5 ms·

OS X isn't a server OS and hasn't been for a while.

by vertex-four 11y ago

chris_wot 11y ago
Funny how I just installed OS X Server just today...
- vertex-four 11y ago
  You can also install Apache, a mail server, etc etc on Windows 10. Doesn't make Windows 10 a server OS.
  - cwyers 11y ago
    No, he installed OS X SERVER https://www.apple.com/osx/server/ https://www.apple.com/osx/server/ Which is a server product that Apple sells, through the app store, for $20.
    - chris_wot 11y ago
      It's an operating system that runs server software. How does that not make it a "server OS"? It runs a VPN service, an update service, it's largely based on OpenBSD, how are you defining what is and isn't this magical "server OS"? Incidentally, I didn't actually need to purchase that, it just made my life easier. I was quite readily able to install OpenVPN on it via Homebrew and configure the pf rules without their GUI. The only thing I couldn't do was to install the caching update service. Do you know of an alternative I could have used to update a network full of Macs? No mockery needed, just an answer will do fine - if you know.
      - cwyers 11y ago
        Heh, I was actually agreeing with you. To your last question, I have no idea.
        chris_wot 11y ago
        Ah. Sorry about that. I need to learn not to read tone in written text (especially a tone that isn't there)! And also get some sleep and get off HN :-)
      - teamhappy 11y ago
        > it's largely based on OpenBSD I think you mean FreeBSD.
      - Alphasite_ 11y ago
        OSX was based on BSD, not open BSD to the best of my knowledge. They are siblings rather than parent child.
        chris_wot 11y ago
        I get rather confused when I try to keep track of UNIX history...
      - Xeago 11y ago
        https://github.com/wdas/reposado https://github.com/wdas/reposado > Reposado is a set of tools written in Python that replicate the key functionality of Mac OS X Server's Software Update Service.
        chris_wot 11y ago
        Nice! Thanks for the info.
  - chris_wot 11y ago
    And Windows can operate as a server running all sorts of things like Active Directory, Exchange, etc. - that's because Microsoft bundles the software with it to allow it to do this, but the underlying operating system remains the same. How is that any different to OS X? And how are you defining what is and isn't a "server operating system"? Perhaps I'm taking you too literally, but I guess I consider an operating system that allows or is designed to act as a server to be such a thing. Of course, it might not be the best way of running a server, but it's still an operating system running software listening on a port that serves the requests from clients. I seem to remember when people said Linux wasn't a "server OS", yet it very much was...
    - vertex-four 11y ago
      > And Windows can operate as a server running all sorts of things like Active Directory, Exchange, etc. - that's because Microsoft bundles the software with it to allow it to do this, but the underlying operating system remains the same. Actually, it seriously isn't - Windows Server has a hugely changed set of features compared to Windows on the desktop, from the kernel upwards. The software in question is tied heavily into every piece of the OS - there is almost no major component in Windows 10 that is exactly the same in its equivalent server build. This is very different from both OS X and Linux. OS X is very much not designed to act as a permanently always-on server in a business-critical capacity - what I'd expect from a server OS. The fact that Apple sell a product called "server" doesn't change that, any more than that XAMPP exists for Windows 10. To put it in a question - would you run your SaaS off of OS X?
      - hughw 11y ago
        Sure, I would. You think a Mac Pro couldn't run Apache, MySQL, and PHP continuously for a year or so? I imagine I'd discover some network tweaks I'd want to make, but I'd be interested to hear what part of that system would prove inadequate.
      - chris_wot 11y ago
        No, I wouldn't. I think I made that clear already? I'm just saying that I don't understand your definition of a "server OS". Incidentally, my point about Windows Server is the same you have made - except that the kernel architecture is the same. It still runs pretty much this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Windows_NT#/media/File:Windows_2000_architecture.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Windows_NT#/me...
umanwizard 11y ago
This is very narrow-minded. Lots of people are running OS X severs, for reasons you may not have considered.

OS X isn't a server OS and hasn't been for a while.

chris_wot 11y ago

Funny how I just installed OS X Server just today...

vertex-four 11y ago
You can also install Apache, a mail server, etc etc on Windows 10. Doesn't make Windows 10 a server OS.
- cwyers 11y ago
  No, he installed OS X SERVER https://www.apple.com/osx/server/ https://www.apple.com/osx/server/ Which is a server product that Apple sells, through the app store, for $20.
  - chris_wot 11y ago
    It's an operating system that runs server software. How does that not make it a "server OS"? It runs a VPN service, an update service, it's largely based on OpenBSD, how are you defining what is and isn't this magical "server OS"? Incidentally, I didn't actually need to purchase that, it just made my life easier. I was quite readily able to install OpenVPN on it via Homebrew and configure the pf rules without their GUI. The only thing I couldn't do was to install the caching update service. Do you know of an alternative I could have used to update a network full of Macs? No mockery needed, just an answer will do fine - if you know.
    - cwyers 11y ago
      Heh, I was actually agreeing with you. To your last question, I have no idea.
      - chris_wot 11y ago
        Ah. Sorry about that. I need to learn not to read tone in written text (especially a tone that isn't there)! And also get some sleep and get off HN :-)
    - teamhappy 11y ago
      > it's largely based on OpenBSD I think you mean FreeBSD.
    - Alphasite_ 11y ago
      OSX was based on BSD, not open BSD to the best of my knowledge. They are siblings rather than parent child.
      - chris_wot 11y ago
        I get rather confused when I try to keep track of UNIX history...
    - Xeago 11y ago
      https://github.com/wdas/reposado https://github.com/wdas/reposado > Reposado is a set of tools written in Python that replicate the key functionality of Mac OS X Server's Software Update Service.
      - chris_wot 11y ago
        Nice! Thanks for the info.
- chris_wot 11y ago
  And Windows can operate as a server running all sorts of things like Active Directory, Exchange, etc. - that's because Microsoft bundles the software with it to allow it to do this, but the underlying operating system remains the same. How is that any different to OS X? And how are you defining what is and isn't a "server operating system"? Perhaps I'm taking you too literally, but I guess I consider an operating system that allows or is designed to act as a server to be such a thing. Of course, it might not be the best way of running a server, but it's still an operating system running software listening on a port that serves the requests from clients. I seem to remember when people said Linux wasn't a "server OS", yet it very much was...
  - vertex-four 11y ago
    > And Windows can operate as a server running all sorts of things like Active Directory, Exchange, etc. - that's because Microsoft bundles the software with it to allow it to do this, but the underlying operating system remains the same. Actually, it seriously isn't - Windows Server has a hugely changed set of features compared to Windows on the desktop, from the kernel upwards. The software in question is tied heavily into every piece of the OS - there is almost no major component in Windows 10 that is exactly the same in its equivalent server build. This is very different from both OS X and Linux. OS X is very much not designed to act as a permanently always-on server in a business-critical capacity - what I'd expect from a server OS. The fact that Apple sell a product called "server" doesn't change that, any more than that XAMPP exists for Windows 10. To put it in a question - would you run your SaaS off of OS X?
    - hughw 11y ago
      Sure, I would. You think a Mac Pro couldn't run Apache, MySQL, and PHP continuously for a year or so? I imagine I'd discover some network tweaks I'd want to make, but I'd be interested to hear what part of that system would prove inadequate.
    - chris_wot 11y ago
      No, I wouldn't. I think I made that clear already? I'm just saying that I don't understand your definition of a "server OS". Incidentally, my point about Windows Server is the same you have made - except that the kernel architecture is the same. It still runs pretty much this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Windows_NT#/media/File:Windows_2000_architecture.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Windows_NT#/me...

umanwizard 11y ago

This is very narrow-minded. Lots of people are running OS X severs, for reasons you may not have considered.