Client management. Command and control.

Mac OS X Server provides advanced tools for centralized management of users, groups, and computers in your organization.

Centralized management.

Workgroup Manager simplifies system administration by providing centralized directory-based management of users, groups, and computers across your organization. For example, you can create standardized desktop configurations, set preferences, and establish password policies, as well as control access to hardware, software, and network resources.

For security-conscious environments, you can use Workgroup Manager to prevent users from burning media, mounting external hard drives, or running unauthorized applications. It also works with portable computers, ensuring that settings, configurations, and policies are maintained even when users are disconnected from the network.

Software update server.

By deploying a software update server, administrators can control how and when client computers download new software, enabling access to approved software updates only. As the administrator, you now have time to evaluate and test software updates before deploying them throughout your organization. Snow Leopard Server even lets you save past versions of software updates, so you can revert to them if you discover an incompatibility in a new version.

At the same time, having a local caching software update server streamlines network use, saving the costs of multiple downloads of the same update and reducing unnecessary bandwidth consumption. By eliminating the need for each Mac OS X system to engage in multiple separate downloads for each software update, bandwidth charges (which add up quickly in large organizations) are reduced.

Fast iPhone deployment.

Deploying iPhone across an organization is easy with the new iPhone Configuration Utility. An IT administrator can create Configuration Profiles that include corporate passcode policies and distribute them on Mac OS X Server. Configuration Profiles can also remotely create your company’s VPN, email, and wireless network settings, making each iPhone secure and ready for business. And Configuration Profiles can be used to install certificates on iPhone for authentication to VPN servers, 802.1X-based wireless networks, and other corporate services. For iPhone users, installing a Configuration Profile is as easy as tapping a secure web link or receiving an email with the Configuration Profile attached.

System imaging.

System Image Utility leverages the power of Automator, giving you an intuitive interface for creating NetBoot, NetInstall, and NetRestore disk images. Choose from a preloaded library of actions that allows you to specify settings, additional software packages, and installation procedures — then save them as a workflow that builds the installation image.

Starting up with NetBoot.

The NetBoot service in Mac OS X Server enables multiple Mac systems to boot from a single server-based disk image, instead of from their internal hard drive. This allows you to create a standard configuration and use it on all the desktop systems in a department or classroom — or host multiple images customized for different workgroups. You can even create server configurations and run all your servers from one image. Updating the disk image on the NetBoot server updates all of these systems automatically the next time they restart. In addition, you can copy a directory server configuration to all clients using the same system image. For security-conscious organizations, NetBoot permits Mac computers to boot “disklessly” — without having to read from or write to the computer’s local drive.

Software installations with NetInstall.

NetInstall gives administrators control over the software installed in their organizations. Perfect for upgrading all your Mac clients to a standard or customized installation of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, NetInstall provides an easy method for standardized deployment. By creating server-based disk images with custom configurations, you can easily upgrade or restore Mac clients anywhere on your network — saving time and eliminating the expense of distributing software on DVD or external drives.

Restoring from NetRestore.

Snow Leopard Server adds a new feature called NetRestore. It lets administrators build a disk image based on a drive that includes all their customizations — or based on a stock Mac OS X installation DVD. Then, using NetRestore, you can restore a Mac over the network using either the custom volume or the stock DVD.