Requirements for OS X Server Leopard?

[1988goldenbear]

Hi there,

I have a small work network (5 Macs, adding 2 pc's). I need to run OS X Server in order to run some Mac software on the pc's via Aqua. I need the pc's to run some equipment that is not Mac-compatible.

If I am running the non-server version of Tiger now - 10.4.11 - can I upgrade directly to OS X Server for Leopard or must I purchase OS X Server for Tiger instead?

And can I also load OS X Server on my Macs at home that are not used on the work network? I guess this would only be advantageous if I can upgrade from regular Tiger to the server version of Leopard....

Thanks for the advice,
Ted

[MisterMe]

You may run MacOS X Server on just about any computer that supports the standard version of MacOS X. MacOS X Server is not an upgrade to MacOS X nor is it a different OS. It is MacOS X with the tools that make network support and administration easier.

That said, you need to under that capabilities of the Server platform. Who told you that MacOS X Server allows PC's to run Mac software? We understand that a lot of hardware is not supported under MacOS X by the manufacturer. Whenever you have hardware questions, however, you should name the hardware and enquire about using it with your Mac. Certain hardware has excellent non-manufacturer support on MacOS X--usually free.

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Originally Posted by 1988goldenbear

And can I also load OS X Server on my Macs at home that are not used on the work network?

Yes, but OS X server has similar licensing restrictions to Mac OS X: typically, if you purchase one copy of OS X Server, then you can load that software on one and only one machine. If you wanted to also load OS X server on a computer at home as well as work, you would need to purchase two copies of OS X server.

[1988goldenbear]

So it sounds like I will only need to upgrade the Mac that will function as the server to OS X Server, is that right? The Mac software is very specialized - called MacPractice - and I was told it was usable on a networked pc as long as the Mac server ran OS X Server and had Aqua. I need to run x-ray data manipulation programs on the pc's that aren't written for Mac and drag and drop data to the MacPractice files.

I was trying to find out if I could use the Leopard version as an upgrade to the OS on all the Macs, but that is apparently not what it does.

Thanks for the responses - if you have time could you clarify whether or not OS X Server Leopard can be installed on a Mac running Tiger, or do I need to upgrade to Leopard OS first and then install OS X Server Leopard?

[ElDiabloConCaca]

In the Mac world, there are no "upgrades." When you purchase Mac OS X "Tiger", you get the full install of Mac OS X Tiger. You can use that disk to "upgrade" a system running Mac OS X "Panther" to Mac OS X "Tiger."

When you purchase Mac OS X Server, it's a full install of the server software -- more than likely, you will install a fresh, new install of Mac OS X Server on a machine running Tiger.

"Panther," "Tiger," and "Leopard" are code names given to Mac OS X versions -- 10.3, 10.4 and 10.5, respectively. Beyond that, Mac OS X comes in two flavors: client and server. There is a Mac OS X "Tiger" client install, and a Mac OS X "Tiger" server install. So when you refer to "Tiger," you're referring to the Mac OS X codebase that is version 10.4. "Tiger" does not denote either "client" or "server" install.

"Aqua" is the window manager that Mac OS X uses -- much like "Gnome" or "KDE" on the Linux side of things. It's been a part of Mac OS X since version 10.0.

Mac OS X Server "Leopard" can be installed on any machine that is compatible with "Leopard" -- a G4/G5/Intel-based Mac with a processor of at least 867MHz and 1GB of RAM. Detailed system requirements can be found on Apple's Leopard page on their website.

In a typical setup, you'd have one machine running a Mac OS X Server flavor -- either "Tiger" or "Leopard." Then, client machines running the client flavor of Mac OS X (either "Tiger" or "Leopard") would then connect to that server.

That's just a bit of clarification on what flavors of Mac OS X are available, and how they're typically used -- it may help to post verbatim what the requirements are for both MacPractice and the X-Ray data manipulation program you want to use, and we can suggest an optimized setup to get what you need done, done.

[1988goldenbear]

Got it.

So Tiger client will upgrade to Leopard Server, so I only need to install OS X Server on the server.

And I will upgrade the terminals to Leopard individually.

Should work just fine, thank you everyone!