[b8rtm8nn]

I am wondering how usable OSX server is compared to Win2k server and Linux. I need to put up a file server for some computer classrooms and have to provide access to Win2k Pro clients on the LAN and offer FTP and Web access to these same users to their data for off-site use. Win servers are good for the LAN, but too crappy for the Web sharing (performance and patching wise); we don't have any good Linux admins in our group, so are trying to avoid this scenerio for security reasons. But what external RAID units can you link to OSX server? How is the performance?
I'm looking at 6*72GB RAID and 1000+ users, some data sets(GIS) can get over 500 MBs. We will use Kerberos authentication from the Unix cluster(how to do this? We have a registry hack in Win2k). Would also like to use the DHCP features.

Any pointers or links to reference would be great.

[King Chung Huang]

Originally posted by b8rtm8nn:
<STRONG>I am wondering how usable OSX server is compared to Win2k server and Linux. I need to put up a file server for some computer classrooms and have to provide access to Win2k Pro clients on the LAN and offer FTP and Web access to these same users to their data for off-site use. Win servers are good for the LAN, but too crappy for the Web sharing (performance and patching wise); we don't have any good Linux admins in our group, so are trying to avoid this scenerio for security reasons. But what external RAID units can you link to OSX server? How is the performance?
I'm looking at 6*72GB RAID and 1000+ users, some data sets(GIS) can get over 500 MBs. We will use Kerberos authentication from the Unix cluster(how to do this? We have a registry hack in Win2k). Would also like to use the DHCP features.

Any pointers or links to reference would be great.</STRONG>

You're in luck, Mac OS X Server supports everything you listed above, including Kerberos authentication. Setting up a File Server for both Mac and Windows clients is a snap. Ditto for the web server, which is the industry standard Apache server, and includes WebDAV support. Mac OS X Server also includes a DHCP server. For more information, visit Apple - Software - Mac OS X Server. But, you really need to get your hands on a copy to truly understand how well it works. If you can, I'd recommend spending the money for the 10-client version, and testing it on a recent Mac. We run OS X server on an old beige G3/333 with 384 MB of RAM, and it's still super-fast for our needs.

[l008com]

Yes as you might have guessed from my sig, I run X on my computer full time. It cen pretty much do everything you need right out of the box, even a software raid. Of coarse it can't take 6 drives internally without some serious mods, but external as you said would be fine with a supported Adaptec card. Turning an all these features like apache, ftp serving, windows file sharing, and DHCP are as easy as clicking a button.

[b8rtm8nn]

Thanks for the info, I've tracked down another sys admin who has it in production so I can see it firsthand.