OS X Server running on a Mac used for daily work — possible? Issues

calendaritunesserver.app

Family with some iPhones, iPads and now a new iMac. We would like to have a common family calendar, which should be synced to the iPhones, as soon as they are in the local wifi. On the iMac, everybody has his own account and own iTunes. But it seems difficult to have a certain common calendar.

Can I install the OS X Server on the iMac, which will be used for daily work (artwork, office)?

I'm asking because there are many articles about how to install a OS X server on a mac, but nothing about using the server mac for daily work independently from server things. I've seen this question here: Running OS X Server on main machine , but it is older and the answer is not really specific…

EDIT

We can not put any data into the cloud. So all those services which depend on selling my data to somebody else are not a solution, neither outlook.com nor iCloud. Besides that, our internet connection upstream is only about 30 kbit/s. That's why I'm looking for a local server.

Best Answer

I have been running OS X Server on my desktop since 10.6. Zero issues, and zero impact on the current user ( I use the same machine as my primary computer). I run Web, DHCP, DNS, Calendar, Contacts, File Sharing, Time Machine and VPN. No significant CPU or memory issues.

Some things to mind though:

  • Don't turn it off, and don't let it sleep. My desktop is on 24/7 except for software-update reboots.
  • The server needs a fixed IP address. This doesn't mean that your house needs a fixed IP address from your provider, but you do have to set the server's IP address on the subnet.
  • if you want to run all those local services you will need to understand DNS. Hope you like reading, I recommend the O'Reilly books, which are now available in electronic form so you don't also need steel shelves to hold them.
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