If you use an iMac or a MacBook Pro, you may not realize that, with some additional software, you could turn that computer into a server, a computer that can share files, host websites, run a virtual private network, and much more.
Apple’s macOS and its predecessor Mac OS X have long been able to work as servers with the installation of a single $20 app. The Server app, available from the Mac App Store, provides an easy-to-use interface to configure and manage services that are built into macOS. You could run all these services without the Server app, if you know the right commands to turn them on and manage them from the command line, using Terminal, but the Server app makes it easy so almost anyone can do it.
Apple says that “macOS Server is perfect for a small studio, business, or school,” and points out that “it’s so easy to use, you don’t need your own IT department.” This was very useful some years ago, but now, as most of these tasks are entrusted to the cloud–email, shared contacts and calendars, websites, and more–most people don’t need to run a server. If they do, it’s much easier to rent a server; this could be a dedicated server, where you rent your own computer located in a data center, or a virtual server, where you rent space on a cloud server.
Because of this, Apple has said that they are “deprecating” certain services in macOS Server. They won’t be killing them off completely, but they are changing this software “to focus more on management of computers, devices, and storage on your network.”
Read the rest of the article on The Mac Security Blog.