Is there somebody NOT having problems with OS X Server?

Question

I fell into the trap of Apple marketing and bought XServe with the intent to replace our Windows Server 2003 with OS X Server. The problem with Windows was that its licensing is expensive and you need to keep track of many different licenses for every single thing you want (SQL Server, Exchange and the like). It is also somewhat complicated to manage.
My first try was with Leopard 10.5. Oh boy, this didn't work out at all. There were so many problems that even after 10.5.2 I considered seriously moving over to 10.4, which I finally did. I admit that I made some mistakes of my own when I installed 10.5. Most notably of course was the DNS setup, which was not quite right. But there are other known issues (ACL not working for example). So I really trained the setup of 10.4 on my MacBook to the point where I got it right. Then I went forward and reinstalled the 10.4 server, moved over the files and user data.
So, 10.4. It performs much better, less errors, most of the time it works, especially after all the updates. But still it feels very far from the quality of Windows 2003 Server. I hate to say this, but it is true. I am feeling betrayed by Apple, because after using Macs for several years at home and at work (my MacBook), I felt like this is a superior operating system. Not so when I look at the server. Sure, the security holes are there in Windows Server, but they are not so hard to fill and most of the time I could just forget about it. Not so with OS X Server. It is SOOOOO fragile, it almost feels like a china shop. I never know when it will break for no apparent reason. And the things that are so easy to accomplish in Windows (change your IP address or DNS name) are major tasks for OS X administrators and you never know if you will succeed or need to do a full reinstall. So the cost of administration for OS X will quickly become much bigger than the cost of Windows licenses.
The last problem, still unresolved, is the VPN service. This should be a no-brainer, but no, not in the case of OS X. Starting VPN and connecting to it disrupts OD and Kerberos so that there is no other way but to restart the server.
So I am kind of wondering if there are ANY users out there who use the server in a primarily Windows/Linux desktop environment so that OS X Server actually works as intended and doesn't need restarting every day? Now I feel very frustrated about all this.

Answer 1

Hi there, sorry to hear you are having issues with your OS X Server installation.
I have not used it with Windows Clients yet, although I have to say for our use, i.e. database (mySQL), mail, Adobe Coldfusion Application Server (CF8 Standard) and Web-Server use, it is the most stable and fastest performing machine ever. It smashes our previous DELL server with Windows 2003 Web Edition in every aspect.
Also, instead of being prompted to install a patch and re-boot about every two weeks, it runs and runs and runs - and if it ever needs to reboot, all sites are up and running within 2 minutes, I kid you not, this is fantastic for us.
So yes, there are MORE happy users out there!!
But granted, you find more people asking for help than praising a running system in support forums, that's kinda obvious I suppose
Good luck fixing your system! Perhaps worth checking for some professional help in the first round of setup in case you were not used to UNIX systems before? There's a lot to learn coming from Windows I feel, but worth it and in the end usually easily fixed, repaired or even re-installed in a fraction of the time it used to take on Windows, let alone it actually works in the end.
Best regards,
Jonas