AppleShare IP offers solid networking.(AppleShare IP 6.0) (Software Review)(Evaluation)

Software is best-suited to Mac-dominated environments

For Macintosh-centric workgroups that have relied on products such as NetWare or Windows NT Server for network connectivity, AppleShare IP, Version 6.0 (ASIP 6.0), offers a viable alternative. Version 6.0 of the server software program improves upon the five servers available in Version 5.0 and provides native support for Windows clients over TCP/IP.

However, given that the Mac OS isn't a fully preemptive multitasking OS -- even when running on a beefy G3-based PowerMac -- ASIP 6.0 is simply a collection of applications running on a desktop OS, and as such does not match the capabilities of a true NOS.

Conversely, Mac OS X-server, formerly code-named Rhapsody, due to ship within the next few months, will offer features similar to those currently found in competing NOSes, such as preemptive multitasking and protected memory spaces.

In Version 5.0, Apple generously bundled a collection of third-party server enhancements. The most notable of these were the Santorini Server Manager 4.0, COPSTalk Client for Windows 95 2.0.1 (AppleTalk client software), and the Vicom Internet Gateway 3.8.3. Version 6.0 does not bundle any additional software; which may partly explain the …