Apple Previews Mac OS X Server Leopard

Apple Previews Mac OS X Server Leopard

Apple® today previewed Mac OS® X Server version 10.5 Leopard, the next major release of Apple’s award-winning UNIX® server operating system. Leopard Server, scheduled to ship in spring 2007, builds on Apple’s legendary ease of use with new Server Assistant and Server Preference features that make it easy for even non-technical users to setup and manage a server with just a few clicks of a mouse. For the first time, Apple is delivering native 64-bit server applications that take advantage of the increased processing power of 64-bit computing. Other new features include iCal® Server, the easiest way to share calendars, schedule meetings and plan events; a wiki server that makes it simple for teams to share and communicate; Spotlight™ Server, the fastest way to find content on servers; and Podcast Producer, the ideal way to automate Podcast production.

“Leopard Server brings a new level of 64-bit power together with Apple’s legendary ease of use in one server operating system,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Leopard Server is our best Mac OS X Server release yet and includes many new innovative features, such as iCal Server, a wiki server and Spotlight Server, making it ideal for education, small businesses and large enterprises alike, and a great alternative to Windows and Linux servers.”

Leopard Server enables small businesses and workgroups to take full advantage of the benefits of a server without an IT department. Leopard Server features a new setup interface with built-in Network Health Check, a new Server Preferences administration interface and automatic client setup support that automatically configures Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard clients to use the server for all essential services, including file and printer sharing, Mail, iCal, iChat, Address Book and backup.

The core services in Leopard Server, including Apache 2, MySQL 5, Postfix, Cyrus, iChat Server and QuickTime® Streaming Server, are now 64-bit, allowing users to take full advantage of their 64-bit hardware’s performance and processing power, and to work with larger data sets. Since Leopard Server is fully 32-bit compatible, users can run 32-bit and 64-bit applications natively side-by-side.

Read the complete Press Release