cgtz-
Thanks for the clarification. I think that I have a pretty decent idea
now of what you are trying to accomplish, but if there is anything
else just request and answer clarification.
First, a little nomenclature. The term 'server' generally means that
the systems provides resources of some sort to a network of computers.
These resources could be disk space (e.g. a file or FTP server), web
pages (a web server), processor time, mail or just about anything
else that people need to access (or a combination of these things). A
'workstation' generally describes a system that a user operates to run
programs to get his or her work done, accessing shared resources from
servers as need be. Servers are normally more specialiazed than
workstations, and thus you may run into problems when attempting to
use this already-configured server as your workstation.
However, the G4 server will operate pretty much identically to any OS
X desktop with which you are familiar (if you aren't familiar with OS
X, there may be a bit of a learning curve for you...but nothing too
terrible). So if you know your way around OS X, you'll be fine
navigating the system. The trouble you may run into is with the
software that provides the shared resources the server offers. So just
knowing the operating system isn't really going to help you fine-tune
web server parameters or add new file system shares (and unless you
have experience with these things, you shouldn't try).
When you log into the server any applications installed on the systems
will most liklely be in the normal OS X- in the Applications folder of
the system's primary drive (the drive that usually appears in the
uppermost right-hand corner of the desktop). If you don't see an
Applications folder there, don't panic- depending on the way the
disk(s) were setup, applications may be found on another drive. Just
look around until you find it. However, if this system is actually
operating in as a server offering shared resources, it's unlikely that
you will find appliactions like Word or Photoshop.
Your question about bringing the server up and down is important.
Generally systems operating as servers are left up all the time. So
while you can shut the system down in the same way as any other OS X
system, you will probably want to leave it up all of the time.
If you can send me information about role this system plays in your
environment I can give you some more specifics and links to related
information. But to summarize: the manner in which you interface with
the operating system will be very similar to the way you operate your
workstation. The configuration of the server, however, will probably
be different, since it's responsible for different tasks than your
desktop. Normal maintainence and housekeeping will be and easy
transition for you, but if something happens to go wrong it could be
in software with which you aren't familiar. If the server is a
specialized system in your environment, you should not use it as a
workstation, as this could negatively impact the jobs it's suppossed
to be performing.
Thanks for the question, and again, if you have any other questions
just tack them on and clarification requests. And good luck. |
