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What was left standingĪfter Apple removed almost all of macOS Server features in 2018 and suggested some alternatives for organizations still based around it (most of those options were open-source versions Apple had built into macOS Server), very little remained of the main product. The Mac Pro was the only remaining Apple product capable of functioning as a truly enterprise server. While lower-end Macs as servers could reliably power smaller organizations, their hardware limited their use in large businesses.
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In fact, as Apple killed off several enterprise hardware products (the xServe and xServe RAID), the focus of macOS Server changed from being a product for large enterprises to one that better serviced small businesses centered around a Mac mini server (though any Mac could run macOS Server). Open Directory was one of the last services standing in macOS Server.Īt one point, it was a complete solution – particularly for small and mid-size organizations – after the Leopard Server release of 2007, which included a simplified setup option. It also integrated nicely with Active Directory, making it a solution for mixed Mac and Windows environments. It was Apple’s answer to Microsoft’s Active Directory and was a powerful solution for managing Macs, user accounts, and any settings on a Mac bound to it.
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One of its cardinal features was Open Directory, which launched within Mac OS X Panther Server. It pre-dated Mac OS X by a year, launching initially in 1999. MacOS Server has a long and storied history.
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Apple has been deprecating and removing its core services for a while, and moving others – such as Caching Service – into the macOS itself.īut let’s take a moment to say goodbye and contemplate what we will do without it. When Apple announced recently that it was discontinuing macOS Server, the move didn’t come as a huge surprise.
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