APPLE'S NETWORK SERVERS 700 and 500 mark Apple's first serious entry into the enterprise server market. I tested the Network Server 700 and found it easy to set up and use, but it lacks some important software (AppleShare) and some times requires laying-on-of-hands by Unix gurus. Overall, though, these fast, capable tower systems are competitive with other Unix-based servers, managing to meld the power of Unix with Macintosh ease of use.

     The Network Server doesn't run the Mac OS; instead it uses IBM's version of Unix, called AIX, on a PowerPC 604 processor. (The 500 uses the 132MHz 604, and the 700 uses the 150MHz version.) The double-wide tower system is specially constructed for corporate environs: the lockable, rollable cabinet with six front mounted hot-swappable drive bays has six PCI slots, optional hot-swappable dual power supplies, and up to 512MB of RAM and 256GB of disk space. I tested a Network Server 700, with 48MB of RAM, two 4GB fixed internal disks, CD-ROM drive, 4mm tape backup, and four Ethernet cards plus built-in Ethernet.

Setting Up the Server

     The machine comes with no software installed; you install and configure the basic software as part of the setup. Apple supplies a CD containing the AIX operating system, top-notch documentation explaining every aspect of installation, and five CDs of trial software including Helios Ethershare and PCShare, IPT uShare and CanOPI, Legato Data Backup, Legato Networker, and API Power Chute UPS monitoring. Basic installation takes about an hour and requires only a few stops at configuration screens. Those screens, however, are Unix X Window sessions that are not exactly intuitive to Macintosh users. It's essential to read Apple's step-by-step procedures carefully.

     After installing the software, you're ready to reboot the machine and — guess what? — serve up absolutely no Mac information. While Apple's network-server software includes AIX, AppleTalk, and various system-administration tools, it does not include AppleShare. You must buy one of the AppleShare packages offered on the trial-copy CDs, with the price based on the number of users you intend to serve.

     To turn a Network Server into a fully functioning AppleShare server, you must configure and initialize AppleTalk (in either single-port nonrouting or multi-port routing mode), initialize and partition disk storage, and install an Apple Share server product. Alas, the third party installers require you to type in true Unix commands on the keyboard and screen connected to the server.

Management Made Easy

     For disk management, however, Apple supplies two excellent AppleTalk-based configuration tools that run on any Macintosh connected to the network. Command Shell lets you remotely execute Unix commands teletype-style without first in stalling and configuring the TCP/IP protocol Unix servers typically require. And the Disk Management Utility allows you to reconfigure and manage disk drives on any Network Server remotely. Both tools can manage any number of remote Network Servers at once.

     The Disk Management Utility includes Logical Volume Manager (LVM), which lets you combine multiple physical disks into a single logical volume. Logical volumes have better reliability and performance than a single physical disk could deliver. LVM provides a number of sophisticated options not found in traditional Mac OS-based file servers: RAID mirroring and striping for hot-swap disk failure recovery, journaling to ensure directory integrity in the event of a system failure, allocation policy to tune performance, and write-verify for early disk problem detection.

     Even though LVM provides better data reliability than the Mac OS and lets you recover gracefully from data errors when they do occur, regular offline back ups ar e still essential. Unfortunately, backup is not a chore readily done through Apple's remote management tools. AIX includes a back-up utility accessible via Unix commands, but you can't easily set this up to run automatic back ups. For that, you need to buy a third party backup product. And although you can automate backing up, restoring your backups requires a good understanding of Unix file systems.

     Because the Network Server is binary compatible with IBM's RS/6000 line, it can run AIX-compatible Unix applications alongside AppleShare. I downloaded, installed, and launched Netscape's WWW Commerce Server directly from the Internet in just a few minutes. AIX includes X Window support, so you can remotely operate any Unix application using a Mac-compatible X Window terminal emulator such as Apple's MacX, NetManage's XoftWare, Tenon's Xten, or White Pine's Exodus.

The Last Word

     The Network Server makes Apple a contender in the enterprise server market by delivering speed, capacity, reliability, and expandability far beyond what's possible with any Mac OS-based server. Apple's pricing is competitive with that of similarly equipped Unix systems, including IBM's RS/6000. Yet unlike with those systems, you don't need to study Unix for weeks to successfully install Apple's Network Server 500 or 700. — Mel Beckman

RATING: ****/8.1 PROS: Rugged hardware; fast processor and disk; highly expandable; Mac-based administration tools. CONS: No built-in AppleShare; some knowledge of Unix required. COMPANY: Apple Computer (415/996-1010, http://www.apple.com). LIST PRICE: $12,500.