was running Mac OS 10.6 Server (Snow Leopard) on a Mini, but i now have software that requires at least Mavericks.

apple no longer sells an OS server version right???

MacOS server is $19.99 on the app store and it is OS independent - so i would use this right? does it function just like the previous OS server versions?

what OS can my Mac Mini 2.1 handle? it's got 1.83 core 2 duo, 4GB RAM/1TB HD.

thanks

Your mini maxes out at 10.7.5 - Lion. If you need Mavericks, you need a newer mini.

Only reason I've considered using it is that it's the only "legal" way to run a VM of SL in Parallels. But I found a workaround using the standard version.

old versions of OS X Server can still be downloaded from the Mac App Store via a direct link.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203137

OS X 10.9 Mavericks
OS X Server 3.2.2
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id714547929?mt=12
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
OS X Server 2.2.5
[itunes.apple.com]

I use it extensively at home and many workplaces.

Server changed considerably in 10.7 -- GUI completely overhauled, tho it's much the same under the hood -- and IMHO was not mature until Mavericks.

The WGM is gone now with OD/users/groups shifted over to the Server app and granular user/computer management has now been shuffled off to the (garbage compared to a real MDM solution) Profile Manager.

For anything that doesn't require OD and MDM, the Server app is actually pretty nice to use at this point. (And now that it's reached this point, I expect Apple to kill it.)

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