by , 8:15 AM EDT, May 29th, 2008

Apple rolled out updates for its Server Admin Tools along with Mac OS X 10.5.3 on Wednesday. OS X Server Admin Tools 10.5.3 includes fixes for all of the apps in the suite, and also bundles in enhancements that were previously not available as standalone downloads for non-server admin stations.

Issues addressed with the update include:

Server Admin

• Software Update pane now shows the correct description for the selected update in all cases (included in Mac OS X Server version 10.5.2).
• Nameservers of a primary zone are now listed in order in the DNS pane.
• Allows entries of DNS names with only one character, which allows setting up secondary reverse zones.
• Administrators can now allow transferring on Reverse Zones in DNS.
• General interface improvements for creating and editing DNS records.
• Server Admin no longer display the "Inherit permissions from parent" option for AFP sharepoints (because ACLs are now enabled by default).

Server Assistant

• Auto Server Setup records now work with servers that have mixed-case DNS host names.
• Server Assistant now correctly reports any problems encountered when erasing a volume during installation on a remote server (included in Mac OS X Server version 10.5.2).

Server Monitor

• Server Monitor and the ipmitool command updated for compatibility with Mac OS X Server 10.5.3.

Server Preferences

• Addresses an issue that could prevent external users from being added to a newly-created group (included in Mac OS X Server version 10.5.1).
• Administrators can now send "Invitation" email messages to users on demand.
• Improved user interface for importing users and working with nested groups.

System Image Utility

• Setting a customized machine name for NetBoot/NetInstall clients now works correctly in System Image Utility.
• Workgroup Manager
• Introduces menu item for creating augmented user records. For more information,� search for "augmented" in Workgroup Manager Help.

OS X Server Admin Tools 10.5.3 requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher and is available for download at the Apple Support Web site.