Hardware manual

Chapter 1 Mac OS X Server in Action 21
Higher-Education Facilities
Colleges and universities have heterogeneous computer environments, since the
students and the computer systems they use are highly diverse. Mac OS X Server fits
well into such an environment because of its capacity to integrate with a wide variety
of existing services, protocols, and directory infrastructures.
 The wide range of client computers (Macintosh, Windows, UNIX, Linux) demands
flexible file access support. The highly scalable IP-based file services in Mac OS X
Server support file access from anywhere on the network via AFP, NFS, FTP, and
SMB/CIFS.
 Mac OS X Server can host home directories for users of all these client computers.
 User and network resource information can be retrieved by Mac OS X Server from
existing directory systems, such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP),
Active Directory, and Network Information Service (NIS) servers.
 Mac OS X Server can also use an existing directory system, such as LDAP or Kerberos
Key Distribution Center (KDC), to authenticate users.
Home directories,
software update
and system
imaging services
File, print,
Open Directory,
and network services
LDAP server
KDC server NFS file service
Windows NT
server
Web and
mail services
AirPort
Base Station
Mac OS X clients Windows clients
UNIX clients
The Internet