Essential Mac OS X Panther Server Administration

Part VI. Internet Services

“Internet Services” refers to a loose grouping of functionality commonly deployed and available to users across the Internet. This isn’t to say that these services (Mail, Web, and Java application deployment) aren’t ever deployed within an organization; they commonly are. More than anything the terminology is historical in nature. In Mac OS X Server 10.0 and 10.1’s Server Admin application, Mail and Web Services were grouped under the Internet Services tab. Java Application Services, because they are commonly deployed to support Web platforms, seemed like a good fit. My examination of Mac OS X Server has always followed Apple’s organization as closely as possible, and the trend continues today. In general, though, Internet Services do have at least two things in common:

Internet Services typically deal with small bits of data

It is common to see AFP, SMB, and other file services move large files about—big graphics, video files and large disk images. Internet Services more commonly deal with smaller files, typically mail messages and HTML.

Internet Services are sensitive to latency

Because files are small and requests frequent (loading Apple’s current home page requires at least n http connections), Internet Services are typically sensitive to latency issues.

Internet Services in Mac OS X are also (unlike generalized service categories examined elsewhere in this book) entirely open source in nature. Every actual service is implemented using an open source ...