. At the same meeting, Apple announced that the underpinnings of MacOS X Server, mainly the Mach kernel and BSD UNIX substrate, would be open sourced in a new product called Darwin. After some while in the channels, Apple and it's distributors have continued to slowly drop the prices on MacOS X Server, and you can likely get a copy from somewhere for between $375 and $425. Following the release of Apple's new PowerMacintosh G4, Apple did not have a version of MacOS X Server to run on this hardware. After what many consider a very unprofessional wait, Apple released MacOS X Server 1.2 which finally added PowerMacintosh G4 computers to its officially supported list. According to Apple documents regarding MacOS X Server 1.2, it will add support for PowerMacintosh G4 computers - both "Yikes" and high-end motherboards. In addition, it is unknown how much optimization has been added for the G4's AltiVec processing unit into the software. Apple has however said that many of the services, including QuickTime Streaming services, have been speeded dramatically, and in most cases, allow much higher numbers of clients to be attached to PowerMacintosh G4 servers running MacOS X Server 1.2. Apple is also currently working out bugs with getting MacOS 9 running in the BlueBox effectively, even though many people have found no problems using MacOS 9 with MacOS X Server 1.0-2. In addition, MacOS X Server 1.2 will ship with Apache 1.3.9, as well as upgraded NetBoot abilities for the new iMacs as well as iBooks and all recently released computers, including the PowerMac G4 itself.
CPU model support The line from Apple is that MacOS X Server will run on Power Macintosh G3 hardware alone. PowerBooks (G3 or not), iMacs, and G3-upgraded computers will not be officially supported. (That doesn't mean they won't work, however.)There is an option during the installation process of MacOS X Server which allows you to install the software onto non-PowerMac G3 hardware. In other words, you can try to install it, but if you have any problems, don't tell Apple because they won't give you any support since you installed on an upsupported machine. If you are interested in installing MacOS X Server on "unsupported" machines, please check out our Information Brief on installing onto unsupported machines. MacOS X Server also includes built-in hardware video acceleration of the IXMicro and ATI graphics cards which have shipped in recent PowerMac G3 models. However, there is no direct hardware acceleration under the BlueBox. As for PowerMacintosh G4 computers, MacOS X Server does not work on these new models because Apple has not included support for their hardware in its releases thus far. However, Apple has promised updates to MacOS X Server in the very near future. iBooks will not run MacOS X Server.
Core Operating System The core operating system for MacOS X Server is remarkably different than that of the current MacOS. In fact, the current MacOS is considered by most computer purists to not really be an OS as much as a collection of self-actualizing APIs.Both the MacOS and Windows 95/98 (but not NT) manage much of the hardware operations in the machine, including (but not limited to) disk drivers, file access, graphics, networking, and memory access. While this isn't a bad thing per se, it does mean that the operating system is spread thinner than need be. In a departure from the MacOS/Windows OS paradigm, MacOS X Server will utilize a kernel to handle all the low level functions that the layers on top of it will require, including file access, I/O, and VM. According to Apple, the kernel used for MacOS X Server is most equitable to Mach 2.5. On top of the Mach kernel lie all of the other "proper OS" functionality, including: However, the driver kit for MacOS X Server, an OPENSTEP holdover, is "outdated." Many of the advanced features of shipping Power Macintosh computers, such as FireWire and USB, will not be supported by MacOS X Server. Such support will be made available when MacOS X Server and MacOS X share the same new and improved driver kit (IOKit).
Modern OS features One of the most interesting aspects of MacOS X Server is the addition of "modern" features to the Macintosh platform. Preemptive multitasking and full memory protection are implemented seamlessly in MacOS X Server. Not only does this additional functionality benefit users, but it might help to attract developers and network admins to this new modern, multiplatform, server OS since it is becoming, in many ways, a powerful GUI-based UNIX.MacOS X Server 1.0 does not support symmetric multiprocessing. Apple has pledged SMP support for MacOS X, but will not venture to make MacOS X Server SMP since in the future MacOS X Server will live on as an add-on package to MacOS X Client.
Basic features MacOS X Server is a much different beast than the current MacOS 7/8/9 line. It utilizes a secure Unixy multi-user setup, which allows different users to log into the same computer, but each user with individually configured access and privileges. This may seem similar to MacOS 9's features, and perhaps is, but this is for most purposes an exceptionally safe system which is fairly difficult to hack.MacOS X Server also comes equipped with a built-in command line environment. The command-line interface is definitely a presence to be reckoned with. Many times you will find knowing rudimentary UNIX and some advanced UNIX as well will make the time you spend with MacOS X Server much more productive. Since MacOS X Server is based on many UNIX technologies, some of the software included with MacOS X Server may have to be tweaked using the command line interface. Apple has committed many resources and man hours to obviate the need for a CLI in many instances. However, Apple's stated goal of creating GUI tools/solutions to replace almost all of the common CLI tools is a long term goal for MacOS X, and not really one which is completely (or even mostly at that) implemented in MacOS X Server. If you are weary of command-line interface administration or Unixisms, MacOS X Server may well not be for you. (This nice thing about MacOS X Server's community, however, is that they are a very helpful bunch, and do strive to help the helpless :P) MacOS X Server also comes equipped with a built-in telnet terminal which will allows you access to the powerful UNIX layer at the core of MacOS X Server. Depending on personal preference, you may very well prefer using the terminal to manage files and navigate the file system. No matter your likes and dislikes, it is a very helpful tool. UNIX system administrators who prefer shell-based administration will appreciate this. Remember, of course, that MacOS X Server is geared towards being a server. Apple has made numerous public announcements to this effect, and seems intent on having MacOS X Server as their towering server OS and MacOS X as their client/home user operating system, in much the same way as Microsoft for years has touted the power of WinNT and the ease of use of Win95/98. Another thing to note is that MacOS X Server does not have a "Finder." Instead, it is a sort of hybrid (some Finder elements, but mostly Workspace Manager elements) interface which is used to perform normal desktop functions. It is not complete and many have issues with the engineering behind it, but it is usable if you are familiar with Workspace manager and know enough UNIX to get around a system. A more proper "Finder" will be introduced in MacOS X, and will be written in Carbon. Carbon and this new "Finder" will be available in the second version of MacOS X Server, to be released later this year or early 2000.
Advanced features There is nothing timid about MacOS X Server. When Steve Jobs rolled out the software at MacWorld San Francisco in January, 1999, he focused on four pieces of software which are crucial for the utility and marketing of this platform:
- NetBooting - This is a new one for Apple. NetBooting is a technology that allows iMacs, iBooks, Pismo PowerBooks and 1999/2000 Power Macintosh G3/G4 computers to boot the MacOS (not MacOS X Server, however) off of a networked disk, instead of its own hard drive. This "virtual" boot-up disk is hosted from MacOS X Server.
- WebObjects - MacOS X Server comes bundled with a version of the WebObjects 4 development and runtime package. The software will include development tools, and a runtime which will be limited to 50 server-client transactions per minute (TPM).
This TPM restriction reinforces Apple's positioning of MacOS X Server as a serious development and testing platform for WebObjects 4. The WindowsNT version of the WO development and runtime package, for example, is restricted to 25 TPM. - QuickTime Streaming Server - The server-side of the Apple's QuickTime 4.0 multimedia streaming format. This software will allow multimedia encoded in the QuickTime streaming format to be broadcast to client computers via RTSP and/or RSP (the Internet or an intranet). This new software will be competing head-to-head with similar streaming technologies from Real Networks and Microsoft. In fact, the streaming server in MacOS X Server is only a beta version of the software. The Streaming Server's development continues on as an Apple OpenSource project.
- Apache 1.3.4 - The most popular web server on the Internet. According to the Apache project, Apache is at the heart of 53-58% of all Internet web servers. Apple has configured Apache mainly themselves, and you can change the setting (on or off) or the document root for the served web pages via the Network control panel.
MacOS X Server is not certified as POSIX since Apple has not put the time and resources into getting MacOS X Server certified. However, at the apparent bequest of Steve Jobs, Apple engineers have made sure that MacOS X Server is almost entirely POSIX compliant. In essence, the operating system is POSIX, but Apple will not take the time to certify it. According to numerous developers, MacOS X Server is a joy to work with in POSIX-compatibility.
The innerds MacOS X Server ships with:The Apache Web Server- 1.3.4 for v 1.0
- 1.3.6 for 1.0-1
- 1.3.9 for 1.0-2 and 1.2
QuickTime HTTP streaming server (for use with QuickTime 4.0's streaming capability)
A copy of WebObjects 4 development tools and runtime, including a 50 transactions per minute deployment license
Developer tools (Project Builder, Interface Builder, C/C++/Obj-C/Obj-C++ compiler...)
Unlimited client connections The entire package will run you about $499, though as time goes by, distributors and resellers have slowly allowed the prices to slip, and you can probably get a shrink-wrapped copy of MacOS X Server for between $375-$450. If you are looking for the best deal, you should definitely shop around. Another flavour of MacOS X Server is the $249 educational version, which is a full version of the software, but aimed at college-level IS situations as well as student and faculty OS adoption. And even another flavour of MacOS X Server is the $99 version available to developers. This version is not the same as the consumer version, and is limited to a much lower number of concurrent connections for NetBooting, Apple FileServices, and MacManager sessions. It is, for all intents and purposes, a developer's workstation. You can, of course, have as many UNIX processes and file sessions open.
The package A shrink-wrapped MacOS X Server box comes with 4 CD's:- Base MacOS X Server system (labeled Version 1.1 for version 1.0) - core OS, BSD 4.4 substrate, a version of Apache fine-tuned for use under MacOS X Server and with WebObjects, a preview release of the QuickTime Streaming Server, Apple file services, Java 1.1.6 VM with Swing, Perl 5.0, Sendmail, FTP, Telnet, NFS, Blue Box and more
- WebObjects 4.01 (mistakenly labeled as the WindowsNT version for version 1.0) - includes dev tools, including Project Builder, WebObjects Builder, the WebObjects runtime, compilers, and all MacOS X Server specific and WebObjects specific dev tools. It also comes with a 50 transactions per minute deployment license.
- NetBoot server software - includes the necessary software on the server for NetBooting capable Macs (iMacs, iBooks, Pismo PowerBooks, and any "1999/2000-model PowerMacintosh G3/G4 computer). Also includes a "Macintosh Management client" for non-NetBoot client computers. MacManager acts quite similarly the old Apple technology "At Ease."
- Third-party CD including demos of software from Avatar, Canto, Helios, Stalker, Xinet, Sassafras, Lundeen & Associates, and Running Start. Also, Scott Anguish's OpenUp (a very nice file expansion tool) ships on the 3rd Party CD.
Commercial packages of MacOS X Server ship with unlimited client licenses, which means you can connect as many NetBoot, MacManager, Apple File Sharing, and UNIX services clients as your server can handle. And to clarify some odd notes floating around the Internet, the MacOS X Server license is for one (1) single server. You may not install MacOS X Server on multiple computers using the same software license. Doing so is a direct violation of your license agreement, and is illegal. The developer version of MacOS X Server ships with a five-client license, which means that you can only connect five (total) NetBoot, MacManager, and Apple File Sharing clients to your server. UNIX services are unrestricted.
Peripheral support What we do know will be supported by MacOS X Server:- ADB
- internal IDE drives
- internal and external SCSI using special PCI SCSI cards, or the built-in SCSI that came with certain PowerMacintosh models
- internal CD-ROM drives
- internal DVD-ROM drives (but only as CD readers. DVD support is apparently not available under MacOS X Server)
- Blue-and-White G3 (and iMac) Apple USB Keyboard and Mouse (they are the only USB peripherals supported, and are not hot-swappable)
- some third-party USB mice - however, only one button works and no special features are activated or available
So, what does that mean? Well, it means: - No serial ports - according to those who know a little more than others, there is very rudimentary serial support, but the issue is sustainable transfer rates. In other words, you might be able to use them, but they are useless. Got that? :)
- No FireWire
- No RAID - There is currently no software RAID solution for MacOS X Server (if you know of one, fill us in)
MacOS X Server - Intel? Apple had been working on an Intel version of MacOS X Server. Since MacOS X Server draws extensively from OPENSTEP, and OPENSTEP has deep roots on x86-based hardware, the release of an Intel version made sense. Apple had originally announced that they would develop and release PowerPC and Intel versions of MacOS X Server at roughly the same time. They had even created a page for Apple's supported list for Intel compatibles.However, MacOS X Server - Intel is currently on the cutting-room floor. While some developers have their hands on a developer release of the software, the official word now is that Apple will not ship an Intel-based OS. This is a dramatically different positioning from only a short while ago when Jobs happily said that Rhapsody would be fine-tuned for the IA-64 platform. If you believe that MacOS X Server - Intel should live on, please share your opinions with Apple on this matter. If you do send Apple an e-mail, we would love to post it our site. Just cc: xclave@macnn.com. You can also check out the RhapTel website which is lobbying for the release and continued support of the Intel version of the software.
File System Support Users who actually care what their file system is will love MacOS X Server.Known supported formats already include: Other files systems, like FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS are all possibilities for support from outside sources. UDF, the DVD-ROM/DVD-RAM, format will not be supported. (As noted above, DVD drives can still be used, but will only work at reading CD-ROM discs.) While ISO-9000 is supported, Audio CDs are not. MacOS X Server will eject Audio CDs when you log in to MacOS X Server. A solution for this is to use OmniGroup's OmniCD, which is a CD player for MacOS X Server. However, you can only listen to Audio CDs through the physical headphone jack on the front of the CD player since the sound in MacOS X Server is not fully implemented. HFS and HFS+ support are merely for services, such as Apple File Sharing and NetBooting. While HFS+ introduced some advanced features into the file system, including some multi-user additions, MacOS X Server will not be able to start up of or install onto these drives. NFS support is there, but we have not been informed how good it is, or how robust the services. When you install MacOS X Server, it creates a UFS (oddly referred to as the MacOS X Server filesystem by Apple in both literature and in the MacOS 8.x utility "System Disk") partition on which the OS and all files are be stored. And as a logged in user, you can access UFS, HFS, and HFS+ volumes since they are all native filesystems.
Networking Networking in MacOS X Server will be considerably different than in the current MacOS. Another NeXTSTEP/OPENSTEP for Mach holdover - BSD 4.4 - will be the default networking stack.OT will however still be supported in the Blue Box, but will not be supported as a networking solution under the Yellow Box. To what extent OT will operate is still a question mark. BSD stands for Berkeley Standard Distribution, and is a powerful server/network-oriented UNIX with top notch security features. It is also extremely stable, and is regarded by many users as the best flavor of UNIX/Linux outside of Digital UNIX and some other high-end UNIXes. Most networking functions will be based on IP, AppleTalk, and AFP (Mac File Sharing). The networking speed under MacOS X Server rivals that of MacOS 8.5. One potential problem for Mac developers will be the transition from Open Transport's STREAMS architecture to BSD's socket architecture. Because of the change of networking schemes, much of the Mac community's developer code will be unusable with MacOS X Server and would require major rewrites. Only time will tell if Yellow Box programming will click with Mac developers. Unknown are many of the specifics of networking functionality, however. There is no built-in version of SMB (Server Messaging Blocks, or Windows File Sharing), though this can be solved using the free Samba (link coming…). IP Masquerading seems to be there in part, but has not yet been documented for use. DHCP is not built-in, either, but there are plenty of reports of using other DHCP packages, such as ISC's DHCP modules. You can see more about DHCP installation on StepWise.
Backwards Compatibility Just like the transition from 68k to PowerPC processors in Macs, the transition to this new OS will have some quirks. And just like the processor transition, Apple is doing everything it can to make the jump as painless and transparent as possible. In an effort to maintain backwards compatibility, Apple has designed the Blue Box - a virtual machine in which current MacOS applications can run.Current reports point to almost seamless operation for applications. The Blue Box, however, cannot access the serial ports or call other hardware, like the video card, directly so in some cases its utility is compromised. But Apple is working hard to make the Blue Box released with MacOS X Server 1.0 to be as full, stable, and complete as possible. Seamless operating, however, does not mean flawless operation. There have been many many reports of crashing BlueBoxes bringing down the whole server, due in no small part to the way the Blue Box has been engineered to work on top of the Mach kernel. As a tip, try not to use BlueBox for more than you really need to. And when you are finished, make sure to quit the BlueBox (Shutting down from inside the MacOS environment). However, Apple has made clear that the Blue Box for MacOS X Server is for convenience and not for productivity. While it will be bundled with MXS, it will not be a major focus of the operating system. Yellow Box, EOF, WO, and other technologies will be pushed over Blue Box. Developers looking to develop for MacOS X Server can either learn Yellow Box or wait to deploy on MacOS X via the Carbon libraries, which were released to developers in late February. As for OPENSTEP applications, Apple doesn't promise compatibility, but instead a minimal amount of work to transition applications to the fuller YellowBox. Applications will need to be recompiled and tweaked to work with MacOS X Server, in part because some resources have been relocated. However, many applications have been evolving along with Rhapsody/MacOS X Server and its developer releases.
Java Steve Jobs knows that a speedy, full implementation of the latest version of Java will make some people jump at the chance to use MacOS X. Jobs has promised that Apple is committed to make Java one of the top priorities for the MacOS X team.MacOS X Server will ship with Java 1.1.6, and many report a very speedy implementation. Many point to the work already done by Apple with the current MRJ implementation. Apple has also labored to give access to the Yellow Box APIs via Java in an effort to encourage more developers to create for the Yellow Box. In fact, many of the smaller MacOS X Server applications are written in YellowBox using Java.
Bundled software MacOS X Server will ship with developer tools for the Yellow Bx. This will allow system administrators, developers, and anyone else using MacOS X Server to create solutions for use with MacOS X Server out of the box. Among developer tools included are gcc (C, C++, Obj-C) and WO dev tools.In line with Apple's positioning of MacOS X Server as a true server solution, MacOS X Server will ship not only with a copy of Apache, but also with a 30-day trial version of Helios GmbH's EtherShare package, including the EtherShare OPI, PDF HandShake, Print Preview, and (when available) PCShare 3 modules. This software will provide users with a multiplatform solution for a print server, mail server, and file server among other functionality. OpenBase, a highly acclaimed database product, will ship as MacOS X Server's shrink-wrapped database solution. OpenBase supports: Want more? Stalker Software has announced that Communigate Pro v 2.8 will ship on the MacOS X Server third-party software CD. The software, in the words of its company, is "the ONLY and official mail server for this new platform." Among CommunigatePro's features: - mail access via POP3
- mail access via IMAP4rev1
- SMTP
- a Web-mail module
- multi-domain support
- anti-spamming features
- listserv support
- LDAP support
Communigate Pro will ship fully functional on the CD, but will print "*This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(tm) Pro*" on all outgoing messages through the server.
Miscellaneous Some other notes about MacOS X Server:
- According to Apple, if you are a home user, don't upgrade unless you can handle administrating a serious server. The lack of PowerBook support is a definite overt sign that Apple is positioning this as a server solution, not a hobbyist OS. This is nice, but would have been nice to have known much earlier.
- There is currently no known PPP solution for MacOS X Server. This seems to be a planned act by Apple, in line with its server positioning. Many feel that the opensourcing of Darwin will help to produce a PPP driver in the near future.
- Peripheral support for many devices is as yet unknown. Many peripherals which have been designed to work properly for the Mac may not have corresponding drivers for MacOS X Server. OpenFirmware is the big sticking point. We will be putting together a list of suppored peripherals soon.
- Apple has acknowledged, and is currently working on a patch for, a bug which causes network disruptions and client crashes when a MacOS client tries to access a MacOS X Server AFP voume with a filename longer than 31 characters in length.
Apple has also committed to MacOS X Server as a continuing product. There will be a MacOS X Server update around the same time MacOS X is released, which should be late this year or early 2000. If you would like to get more information about MacOS X Server directly from Apple, please visit their newly created MacOS X page. If you would like to develop for the platform, please follow the appropriate link from our links page. |
