This MacNews Category Review looks at web server software for Mac OS X. Products covered include 4D Webstar Server Suite, Abyss Web Server X1, Apache, Apani VPN Client for Nortel, Bluedragon, CoffeeAdmin, Complete Apache 2, ControlTower, DirectControl, eBOX, F-Script Anywhere, FE77 Server Suite, FlightCheck Studio, iBounceIT, LiteSpeed Web Server, LITHIUM Network Monitoring Platform, MAMP, MSAD Login, Network Device Finder, Oculus, OpenLInk Virtuso, OpenWeb, Post.Office, Roxen WebServer, SchoolCMS, Sever Siren, Server Vault, Share Menu, Shimo, Software Update Enabler, Spitfire Messaging Security Server, Tenon's iTools, Terra, WakeOnLAN, WebServer 4D, Web Server Management, Weblock, WebMon, WebtoB, XServer Free Web Server and Zeuz Web Server.

4D WebStar Server Suite

[url=http://www.4d.com/]4D WebStar Server Suite[/url] is an Internet server suite to cover a wide range of needs -- web, mail, FTP, and WebDAV servers are included, right out of the box.

Abyss Web Server X1

[url=http://www.aprelium.com/]Abyss Web Server X1[/url] is a personal web server with a remote management interface.

Apache

[url=http://www.apache.org/]Apache[/url] is a commercial-grade freely-available source code implementation of an HTTP (web) server.

Apani VPN Client for Nortel

[url=http://www.apani.com/]Apani VPN Client for Nortel[/url] lets you establish secure encrypted tunnels from your Mac to Contivity VPN Switches. The IPsec security client enables you to encrypt and authenticate your IP-based communications.

Bluedragon

[url=http://www.newatlanta.com/]Bluedragon[/url] is software for the deployment of ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) pages with native technology platform integration on the operating system, web server and database of your choice.

CoffeeAdmin

[url=http://mexgrp.com/]CoffeAdmin[/url] is a work order manager to create, organize and report them through a web interface, built in java under an open source license.

Complete Apache 2

[url=http://www.serverlogistics.com/]Complete Apache 2[/url] is a package that facilitates establishment of an Apache 2 web server on Mac OS X.

ControlTower

[url=http://www.allocinit.net/]ControlTower[/url] is an app for managing terminals in Apple’s Terminal application. It provides a window with a number of terminals that can be customized by the user and can be launched with just a couple of clicks. Each terminal uses a different color set for easy identification and can have automatically launched commands (for example to automatically SSH to a server).

DirectControl

[url=http://www.centrify.com/]DirectControl[/url] enables Mac OS X systems to participate in a Microsoft Active Directory domain. End users gain single sign-on to Mac systems through their Active Directory account, and IT managers can centrally administer accounts and control authentication and password policies with the same set of tools they currently use for Windows systems. DirectControl also lets managers centrally secure and configure Mac systems through Active Directory Group Policy, ensuring consistency across the organization.

eBOX

[url=http://www.jlcooper.com/cgi/index.cgi?home]eBOX Quad Serial to Ethernet Interface[/url] is designed to eliminate information bottlenecks and overcomes distance limitations typically inherent to serial communication. It simplifies long distance cabling by using IP addressable, point-to-point architecture to send control messages over existing 10/100 BASE-T wiring.

F-Script Anywhere

[url=http://web.sabi.net/nriley/]F-Script Anywhere[/url] lets you embed a F-Script interpreter in any Cocoa application. You can use F-Script like a debugger, so you can examine your application's objects in a richer environment than GDB or Xcode permits, according to developer Nicholas Riley.

FE77 Server Suite

[url=http://www.fe77.com/index.jsp]FE77 Server Suite[/url] lets you design, develop and deploy powerful standards based web applications from your existing Mac hardware. Fe77 Server Software includes Apache 2.0.47, Jakarta Tomcat 4.1.27, the latest mod_jk connector and Server Manager.app.

FlightCheck Studio

[url=http://www.markzware.com]FlightCheck Studio[/url] is an on-the-fly preflighting tool that gives users real-time examination and correction of digital files as they're created. It enables project managers to have control of the maintenance of document integrity and continuity, by administering mechanical specs via software.

iBounceIT

[url=http://www.hanynet.com]iBounceIT[/url] is a tool for proxying TCP connections through open socks servers. You can start as many bouncers as you need, each one listening on a different local port. Supported clients include ssh, telnet, rsh, rlogin, rcp, irssi.

LiteSpeed Web Server

[url=http://www.litespeedtech.com/]LiteSpeed Web Server[/url] is a web server that's designed to handle thousands of concurrent connections with a small memory footprint.

LITHIUM Network Monitoring Platform

The [url=http://www.lithiumcorp.com.au/]LITHIUM Network Monitoring Platform[/url] is a network, server and appliance monitoring and management platform. It's designed to provide an end-to-end solution for Mac OS X and includes automated device monitoring, out-of-the-box support for SNMP and an integrated trouble-ticket case management system.

MAMP

[url=http://www.living-e.com/home.php]MAMP[/url] stands for stands for Macintosh, Apache, MySQL and PHP. With it, you can install Apache, PHP and MySQL under Mac OS X.

MSAD Login

[url=http://www.pa-software.com/accessories/]MSAD Login[/url] is a system that connects a Mac OS X machine to a Windows server running Active Directory. If you use your Macintosh in a Windows environment that has a Windows server, MSAD Login can connect to that server allowing you to mount your home drive and get notifications when passwords are about to expire.

Network Device Finder

[url=http://www.bensoftware.com/]Network Device Finder[/url] will find all web servers on your network. This includes computers running web server software, routers, network cameras, and any other network device with a web interface.

Oculus

[url=http://www.intlweb.com/IWI/]Oculus[/url] is a webcam app that uses FTP to deliver images to sites. You can create your own webcam page, product time lapse movies of a remote site, and watch for motion and/or sound in a remote location.

OpenLink Virtuso

[url=http://www.openlinksw.com/]OpenLink Virtuso[/url] is an eBusiness integration server that implements web, file and database sever functionality alongside native XML storage, and Universal Data Access Middleware as a single server solution.

OpenWeb

[url=http://www.openosx.com]OpenWeb[/url] is a compilation of software tools that lets you set up an OS X web server. It includes Apache Web Server, mod_SSL, PHP, PDF_lib, Tomcat, FreeType font engine and more.

Post.Office

[url=http://www.tenon.com/]Post.Office[/url] is a scalable SMTP/ POP3/ IMAP messaging server. It offers administration via browser, multiple password protection levels and SMTP mail relay protection.

Roxen WebServer

[url=http://www.roxen.com/]Roxen WebServer[/url] is an open source web server with a web-based interface; it offers support for a range of open and proprietary standards.

SchoolCMS

[url=http://www.schulcms.de/WebObjects/SchulCMS.woa/wa/CMSshow/1033413]SchoolCMS[/url] offers administration of a school homepage on the Internet. Features include password-protected supply of teaching and learning materials in virtual classrooms and organization of instruction-supplementing activities.

Server Siren

[url=http://foggynoggin.com/]Server Siren[/url] runs as a menu bar item and monitors your server for problems. If a server goes down, it alerts you immediately.

Sever Vault

[url=http://www.sentineldesign.net/servervault/]Server Vault[/url] allows you access to every web server, domain name, and hosting account that you manage.

Share Menu

[url=http://www.pa-software.com/accessories/]Share Menu[/url] is a system that connects a Mac OS X machine to a Windows or Samba network. Unlike the existing Apple Samba system, Share Menu shows each share using full length names and isn't limited to fourteen characters. This removes the need to have special Mac share names that can be found using the Finder connect to server menu option.

Shimo

[url=http://www.nexUmoja.com]Shimo[/url] is a Cisco-VPN-Client for Mac OS. It's designed to reduce the interface to the important features and integrate it right into the user-interface of the operating system.

Software Update Enabler

[url=http://www.allocinit.net/]Software Update Enabler[/url] enables use of a local Software Update Server running on Mac OS X Server 10.4 ("Tiger") by any Tiger client computer without the requirement that it be managed by the server.

Spitfire Messaging Security Server

[url=http://www.bloombase.com/]Spitfire Messaging Security Server[/url] is a mail proxy server that encrypts and signs emails on-the-fly at corporate messaging servers. Spitfire Messaging Security Server is built to solve spamming, fraud emails and confidential email disclosure problems that can be addressed by email digital signature, encryption and DomainKey proposed by Email Authentication. The company, Bloombase Technologies, also makes Spitfire SOA Security Server, a cryptographic server specifically designed for XML and Web Services security processing in electronic data interchange (EDI) and enterprise application, and Spitfire StoreSafe Enterprise Storage Security Server protects corporate and user persistence/storage data by strong encryption and patented watermarking technologies from confidential information disclosure.

Tenon's iTools

[url=http://www.tenon.com/]Tenon's iTools 8[/url] is a web site management system for both small to medium-sized web hosting providers who own or rent dedicated servers, and for large service providers who may wish to bundle iTools into their offerings. It's built for the professional hosting of multiple companies on a single server.

Terra

[url=http://www.blackholemedia.com/]Terra[/url] is an open source Hotline for UNIX systems. This package for Mac OS X includes a System Preference Pane and StartupItem for configuring and running Terra.

WakeOnLAN

[url=http://www.readpixel.com/]WakeOnLan[/url] provides an interface to wake up other computers.

WebServer 4D

[url=http://www.mdgcs.com/]WebServer 4D[/url] is a tool for maintaining your web site. It offers virtual hosting and tracking for web and email, new vs. repeat for every page (uses cookies), HTTP Authentication with history tracking, server side tags, Forms to Email, Log Support, Full CGI Support, Site Searching, Byte-Serving, Directory Serving, Odometer page counts, Full MIME support, listens on multiple ports, Guestbooks, caching of files, Weather agent, basic clickable maps, popup navigation, and more.

Web Server Management

[url=http://www.digitalpardoe.co.uk/]Web Server Management is an Automator action that lets you turn on and off your web server components.

Weblock

[url=http://www.digicowsoftware.com/detail?_app=Wraparound]Weblock[/url] provides an user interface for configuring user, group, and IP-based access restrictions for Mac OS X's built-in webserver. With it, you can configure any folder shared via your web site to require a password, require the visitor to be coming from a specific web location, or both. Weblock supports location ranges and grouped users.

WebMon

[url=http://cutedgesystems.com/software/WebMon/]WebMon[/url] helps you configure OS X's built-in web server to support WebDAV, PHP, and SSL. With WebDAV turned on, your web server acts like an iDisk, allowing you to connect to the WebDav folder remotely, securely, and directly from the Finder, so you can save, share, and distribute your files and folders. You can also use the WebDav folder to share your iCal calendars."It integrates really nicely into Mac OS X and it's not expensive, only $15," says Macsimum News reader C. Fong. "It puts a nice GUI on what is normally a long list of text files."

WebtoB

[url=http://www.tmaxsoft.com/]WebtoB[/url] is an optimized web server developed to handle complications arising from high volume transaction processing. It addresses such issues as difficulty in managing transaction delay, server failure and other web-related problems.

Xserver Free Web Server

[url=http://www.javascript.nu]Xserver Free Web Server[/url] is a web and FTP server that supports CGI, Perl and PHP.

Zeus Web Server

[url=http://www.zeus.com/]Zeus Web Server[/url] is scalable web server software, providing solutions for content providers, ISP hosting, intranets and e-commerce with comprehensive commercial support.

For an in-depth round-up of Mac products, go to the [url=http://guide.apple.com/index.lasso]Macintosh Products Guide[/url].