macOS Server, formerly Mac OS X Server and OS X Server, is a discontinued series of

Unix Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...

-like server

operating systems An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also inc ...

developed by

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

, based on

macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...

and later add-on software packages for the latter. macOS Server added server functionality and system administration tools to macOS and provided tools to manage both macOS-based computers and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

-based devices. Versions of Mac OS X Server prior to version 10.7 “Lion” were sold as complete, standalone server operating systems; starting with Mac OS X 10.7 “Lion,” Mac OS X Server (and its successors OS X Server and macOS Server) have been offered as add-on software packages, sold through the

Mac App Store The App Store (also known as the Mac App Store) is a digital distribution platform for macOS apps, often referred to as Mac apps, created and maintained by Apple Inc. The platform was announced on October 20, 2010, at Apple's "Back to the Mac" ...

, that are installed on top of a corresponding macOS installation. macOS Server at one point provided

network service In computer networking, a network service is an application running at the network application layer and above, that provides data storage, manipulation, presentation, communication or other capability which is often implemented using a client� ...

s such as a

mail transfer agent The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

, AFP and SMB servers, an

LDAP The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP ) is an open, vendor-neutral, industry standard application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. Directory servi ...

server, and a

domain name server A name server refers to the server component of the Domain Name System (DNS), one of the two principal namespaces of the Internet. The most important function of DNS servers is the translation (resolution) of human-memorable domain names (example. ...

, as well as server applications including a

Web server A web server is computer software and underlying hardware that accepts requests via HTTP (the network protocol created to distribute web content) or its secure variant HTTPS. A user agent, commonly a web browser or web crawler, initiate ...

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...

, and

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...

server. The latest version of macOS server only includes functionality related to user and group management,

Xsan Xsan () is Apple Inc.'s storage area network (SAN) or clustered file system for macOS. Xsan enables multiple Mac desktop and Xserve systems to access shared block storage over a Fibre Channel network. With the Xsan file system installed, these ...

, and

mobile device management Mobile device management (MDM) is the administration of mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablet computers, and laptops. MDM is usually implemented with the use of a third-party product that has management features for particular vendors of m ...

through profiles. On April 21, 2022, Apple announced it would be discontinuing macOS Server and that future versions of macOS would drop support for it.

Overview

Mac OS X Server was provided as the operating system for

Xserve Xserve is a line of rack unit computers designed by Apple Inc. for use as servers. Introduced in 2002, it was Apple's first designated server hardware design since the Apple Network Server in 1996. In the meantime, ordinary Power Macintosh G3 a ...

computers,

rack mounted A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple electronic equipment modules. Each module has a front panel that is wide. The 19 inch dimension includes the edges or "ears" that protrude from each side of the equ ...

server computer In computing, a server is a piece of computer hardware or software ( computer program) that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called " clients". This architecture is called the client–server model. Servers can provide var ...

s designed by Apple. Also, it was optionally pre-installed on the

Mac Mini Mac Mini (stylized as Mac mini) is a small form factor (desktop and motherboard), small form factor desktop computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. , it is positioned between the consumer all-in-one iMac (Intel-based), iMac and the profes ...

and

Mac Pro Mac Pro is a series of workstations and servers for professionals that are designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2006. The Mac Pro, by some performance benchmarks, is the most powerful computer that Apple offers. It is one of f ...

and was sold separately for use on any

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

computer meeting its minimum requirements. macOS Server versions prior to Lion are based on an

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

foundation called Darwin and use open industry standards and protocols.

Versions

Mac OS X Server 1.0 (Rhapsody)

The first version of Mac OS X was

Mac OS X Server 1.0 Mac OS X Server 1.0 is an operating system developed by Apple Computer, Inc. Released on March 16, 1999, it was the first version of Mac OS X Server. It was Apple's first commercial product to be derived from "Rhapsody"—an eventual replacemen ...

. Mac OS X Server 1.0 was based on

Rhapsody Rhapsody may refer to: * A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time ** Rhapsode, a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry Computer software * Rhapsody (online music service), an online m ...

, a hybrid of

OPENSTEP OpenStep is a defunct object-oriented application programming interface (API) specification for a legacy object-oriented operating system, with the basic goal of offering a NeXTSTEP-like environment on non-NeXTSTEP operating systems. OpenStep was ...

from NeXT Computer and Mac OS 8.5.1. The

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

looked like a mixture of Mac OS 8's Platinum appearance with OPENSTEP's

NeXT Next may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare * ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage * '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film Lit ...

-based interface. It included a runtime layer called Blue Box for running legacy Mac OS-based applications within a separate window. There was discussion of implementing a 'transparent blue box' which would intermix Mac OS applications with those written for Rhapsody's Yellow Box environment, but this would not happen until

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...

's Classic environment. Apple File Services, Macintosh Manager, QuickTime Streaming Server,

WebObjects WebObjects was a Java web application server and a server-based web application framework originally developed by NeXT Software, Inc. WebObject's hallmark features are its object-orientation, database connectivity, and prototyping tools. Ap ...

, and

NetBoot NetBoot was a technology from Apple which enabled Macs with capable firmware (i.e. New World ROM) to boot from a network, rather than a local hard disk or optical disc drive. NetBoot is a derived work from the Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP), an ...

were included with Mac OS X Server 1.0. It could not use

FireWire IEEE 1394 is an interface standard for a serial bus for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer. It was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Apple in cooperation with a number of companies, primarily Sony an ...

devices. The last release is Mac OS X Server 1.2v3.

Mac OS X Server 10.0 (Cheetah)

Released: May 21, 2001 Tagline: Industrial-strength server with Macintosh ease of use. Mac OS X Server 10.0 included the new

Aqua user interface Aqua is the graphical user interface, design language and visual theme of Apple's macOS operating system. It was originally based on the theme of water, with droplet-like components and a liberal use of reflection effects and translucency. Its ...

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

PHP PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared toward web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993 and released in 1995. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by The PHP Group ...

MySQL MySQL () is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). Its name is a combination of "My", the name of co-founder Michael Widenius's daughter My, and "SQL", the acronym for Structured Query Language. A relational database o ...

Tomcat Tomcat may refer to: Animals * A sexually mature male cat * Paederus, known as in Indonesia Science and technology * Apache Tomcat, an implementation of Java web-server technologies * Beretta 3032 Tomcat, a pistol * Grumman F-14 Tomcat, a f ...

WebDAV WebDAV (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning) is a set of extensions to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which allows user agents to collaboratively author contents ''directly'' in an HTTP web server by providing facilities for concu ...

support, Macintosh Manager, and

Mac OS X Server 10.1 (Puma)

Released: September 25, 2001 Tagline: Industrial-strength server with Macintosh ease of use. Mac OS X Server 10.1 featured improved performance, increased system stability, and decreased file transfer times compared to Mac OS X Server 10.0. Support was added for RAID 0 and RAID 1 storage configurations, and Mac OS 9.2.1 in NetBoot.

Mac OS X Server 10.2 (Jaguar)

Released: August 23, 2002 Tagline: UNIX power. Open standards. Apple ease of use. The 10.2 Mac OS X Server release includes updated Open Directory user and file management, which with this release is based on

, beginning the deprecation of the NeXT-originated

NetInfo NetInfo is the system configuration database in NeXTSTEP and Mac OS X versions up through Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger". NetInfo replaces most of the Unix system configuration files, though they are still present for running the machine in single user mo ...

architecture. The new Workgroup Manager interface improved configuration significantly. The release also saw major updates to

and

NetInstall NetBoot was a technology from Apple which enabled Macs with capable firmware (i.e. New World ROM) to boot from a network, rather than a local hard disk or optical disc drive. NetBoot is a derived work from the Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP), and is ...

. Many common network services are provided such as NTP,

SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an Internet Standard protocol for collecting and organizing information about managed devices on IP networks and for modifying that information to change device behaviour. Devices that typically ...

, web server (

), mail server ( Postfix and

Cyrus Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...

), LDAP (

OpenLDAP OpenLDAP is a free, open-source implementation of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) developed by the OpenLDAP Project. It is released under its own BSD-style license called the OpenLDAP Public License. LDAP is a platform-independe ...

), AFP, and print server. The inclusion of

Samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

version 3 allows tight integration with

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

clients and servers.

v4.0.16 and

v4.3.7 are also included.

Mac OS X Server 10.3 (Panther)

Released: October 24, 2003 Tagline: Open Source made easy. The 10.3 Mac OS X Server release includes updated Open Directory user and file management, which with this release is based on

, beginning the deprecation of the NeXT-originated

architecture. The new Workgroup Manager interface improved configuration significantly. Many common network services are provided such as NTP, SNMP, web server (

), mail server ( Postfix and

), LDAP (

), AFP, and print server. The inclusion of

version 3 allows tight integration with

clients and servers.

v4.0.16 and

v4.3.7 are also included.

Mac OS X Server 10.4 (Tiger)

Released: April 29, 2005 Tagline: Open source made easy. The 10.4 release adds

64-bit In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...

application support,

Access Control Lists In computer security, an access-control list (ACL) is a list of permissions associated with a system resource (object). An ACL specifies which users or system processes are granted access to objects, as well as what operations are allowed on giv ...

Xgrid Xgrid is a proprietary program and distributed computing protocol developed by the Advanced Computation Group subdivision of Apple Inc that allows networked computers to contribute to a single task. It provides network administrators a met ...

link aggregation In computer networking, link aggregation is the combining ( aggregating) of multiple network connections in parallel by any of several methods, in order to increase throughput beyond what a single connection could sustain, to provide redundan ...

e-mail spam Email spam, also referred to as junk email, spam mail, or simply spam, is unsolicited messages sent in bulk by email (spamming). The name comes from a Monty Python sketch in which the name of the canned pork product Spam is ubiquitous, unavoida ...

filtering (

SpamAssassin Apache SpamAssassin is a computer program used for anti-spam techniques, e-mail spam filtering. It uses a variety of spam-detection techniques, including Domain Name System, DNS and fuzzy checksum techniques, Bayesian spam filtering, Bayesian filt ...

), virus detection (

ClamAV Clam AntiVirus (ClamAV) is a free software, cross-platform antimalware toolkit able to detect many types of malware, including viruses. It was developed for Unix and has third party versions available for AIX, BSD, HP-UX, Linux, macOS, OpenVMS, ...

), Gateway Setup Assistant, and servers for

Software Update A patch is a set of changes to a computer program or its supporting data designed to update, fix, or improve it. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, with such patches usually being called bugfixes or bug fixes. Patches ...

iChat Server macOS Server, formerly Mac OS X Server and OS X Server, is a discontinued series of Unix-like server operating systems developed by Apple Inc., based on macOS and later add-on software packages for the latter. macOS Server added serve ...

using

XMPP Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP, originally named Jabber) is an open communication protocol designed for instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. Based on XML (Extensible Markup Language), it ...

, Boot Camp Assistant, Dashboard, and Weblog Server based on the open-source Blojsom project (

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

). On August 10, 2006, Apple announced the first

Universal Binary The universal binary format is, in Apple parlance, a format for executable files that run natively on either PowerPC or Intel-manufactured IA-32 or Intel 64 or ARM64-based Macintosh computers. The format originated on NeXTStep as " Multi-Archi ...

release of Mac OS X Server, version 10.4.7, supporting both PowerPC and Intel processors. At the same time Apple announced the release of the Intel-based

and

systems.

Mac OS X Server 10.5 (Leopard Server)

Released: October 26, 2007 Tagline: Simply powerful. Leopard Server sold for $999 for an unlimited-client license.In depth with Lion OS X Server
– Anandtech, August 2, 2011 Mac OS X Server version 10.5.x ‘Leopard’ was the last major version of Mac OS X Server to support

PowerPC PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...

-based servers and workstations such as the Apple

Xserve G5 Xserve is a line of rack unit computers designed by Apple Inc. for use as servers. Introduced in 2002, it was Apple's first designated server hardware design since the Apple Network Server in 1996. In the meantime, ordinary Power Macintosh G3 a ...

and

Power Mac G5 The Power Mac G5 is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 2003 to 2006 as part of the Power Mac series. When introduced, it was the most powerful computer in Apple's Macintosh lineup, and ...

. Features *

RADIUS In classical geometry, a radius ( : radii) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The name comes from the latin ''radius'', meaning ray but also the ...

Server. Leopard Server includes

FreeRADIUS FreeRADIUS is a modular, high performance free RADIUS suite developed and distributed under the GNU General Public License, version 2, and is free for download and use. The FreeRADIUS Suite includes a RADIUS server, a BSD-licensed RADIUS client l ...

for network authentication. It ships with support for wireless access stations however can be modified into a fully functioning FreeRADIUS server. *

Ruby on Rails Ruby on Rails (simplified as Rails) is a server-side web application framework written in Ruby under the MIT License. Rails is a model–view–controller (MVC) framework, providing default structures for a database, a web service, and web p ...

. Mac OS X Server version 10.5 ‘Leopard’ was the first version to ship with

, the

server-side In the client–server model, server-side refers to programs and operations that run on the server. This is in contrast to client-side programs and operations which run on the client. General concepts Typically, a server is a computer application ...

Web application framework A web framework (WF) or web application framework (WAF) is a software framework that is designed to support the development of web applications including web services, web resources, and web APIs. Web frameworks provide a standard way to build and ...

used by sites such as

GitHub GitHub, Inc. () is an Internet hosting service for software development and version control using Git. It provides the distributed version control of Git plus access control, bug tracking, software feature requests, task management, continuous ...

Mac OS X Server 10.6 (Snow Leopard Server)

Released: August 28, 2009 Tagline: New features. New ways to collaborate. Simpler than ever. Snow Leopard Server sold for $499 and included unlimited client licenses. ''New Features'': * Full

operating system. On appropriate systems with 4 GB of RAM or more, Snow Leopard Server uses a 64-bit kernel to address up to a theoretical 16 TB of RAM. *

iCal Server macOS Server, formerly Mac OS X Server and OS X Server, is a discontinued series of Unix-like server operating systems developed by Apple Inc., based on macOS and later add-on software packages for the latter. macOS Server added serv ...

2 with improved

CalDAV Calendaring Extensions to WebDAV, or CalDAV, is an Internet standard allowing a client to access and manage calendar data along with the ability to schedule meetings with users on the same or on remote servers. It lets multiple users in diff ...

support, a new web calendaring application, push notifications and the ability to send email invitations to non-iCal users. * Address Book Server provides a central location for users to store and access personal contacts across multiple Macs and synchronized iPhones. Based on the

CardDAV vCard Extensions to WebDAV (CardDAV) is an address book client/server protocol designed to allow users to access and share contact data on a server. The CardDAV protocol was developed by the IETF and was published as in August 2011. CardDAV is ...

protocol standard. *

Wiki Server Wiki Server was a set of services which have shipped with all versions of Mac OS X Server since v10.5 until macOS High Sierra. Mac OS X Server includes web-based Wiki, Weblog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or information ...

2, with server side

Quick Look Quick Look is a quick preview feature developed by Apple Inc. which was introduced in its operating system Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. The feature was announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Jun. 11, 2007. While macOS's Finder has alway ...

and the ability to view wiki content on iPhone. * A new

Mail server Within the Internet email system, a message transfer agent (MTA), or mail transfer agent, or mail relay is software that transfers electronic mail messages from one computer to another using SMTP. The terms mail server, mail exchanger, and MX host ...

engine that supports push email so users receive immediate access to new messages. However, Apple's implementation of push email is not supported for Apple's iPhone. * Podcast Producer 2 with dual-source video support. Also includes a new Podcast Composer application to automate the production process, making it simple to create podcasts with a customized, consistent look and feel. Podcast Composer creates a workflow to add titles, transitions and effects, save to a desired format and share to wikis, blogs,

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

iTunes U The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

Final Cut Server Final Cut Server was Apple's server-based backend for managing Final Cut Studio files (in particular Final Cut Pro) and workflow automation, based on Proximity's artbox package. Final Cut Server can catalogue any file type and allows for the addi ...

or Podcast Library. * Mobile Access Server enables iPhone and Mac users to access secured network services, including corporate websites, online business applications, email, calendars and contacts. Without requiring additional software, Mobile Access Server acts as a reverse proxy server and provides SSL encryption and authentication between the user's iPhone or Mac and a private network.

Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion Server)

Released: July 20, 2011 Tagline: The server for everyone. In releasing the developer preview of

Mac OS X Lion OS X Lion, also known as Mac OS X Lion, (version 10.7) is the eighth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Mac computers. A preview of OS X 10.7 Lion was publicly shown at the "Back to the Mac" Apple Speci ...

in February 2011, Apple indicated that beginning with Lion, Mac OS X Server would be bundled with the operating system and would not be marketed as a separate product. However, a few months later, the company said it would instead sell the server components as a

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

49.99 add-on to Lion, distributed through the

(as well as Lion itself). The combined cost of an upgrade to Lion and the purchase of the OS X Server add-on, which costs approximately US$50, was nonetheless significantly lower than the retail cost of Snow Leopard Server (US$499). Lion Server came with unlimited client licenses as did Snow Leopard Server. Lion Server includes new versions of

, and

Mail Server Within the Internet email system, a message transfer agent (MTA), or mail transfer agent, or mail relay is software that transfers electronic mail messages from one computer to another using SMTP. The terms mail server, mail exchanger, and MX host ...

. More significantly, Lion Server can be used for iOS mobile device management. Starting with Apple Mac OS X Server Version 10.7 “Lion,”

PostgreSQL PostgreSQL (, ), also known as Postgres, is a free and open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) emphasizing extensibility and SQL compliance. It was originally named POSTGRES, referring to its origins as a successor to the In ...

replaces

as the database provided with Mac OS X Server, coinciding with

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...

’s acquisition of

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...

and Oracle’s subsequent attempts to tighten MySQL’s licensing restrictions and to exert influence on MySQL’s previously open and independent development model.

OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion Server)

Released: July 25, 2012 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Like Lion, Mountain Lion had no separate server edition. An OS X Server package was available for Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store for US$19.99, which included a server management application called Server, as well as other additional administrative tools to manage client profiles and

. Mountain Lion Server, like Lion Server, was provided with unlimited client licenses, and once purchased could be run on an unlimited number of systems.

OS X 10.9 (Mavericks Server)

Released: October 22, 2013 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. There is no separate server edition of Mavericks, just as there was no separate server edition of Mountain Lion. There is a package, available from the Mac App Store for $19.99, that includes a server management app called Server, as well as other additional administrative tools to manage client profiles and

, and once purchased can be run on an unlimited number of machines. Those enrolled in the Mac or iOS developer programs are given a code to download OS X Server for free.

OS X 10.10 (Yosemite Server 4.0)

Released: October 16, 2014 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. There is no separate server edition of Yosemite, just as there was no separate server edition of Mavericks. There is a package, available from the Mac App Store for $19.99, that includes a server management app called Server, as well as other additional administrative tools to manage client profiles and Xsan, and once purchased can be run on an unlimited number of machines. Those enrolled in the Mac or iOS developer programs are given a code to download OS X Server for free.

OS X 10.11 (Server 5.0)

Released: September 16, 2015 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.0.3 of OS X Server operates with either OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 and OS X El Capitan 10.11.

OS X 10.11 (Server 5.1)

Released: March 21, 2016 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. OS X Server 5.1 requires 10.11.4 El Capitan, as previous versions of OS X Server won't work on 10.11.4 El Capitan.

macOS 10.12 (Server 5.2)

Released: September 20, 2016 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.2 of macOS Server operates with either OS X El Capitan 10.11 or macOS Sierra 10.12.

macOS 10.12 (Server 5.3)

Released: March 17, 2017 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.3 of macOS Server only operates on macOS Sierra (10.12.4) and later. For macOS Server 5.3.1:

macOS 10.13 (Server 5.4)

Released: September 25, 2017 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.4 of macOS Server only operates on macOS High Sierra (10.13) and later.

macOS 10.13.3 (Server 5.5)

Released: January 23, 2018 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.5 of macOS Server only operates on macOS High Sierra (10.13.3) and later.

macOS 10.13.5 (Server 5.6)

Released: April 24, 2018 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.6 of macOS Server only operates on macOS High Sierra (10.13.5) and later.

macOS 10.14 (Server 5.7)

Released: September 28, 2018 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.7 of macOS Server only operates on macOS Mojave (10.14) and later. With this version Apple stopped bundling open source services such as Calendar Server, Contacts Server, the Mail Server, DNS, DHCP, VPN Server, and Websites with macOS Server. Included services are now limited to Profile Manager, Open Directory and Xsan.

macOS 10.14 (Server 5.8)

Released: March 25, 2019 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.8 of macOS Server only operates on macOS Mojave (10.14.4) and later. Profile Manager supports new restrictions, payloads, and commands.

macOS 10.15 (Server 5.9)

Released: October 8, 2019 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.9 of macOS Server only operates on macOS Catalina (10.15) and later.

macOS 10.15 (Server 5.10)

Released: April 1, 2020 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.10 of macOS Server only operates on macOS Catalina (10.15) and later.

macOS 11 (Server 5.11)

Released: December 15, 2020 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.11 of macOS Server only operates on macOS Big Sur (11) and later.

macOS 11 (Server 5.11.1)

Released: May 2, 2021 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.11.1 of macOS Server only operates on macOS Big Sur (11) and later.

macOS 12 (Server 5.12)

Released: December 8, 2021 Tagline: Just like that, your Mac is a powerful server. Version 5.12 of macOS Server only operates on macOS Monterey (12). Future versions of macOS will not be supported.

Server administrator tools

* Beginning with the release of OS X 10.8 – Mountain Lion – there is only one Administrative tool – "Server.app". This application is purchased and downloaded via the Mac App Store. This application is updated independently of macOS, also via the Mac App Store. : This Server tool is used to configure, maintain and monitor one or more macOS Server installations. : One purchase allows it to be installed on any licensed macOS installation. * The following information applies only to versions of Mac OS X Server prior to Mountain Lion (10.8) :: Mac OS X Server comes with a variety of configuration tools that can be installed on non-server Macs as well: ::* Server Admin ::* Server Preferences (application) ::* Server Assistant ::*

Server Monitor Server Monitor is Apple Inc., Apple's remote server monitoring application, part of the discontinued Mac OS X Server. It communicates with the hardware monitoring daemon present on Mac servers. Server Monitor is also an Intelligent Platform Manage ...

::*

System Image Utility System Image Utility is an application for making NetBoot and other disk image, image sets to be used with Mac OS X Server. It is available as part of the server admin tools package on a optical disc, disc with the server software and as a downloa ...

::*

Workgroup Manager Workgroup Manager is a computer program bundled as part of OS X Server for directory-based management of users, groups and computers across a network. This is where an admin could add, delete, and modify computer, and user accounts and group ...

::* Xgrid Admin

System requirements

Technical specifications

File and print services * Mac ( AFP, AppleTalk PAP, IPP) *

(

SMB/CIFS Server Message Block (SMB) is a communication protocol originally developed in 1983 by Barry A. Feigenbaum at IBM and intended to provide shared access to files and printers across nodes on a network of systems running IBM's OS/2. It also provides ...

: Apple SMBX in Lion Server — previously

2, IPP) *

Unix-like A Unix-like (sometimes referred to as UN*X or *nix) operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, although not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification. A Unix-li ...

systems ( NFS, LPR/LPD, IPP) * Internet (

FTP The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard communication protocol used for the transfer of computer files from a server to a client on a computer network. FTP is built on a client–server model architecture using separate control and data ...

) Directory services and authentication * Open Directory (

, Kerberos, SASL) * Windows NT Domain Services (removed in Lion Server, previously

2) *

Backup Domain Controller On Microsoft Servers, a domain controller (DC) is a server computer that responds to security authentication requests (logging in, etc.) within a Windows domain. A ''domain'' is a concept introduced in Windows NT whereby a user may be granted access ...

(BDC) *

directory connector *

Active Directory Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It is included in most Windows Server operating systems as a set of processes and services. Initially, Active Directory was used only for centralize ...

connector * BSD configuration files (/etc) *

Mail services *

SMTP The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is an Internet standard communication protocol for electronic mail transmission. Mail servers and other message transfer agents use SMTP to send and receive mail messages. User-level email clients typical ...

( Postfix) * POP and

IMAP In computing, the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is an Internet standard protocol used by email clients to retrieve email messages from a mail server over a TCP/IP connection. IMAP is defined by . IMAP was designed with the goal of per ...

( Dovecot) *

SSL/TLS Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a cryptographic protocol designed to provide communications security over a computer network. The protocol is widely used in applications such as email, instant messaging, and voice over IP, but its use in securi ...

encryption (

OpenSSL OpenSSL is a software library for applications that provide secure communications over computer networks against eavesdropping or need to identify the party at the other end. It is widely used by Internet servers, including the majority of HTT ...

) *

Mailing list A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is re ...

s ( Mailman) *

Webmail Webmail (or web-based email) is an email service that can be accessed using a standard web browser. It contrasts with email service accessible through a specialised email client software. Examples of webmail providers are 1&1 Ionos, AOL Mail, G ...

( RoundCube) * Junk mail filtering (

) *

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...

detection (

) Calendaring *

(

, iTIP, iMIP) Web hosting *

Web server (2.2 and 1.3) * SSL/TLS (OpenSSL) *

Perl Perl is a family of two high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming languages. "Perl" refers to Perl 5, but from 2000 to 2019 it also referred to its redesigned "sister language", Perl 6, before the latter's name was offici ...

(5.8.8),

(5.2),

Ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sa ...

(1.8.6),

Rails Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

(1.2.3) *

5 (replaced by

in Lion Server) * Capistrano,

Mongrel A mongrel, mutt or mixed-breed dog is a dog that does not belong to one officially recognized Dog breed, breed and including those that are the result of intentional Dog breeding, breeding. Although the term ''mixed-breed dog'' is sometime ...

Collaboration services *

(

RSS RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many di ...

) *

3 (

) Application servers *

Apache Tomcat Apache Tomcat (called "Tomcat" for short) is a free and open-source implementation of the Jakarta Servlet, Jakarta Expression Language, and WebSocket technologies. It provides a "pure Java" HTTP web server environment in which Java code can also ...

(6) *

Java SE Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE) is a computing platform for development and deployment of portable code for desktop and server environments. Java SE was formerly known as Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE). The platform uses Ja ...

virtual machine *

deployment (5.4) *

Apache Axis Apache Axis (Apache eXtensible Interaction System) is an open-source, XML based Web service framework. It consists of a Java and a C++ implementation of the SOAP server, and various utilities and APIs for generating and deploying Web service app ...

(

SOAP Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

) Media streaming *

QuickTime Streaming Server QuickTime Streaming Server (QTSS) is a server or service daemon that was built into Apple's Mac OS X Server until OS X Server 10.6.8. It delivers video and audio on request to users over a computer network, including the Internet. Its primary GU ...

6 (removed in Lion Server) * QuickTime Broadcaster 1.5 Client management * Managed Preferences *

Server * Portable home directories * Profile Manager (new in Lion Server) Networking and VPN *

DNS The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information with domain names assigned to ...

server (

BIND BIND () is a suite of software for interacting with the Domain Name System (DNS). Its most prominent component, named (pronounced ''name-dee'': , short for ''name daemon''), performs both of the main DNS server roles, acting as an authoritative n ...

9) *

DHCP The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network management protocol used on Internet Protocol (IP) networks for automatically assigning IP addresses and other communication parameters to devices connected to the network using a cli ...

server *

NAT Nat or NAT may refer to: Computing * Network address translation (NAT), in computer networking Organizations * National Actors Theatre, New York City, U.S. * National AIDS trust, a British charity * National Archives of Thailand * National As ...

server *

VPN A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. The be ...

server (

L2TP In computer networking, Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is a tunneling protocol used to support virtual private networks (VPNs) or as part of the delivery of services by ISPs. It uses encryption ('hiding') only for its own control messages (using ...

IPSec In computing, Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) is a secure network protocol suite that authenticates and encrypts packets of data to provide secure encrypted communication between two computers over an Internet Protocol network. It is used in ...

PPTP The Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is an obsolete method for implementing virtual private networks. PPTP has many well known security issues. PPTP uses a TCP control channel and a Generic Routing Encapsulation tunnel to encapsulate PP ...

) *

Firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...

(

IPFW2 ipfirewall or ipfw is a FreeBSD IP, stateful firewall, packet filter and traffic accounting facility. Its ruleset logic is similar to many other packet filters except IPFilter. ipfw is authored and maintained by FreeBSD volunteer staff memb ...

) * NTP Distributed computing *

2 High-availability features * Automatic recovery * File system journaling * IP

failover Failover is switching to a redundant or standby computer server, system, hardware component or network upon the failure or abnormal termination of the previously active application, server, system, hardware component, or network in a computer net ...

(dropped in OS X 10.7 and later) * Software

RAID Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...

* Disk space monitor File systems *

HFS+ HFS Plus or HFS+ (also known as Mac OS Extended or HFS Extended) is a journaling file system developed by Apple Inc. It replaced the Hierarchical File System (HFS) as the primary file system of Apple computers with the 1998 release of Mac OS 8.1 ...

(journaled, case sensitive and case insensitive) *

FAT In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers spec ...

NTFS New Technology File System (NTFS) is a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft. Starting with Windows NT 3.1, it is the default file system of the Windows NT family. It superseded File Allocation Table (FAT) as the preferred fil ...

(write support only available on Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server) * UFS (read-only) Management features * Server Assistant * Server Admin * Server Preferences * Server Status widget * Workgroup Manager * System Image Utility *

Secure Shell The Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network. Its most notable applications are remote login and command-line execution. SSH applications are based on a ...

(SSH2) * Server Monitor * RAID Utility *

v3 ( Net-SNMP)

Discontinuation

On April 21, 2022, Apple announced that they have discontinued macOS Server and that the most popular features (Caching Server, File Sharing Server, and Time Machine Server) are already bundled with every copy of macOS High Sierra and later, so customers will still have access to them. Existing macOS Server customers can still download and use the app with macOS Monterey.

References

External links

Apple – macOS ServerApple Introduces Mac OS X Server
– Apple press release
Major Mac OS X Server v10.1 Update Now Available
– Apple press release
Apple Announces Mac OS X Server “Jaguar”, World’s Easiest-to-Manage UNIX-Based Server Software
– Apple press release
Apple Announces Mac OS X Server “Panther”
– Apple press release
Apple Announces Mac OS X Server “Tiger”
– Apple press release
Apple Announces New Mac OS X Server "Leopard" Features
– Apple press release
Apple Introduces Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard
– Apple press release {{DEFAULTSORT:macOS Server Server Software version histories Mobile device management