Have long established, stable, Dual G4 Xserve running 10.2.8 Server.
Email is hosted elsewhere, firewall/DHCP is done externally in
hardware.
Xserve mainly acts as file server for 20 or so client Macs (all
running
10.4) in a small ad agency, plus runs Retrospect Workgroup saving to
external cartridge hard drives via FW800. Mostly it's just loafing
along at
low cpu usage.
I'd like to upgrade to 10.5 server to:
- Run iCal server
- Maybe use new Directory
- Benefit from more recent admin tools
- Stay closer to the client OS versions, since I do occasionally run
application software on the server on a test/temporary basis. It
would
also be quite useful to have a more current version of Safari
than 1.x.
- Possibly host some new accounting software later in 2008.
I have a spare unused hard drive in the Xserve, so am in a position
to ease
into 10.5 and fall back to 10.2.8 if it all goes pear-shaped.
Served files
are all on their own drive.
Would like to effect the transition over the Xmas/year end period
when I
have flexibility with downtime and restarts.
First question: the Xserve has a CD-ROM drive only. I don't know if
10.5
server can be ordered on CD instead of DVD,
No, only DVD.
but I'm pretty sure it'd be a
major pain to install that way. I'm a little space constrained, so
retrofitting an internal DVD drive to the G4 Xserve would be much
preferable
to an external bootable FW DVD drive.
I put the DVD in my MacBook, targeted the MacBook to the XServe and
did it that way. Worked fine.
The original optional Apple combo
drive is supposedly NLA and would be ridiculously expensive anyway.
Unconfirmed rumour is that this 12.7mm height Pioneer DVR-K06 may fit:
<http://tinyurl.com/3akee8>. Anyone BTDT?
Second question: any pros, cons or caveats?
I put it on a tray-load G4 XServe. It is fine. I went up from
10.3.8. The upgrade was bad, but a clean install and rebuild of the
server went fine.
