OS X Server - needed ?

[pooley]

OK we are ordering 20 or so Imac's today - we will have a windows suite and a mac suite then. (not bad for a primary)

 

I have had a Mac here to play with, managed to gt it taling to my exchange box and fileserver box.

 

Is there a great need for the osx server too - what are the benefits of an osx server as well as my windows servers ?

[Ric_]

You don't need to spend silly money on a XServe but it is recommended to buy a cheap Mac Mini or a second hand Mac that will run OS X Server. This will then allow you to lock down the macs and administer things a little better.

[Roberto]

A server (as Ric says, you don't need the fancy hardware bit of this) enables you to do two important things:

 

- manage machines, to lock down what can and can't be changed, centrally manage software updates, etc.

 

- deploy "images" of the computer installation, so all your computers are built from a standard image, and hence easier to support / update / etc, using NetBoot and NetRestore.