Datasheet

15
Chapter 1: Lion Server: An Overview
router or from other servers on a larger network, but Mac OS X Server has
them if you need them. These services are
Domain name server (DNS): It translates a domain name, such as
mycomany.com, from an IP address. DNS service is required somewhere
on the network for just about all network services, including web, mail,
directory services, and calendaring.
Network address translation (NAT): A gateway between your private net-
work and the public Internet. NAT allows you to have a single IP address
from your Internet service provider but have all your computers connected
to the Internet. This is cheaper than paying for IP addresses for each com-
puter. With NAT, the individual IP addresses of your computers aren’t vis-
ible to the outside world, but your computers can still receive e-mail and
visit the web.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server: Assigns the local
(private) IP addresses to your computers when you’re using a NAT gateway.
Firewall: Mac OS X Server comes with a firewall to protect your server
from intruders. Chapter 18 describes Lion Server’s firewall.
Virtual private network (VPN) service: A secure method of enabling
people to access your network and server via the Internet from home
or on the road. The VPN service in Mac OS X Server supports several
different standard methods of access.
E-mail server
The Lion Server e-mail server has been revamped. Mail Server 3 now enables
users to search the content of files attached to e-mail that is stored on the
server. This search works for Microsoft Office and iWork files, PDF files, and
others. Also new is the ability to provide webmail service with drag-and-drop
message management.
As a full featured e-mail server, Mail Server blocks spam and e-mail that contain
viruses from reaching users’ desktops and can make e-mail available from a
web browser. You can read more about Lion’s e-mail server in Chapter 14.
Web server
Lion Server’s web server is really a package of technology, starting with the
Apache web server, the most popular web server on the Internet. The web
server also includes the PostgreSQL database (replacing MySQL in previous
editions of the Mac OS X Server). A Perl plug-in comes loaded with the web
server. The Perl programming language is used for Common Gateway Interface
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