Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
This OS X Server - fit out version of the Mac mini is n’t the ideal pick for most house users . But if you need to melt down a Mac OS 10 - found server and take reward of Snow Leopard Server ’s telling skills as a file , Web , backup , and workgroup server , you ’ll find no better value than the Mac mini server .
Ever since the Mac mini was first released , people have been using Apple ’s flyspeck Mac desktop as a server . At 6.5 inches square and 2 inches high , it bears just the sort of succinct computing top executive you want to stick in a press or under a desk and use as an all - purpose receptacle for all your stuff .
Well , would n’t you cognise it — someone at Apple was paying aid to those of us who have been praising the Mac miniskirt as a just host . Because in October Apple announced a Modern configuration of Mac mini design specifically to be a server . The fresh $ 999Mac miniskirt with Snow Leopard Serveris a grand product for workgroups , small businesses , and even school to use . But for some other usual United States , you might be better off buying a even honest-to-goodness Mac mini instead .
What’s in the box
The Mac mini server is largely the same Mac that Apple sell in a $ 799 non - server configuration ( ) . The two models both have a dual - core 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo central processing unit , 4 GB of RAM , a gigabit ethernet embrasure , FireWire 800 , and five USB 2.0 ports .
Besides the $ 200 price difference , what separates the two framework come down to storage and software . The Mac mini server lacks the built - in SuperDrive of the received model — even the conversant slot in the front of the display case is break down , making the front of this Mac mini notably different from all the Mac minis that have come before . Apple has supercede the optic thrust with a second internal Serial ATA hard drive . The result is a system with 1 terabyte of internal storage ( on two 500 GB 5400 - rev laptop drives ) equate to a single 320 GB hard cause in the non - server model .
The other heavy difference is the operate system that the Mac mini server test : it ’s Snow Leopard Server ( ) , which Apple sell separately for $ 499 . The cellular inclusion of Mac OS X Server 10.6 makes the Mac mini waiter a fantastic flock for anyone who ’s planning to deploy a Mac lam Mac OS X Server ; unless you ’re in the market for Xserves , the Mac mini server is just too adept a mint to pass up .
Without getting into the details of Snow Leopard Server ( see our revaluation for that ) , permit ’s just say that it ’s got an telling array of feature , include an iCal server , destination ledger server for workgroups , file cabinet sharing ( include a Time Machine host ) , a podcast - yield mechanization system , a ended World Wide Web waiter including built - in wiki and web log software package , and a whole lot more .
Storage matters
The Mac mini host offers a storage conformation that ’s unequaled among Mac model : two laptop hard drives inside a single enclosing . Yes , there ’s probably enough elbow room inside that Mac mini to squeeze a single full - sized 1 TB private road , but that would have required some major re - engineering of the Mini ’s guts ; alternatively , Apple just slid a second laptop computer drive into the spot where the optic drive would have gone .
This lead to some drawbacks , because 2.5 - inch drives plan for laptop are n’t nearly as fast as the 3.5 - column inch ride chance in background models . And free-base on my personal experience , they ’re not needfully as dependable , either .
That said , it ’s great to have one terabyte of store in the Mac mini server . The question is , what ’s the good way to format the drives ? You could keep them as two separate volumes , installing the operating system on one while save the other for Indian file entrepot . You could stretch all your files on the first volume and use the second one as a Time Machine drive , though I expect it would fill up fast . The rubber conscious might require to arrange the drive in RAID 1 , so that one aim utterly mirrors the message on the other , protecting against a private road clash . Or you could foray into the drives together to make a individual 1 TB volume - although by doing so you increase your risk , because you could lose all your data point ifeitherdrive die .
When I necessitate Apple what the good drive configuration for the Mac mini server was , the response was a resounding “ yes . ” In other tidings , all those option are hunky-dory , depending on what you want to do . Personally , I ’d probably prefer to meld the drive together as a single 1 TB RAID volume , and then buy a self-aggrandizing external FireWire 800 drive to use as a Time Machine backup . But there ’s no single right answer .
Accessorize
When you think servers , appurtenance are n’t the first product class to get along to bear in mind , but there are a few to talk about when it comes to the Mac miniskirt waiter . First is its included add-on : a mini - DVI - to - DVI adaptor . The Mac mini server also supports the Mini DisplayPort connectedness , just as all current Mac mini models do , but if you require to connect it via that porthole you ’re on your own .
Then there ’s the issue of load software on the Mac that does n’t offer an optical drive . Not astonishingly , this is ground already trod by the MacBook Air , and the Mac mini server uses that to full core . Not only does the Mac Mini host financial backing the same CD / videodisk communion functionality introduced for the Air - it can scan information CDs or DVDs inserted in the drive of a Mac or PC on your local mesh as if the drive were its own - but it also corroborate the $ 99MacBook Air Superdrive .
Is it powerful enough?
The big question about such a little computing gadget is , can it handle the strain of being a server ? In my experience with the Mac miniskirt , the result is undeniably yes . The internal hard drive are n’t the speediest , but if that ’s an subject , it ’s one that can be remedied with speedy external storage via the FireWire 800 port . The Intel Core 2 couple mainframe is enough fast to serve up Web Page , wikis , blogs , and more , all while back up local datum via Time Machine and acting as a Indian file host .
We did n’t go our Speedmark tests on this model because our tests are plan to evaluate Macs being used by regular people , not as servers . From our tryout of the 2.53GHz Mac mini , it ’s clear that the Mac mini server is hardly the dissolute Mac around . But today ’s Macs are pretty fast wight , and I ’m confident that the Mac miniskirt has enough H.P. to handle the job it ’s designed for : being a workgroup waiter and serve the capacity of a few Web sites and web log .
Macworld’s buying advice
For most home drug user , the Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server is not a wise option . Few home user are crazy enough to help their vane site and blogs off of their home DSL or cable connexion , and most do n’t need the workgroup creature that are the main focus of Snow Leopard Server . Mac users who need to set up a basic home plate server to put in their media files might be better off with a regular Mac mini or a connection - tie computer memory machine such as a Time Capsule .
similarly , if you ’re face to attach a Mac to an high-definition television to play back music and videos , I ’d recommend preserve $ 400 and buy the scummy - conclusion Mac miniskirt ( which can also play and rip CDs and DVDs via its ocular drive ) and , optionally , a fat outside heavy drive . That said , if you ’re desperate for a home theater Mac with as much interior storage as potential and do n’t handle about the spare cost or lack of an opthalmic movement , the Mac mini server will certainly do well in such a role .
If you want to scat a Mac OS X - ground server and take reward of Snow Leopard Server ’s telling skill as a file , Web , backup , and workgroup server , you ’ll recover no good economic value than the Mac mini server . It ’s appropriate for small businesses , modest workgroups in larger initiative , and educational environments . Is n’t it dainty that Apple has finally realized that it had a great host under its nose this whole prison term ?
[ Jason Snell is Macworld ’s editorial director . ]
[ update 11 a.m. 11/19 to correct error about RAID version that does mirror ( it ’s 1 ) and to tuck a Scripture to appease a nitpicker . ]
