Maverick upgrade forces repurchase

Question

It's one thing to have to buy the application again...but it seems there are still many issues with the new release.
Has functionality stabilized or improved?
Anybody have updates on App Store refunds for a secondary purchase?

Answer 1

Server.app 3.1 did fix the SMTP relay port bug in the UI from earlier 3.0.x versions; that now works.
As for whatever you ran into, you're going to have to try it; whether or not it works or not depends on what you're doing with it.
I've been able to get $20 out of it, even with the initial 3.0.0 version.  (Which means I don't know about the refund question.)
As for alternatives for server operating systems, there are various platforms available — I've been prototyping one or two of these, just to see what's available.  You could prototype one or two of those, and see whether they meet your requirements.
For better or for worse, it's been a longstanding local preference to wait for a few updates where that's possible.  This allows Apple time to iron out more of the bugs.    My particular use of OS X Server 10.6 didn't really stabilize until somewhere around 10.6.4 or .5, for instance.   Barring a specific feature requirement, rushing forward with a server isn't always the best course of action — and if you do need a particular feature, consuder scrounging a test server and try out the new configuration there, before rolling the version into production.  This is entirely FWIW, of course.