Learn about current and future support
Apple continues to develop and support macOS Server, which includes Open Directory, Profile Manager, and Xsan management. The most popular server features—Caching Server, File Sharing Server, and Time Machine Server are bundled with every installation of macOS High Sierra and later, so that even more customers have access to these essential services at no extra cost.
Starting with macOS Server 5.7.1, Apple no longer bundles open source services such as Calendar Server, Contacts Server, the Mail Server, DNS, DHCP, VPN Server, and Websites with macOS Server. Customers can get these same services directly from open-source providers. This way, macOS Server customers can install the most secure and up-to-date services as soon as they’re available.
Apple has published documentation to help with this transition.
Services included in macOS Server 5.7.1 and later
The following services are included and fully supported in macOS Server 5.7.1 and later:
- Profile Manager
- Open Directory
- Xsan
Services migrated from macOS Server to macOS High Sierra and later
These services are now available in macOS High Sierra and later, and can be found in System Preferences > Sharing:
- File Server
- Caching Server
- Time Machine Server
Service status
This table shows the status of each macOS Server service, and available alternatives.
| Service | Status | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| FTP | Removed in Server 5.4 | SFTP/SSH |
| Server Docs | Removed in Server 5.4 |
iCloud Documents, Apache/WebDAV |
| DHCP | UI tools removed in Server 5.7.1 | bootpd, built into macOS |
| DNS | Removed in Server 5.7.1 | BIND, Unbound, KnotDNS |
| VPN | Removed in Server 5.7.1 | OpenVPN, SoftEther VPN, WireGuard |
| Firewall | UI tools removed in Server 5.7.1 | pf firewall (built into macOS) |
| Mail Server | Removed in Server 5.7.1 | |
| Calendar | Removed in Server 5.7.1 | CalendarServer, DavMail, Radicale, Kerio Connect |
| Wiki | Removed in Server 5.7.1 | MediaWiki, PmWiki, XWiki, Confluence, WordPress WMX files |
| Websites | UI tools removed in Server 5.7.1 | Apache HTTP Server (built into macOS), Nginx, Lighttpd |
| Contacts | Removed in Server 5.7.1 | CalendarServer, DavMail, Citadel, Kerio Connect |
| NetBoot/NetInstall | UI tools removed in Server 5.7.1 | BOOTP, TFTP, HTTP, NFS (all built into macOS), NetSUS, BSDPy |
| Messages | Removed in Server 5.7.1 | ejabberd, Openfire, Prosody |
| Radius | Removed in Server 5.7.1 | FreeRadius |
| AirPort Management | Removed in Server 5.7.1 | AirPort Utility |