Although Mac OS X proper will have to wait until the launch of a new Apple hardware client that will debut in less than a year, Apple is going ahead with the beta release of Mac OS X Server, code-named Rhapsody, which will become generally available next month. Built on the Mach microkernel and BSD Unix 4.4, the new software – Apple’s first serious and modern server platform – includes a bundled version of the Atache HTTP web server and the WebObjects HTML development tool acquire from Next Inc, and which it is now callings an application server. WebObjects Release 4 runs on the Mac for the first time as well as on Windows platforms. Mac OS X Server also includes NetBoot, a feature that enables a network of Macs to be booted and configured from a single server. In an impressive demo during his keynote at MacWorld, Jobs wheeled out a frame of 49 iMac clients each running the same digital video applications from a single server. Mac clients can be run as diskless workstations. Using AppleShare file services over TCP/IP or AppleTalk, the servers can support up to 1,000 users. The operating system runs on all G3 systems, but Apple will be offering two configured bundles, the first available priced at $4,999, and a future configuration costing around $3,000. The operating system on its own costs $999. Apple’s first entry into the server market with A/UX-based Unix servers was a spectacular failure, but the new systems, with their focus on internet serving, might fare somewhat better.
