Apple's OS X server strategy: Data centers for everyone

'Lion' Server is included with the upcoming Mac OS X update

Computerworld - Recently, Apple previewed more features that will be available in its upcoming release of Mac OS X 10.7, "Lion." We first got a glimpse of Lion at Apple's Back to the Mac event in October, when CEO Steve Jobs said that several technologies developed in Apple's iOS mobile operating system would be brought back into Mac OS X as part of Lion. Since iOS evolved from earlier versions of Mac OS X, the "back to the Mac" moniker made sense.

The big question after that early Lion sneak peek was whether Apple would produce a Lion version of its server platform. Mac OS X Server actually preceded the client OS to market more than a decade ago, and the two have been updated in lock step ever since. In fact, every time Apple added a Mac OS X preview section to its website, it also offered a Mac OS X Server preview section -- albeit with virtually no fanfare.

Not this time. In October, Apple added a Lion preview page without the traditional Lion Server counterpart.     Read More