Mac OS X Server 10.5 Leopard Release Details

Mac OS X Server 10.5 Leopard is an operating system developed and distributed by Apple between 2007 and 2009, designed to operate alongside Apple’s server computers. This system, released on October 26, 2007, was available for purchase at $499 (for 10 clients) or $999 (unlimited clients).

The software received its final update (10.5.8) on August 31, 2009, before being succeeded by the newer version, Mac OS X Server 10.6 Snow Leopard.

Apple introduced significant enhancements with Mac OS X Server 10.5 Leopard, aimed at simplifying setup and management for users. Released in October, Leopard Server represented a notable evolution in the server operating system, boasting new features such as:

• Wiki Server: Facilitating easy collaboration among groups over a shared intranet through the creation and editing of collaborative web pages, or wikis.
• Podcast Producer: A streamlined solution for automatically producing and publishing podcasts to iTunes or blogs.
• Spotlight Server: Enabling quick content searches across networked servers.

Moreover, Leopard Server introduced the new iCal Server, based on the CalDAV open standard, which seamlessly integrates with Leopard’s iCal application, simplifying event coordination and scheduling.

“Only Apple can deliver an advanced server operating system packed with over 250 new features on the same day as our client OS,” remarked Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With no client access licenses, Leopard Server is the most affordable way to bring innovative server features, such as group calendaring and a wiki server, to everyone from small businesses to large educational institutions.”

Leopard Server catered not only to large institutions but also to small businesses and workgroups without IT departments. Its automatic configuration capabilities extended to file sharing, Mail, iCal, iChat, Address Book, and VPN services for Leopard clients. The setup interface included features like Network Health Check, Server Preferences application, and a server status Dashboard widget.

With the wiki server, groups could easily create and edit collaborative web pages, called wikis, with a few clicks of a mouse. The wiki server also maintained a complete history to restore previous entries and merge or compare different versions.

Podcast Producer provided an accessible means for recording content, automatically uploading it to the server, and converting it into a podcast. Utilizing Xgrid, Podcast Producer leveraged Macs on the network to encode video, enabling delivery to various platforms.

The introduction of iCal Server simplified scheduling across different calendar programs, while Spotlight Server extended Spotlight’s desktop search capability to the network server level, ensuring fast and up-to-date searches of content stored on network volumes.

Leopard Server’s core services, including Apache 2, MySQL 5, Postfix, Cyrus, Podcast Producer, and QuickTime Streaming Server, were 64-bit, allowing users to maximize their hardware’s performance. Additionally, Leopard Server supported both 32-bit and 64-bit applications natively, optimized for Intel’s latest multi-core processors.

Other notable features included:

• Server Admin 4: Offering new file sharing and permission controls, tiered administration, and options for organizing servers into smart groups.
• iChat Server 2: Facilitating secure communication over instant messaging with users on different systems outside an organization’s firewall.
• External Accounts: Enabling Leopard users to store their home directory on an external FireWire or USB portable drive.

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard introduced over 300 features and improvements, including a revised desktop with a redesigned Dock, Stacks, a semitransparent menu bar, and an updated Finder incorporating the Cover Flow visual navigation interface from iTunes.

Other notable features encompassed support for writing 64-bit graphical user interface applications, an automated backup utility named Time Machine, support for Spotlight searches across multiple machines, and more.

Leopard Server also included FreeRADIUS for network authentication and support for wireless access stations, which could be modified into a fully functioning FreeRADIUS server. Additionally, it introduced support for Ruby on Rails, the server-side Web application framework.

As of today, Mac OS X Server 10.5 Leopard has reached 16 years since its release.

Versions of the Mac OS X Server Leopard

Further Reading and References

• Apple Announces New Mac OS X Server Leopard Features – Apple Newsroom
• Apple Announces Mac OS X Server Leopard – Apple Newsroom
• Mac OS X Server – Wikipedia
• Mac OS X Server 10.5 Leopard features: Includes Wiki server – CNET
• Review: Mac OS X 10.5 Server – MacWorld

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