I couldn't possibly begin to answer the OP's question, but I will just throw this out there. It is my understanding that most (if not all) of the server-specific functions come from open source projects and the main thing that Apple does is provide a nice GUI for them. So, depending on your view of open source, you can insert whether that is a good or bad thing here.
In regards to Michael's comment, I would note that there have been several iterations of Mac OS X in the last several years. In fact, they are just months short of shipping yet another one. I have no idea if the issues that Michael indicates have been resolved or not, but it does seem reasonable to assume that there has been some improvement since that time. I would also agree that you might check with another forum to hear about more actual experience with OS X Server. -----Original Message----- From: Michael B. Smith [mailto:mich...@owa.smithcons.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 8:17 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Apple vs Microsoft? My experience with XServers is several years out of date, but the last time I got involved in a project using them, the directory was buggy, prone to crashing, and had to be manually resynchronized with AD at least once a day (or whenever new users were added, new computers were added, or passwords were changed). I was very unimpressed. I think if you want some POSITIVE opinions of them - you should probably ask on an Apple forum. :-) ________________________________________ From: Shawn [sh...@loprestohome.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 10:01 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Apple vs Microsoft? Does anyone here have any experience, good or bad, regarding the Apple XSERVE being utilized to host email, data storage, open directory, etc as an equivalent replacement for Microsoft Server? We are currently running SBS 2003 and have 40 users, but will soon be upping that number to 150. My boss insists that moving everything over to a Mac environment will be a better long term move, but I am a bit hesitant without having some outside data to back that up. I have been told that 150 users can be better managed on two XSERVE's than on a Windows Active directory network, yet I have had a rough time finding any direct comparisons. If any of you have experience running either a mixed environment with both OS X Server and Windows Server or just a pure OS X environment w/ Mac clients as well, I would be interested to hear what your take on this is. I would also be very interested to here from anyone that has done a migration from Active directory to Open directory, along with any challenges on the user end. What challenges did you face? Are there any specifics that you can offer regarding stability, administration, etc? Thanks in advance for any input you can provide. Shawn ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
