Mac OS X Server - Deciding Which Basic Services to Provide

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File Sharing Service Overview

Mac OS X Server file sharing service lets your group members access shared folders
and store personal files on the server. They can use Macintosh, Windows, or UNIX
computers to access their files and shared folders without special software, using native
file protocols including AFP and SMB. Windows users see Mac OS X Server file servers in
their Network Places, just like Windows file servers.

iCal Service Overview

The calendar service for Mac OS X Server, iCal Server, makes it easy for users to share
calendars, schedule meetings, and coordinate events within a workgroup, a small
business, or a large organization. Colleagues can quickly and easily check each other’s
availability, set up and propose meetings, book conference rooms, reserve projectors,
and more. iCal Server sends the invitations, which can include information such as an
agenda or to-do list, and tabulates replies.

iCal Server works with the iCal application in Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard, Calendar
on iPhone, web calendars in Snow Leopard Server wikis, and third-party calendar
applications that support the standard CalDAV protocol.

iChat Service Overview

iChat service provides instant messaging (IM) for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux users.
Team members can brainstorm solutions, make plans, exchange URLs, or transfer
files, without worrying about outsiders intercepting confidential information. Instant
messaging service provides text messaging between users or among multiple users.
It also facilitates direct connections between users for audio, video, and multiway audio
and video sessions.

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iChat service works with the iChat application in Mac OS X, Google Talk, and other
instant messaging software that uses the XMPP protocol, called Jabber.

Mail Service Overview

Mail service lets users send and receive email on your local network and the Internet,
using any email application. Mail service includes filters that protect users from junk
mail and viruses. Mail service works with the Mail application in Mac OS X, Mail on
iPhone, and other popular mail applications that use the standard IMAP, POP, and SMTP
email protocols.

Web Services Overview

Web services can provide wiki, blogs, web calendars, web access to email, and custom
websites.

If web services are on, everyone with a user account on the server gets a convenient
wiki portal, called My Page, for viewing and creating wikis and blogs, using web
calendars, tracking wiki updates, and accessing webmail.

All users can easily create wikis and control who can view, search, and edit their wiki
content. By using included templates or creating their own, users can add, delete, edit,
and format content naturally—without knowing markup codes or special syntax.
With a few clicks, or by dragging and dropping, they can attach files and images,
publish podcasts, assign keywords, and link to other wiki pages or other websites.
They can also review the wiki’s complete history of changes and revert any page to
a previous version.

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Web calendars let people keep track of appointments, meetings, and other events
using any web browser. Users can send and receive invitations to events. When inviting
people to an event, users can see each person’s availability on a timeline. Each user’s
My Page portal includes a personal web calendar, and each wiki can also have a
calendar that everyone who has access to the wiki can use. Users can create multiple
calendars on their personal web calendars and on wiki group calendars that they have
access to. Users with Snow Leopard can also use the iCal application to view, change,
and create events that appear in web calendars.

Blogs give nontechnical users a way to keep their colleagues up-to-date with projects,
files they’re working on, and pictures or podcasts. Users publish their own blogs with
drag-and-drop ease, using a selection of built-in professional templates.

With webmail, users can receive and send mail from a web browser anywhere on the
Internet. They can access all their email as if they were using Mac OS X Mail or another
mail application on their computers.

Web services also let you publish custom websites that you have created (or someone
has created for you) using website development software. You can restrict access to
each website to a particular group, or restrict parts of the website to particular groups.
You can also specify each website’s IP address, an access port, and the folder where
website files are stored on the server. A custom website is also called a virtual host.