A lthough I’ve been using Macintosh computers since 1990, I’ve never administered a Macintosh server. So when Apple Computer invited me to try Mac OS X Panther Server, I jumped at the chance. I was anxious to see Apple’s take on server administration, especially after hearing that Panther Server depended on a good number of open source projects. As it turns out, Panther Server doesn’t include just a “good number” of open source projects — it includes an astonishing number of them: Mailman, Tomcat, JBoss, Apache, Postfix, Perl, Samba, and BIND, just to name a few. And Panther Server integrates many of those projects into a central console application, making the entire system much more valuable than the sum of its parts.
After spending more than two months with two servers running Panther Server, I can only say that I’m blown away. Panther Server is a joy to use.
If you have just a modicum of experience maintaining a Linux (really any UNIX-like) server, Panther Server will make you feel like an expert. On the other hand, if you’re an expert system administrator, Panther Server will make you feel right at home.
Panther Server, Meet Frankenstein
To put Panther Server to the test, I decided I would overhaul my home network topology and put Panther Server at its core, in charge of a number of significant services. I wanted my own DNS servers (instead…
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