far away mac

Tutorial: Setup VPN in Lion Server

Brian Stucki — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:33:34 +0000

When Lion Server was released, setting up a VPN server became a little more difficult. We’ve put together a tutorial on setting up the VPN service in Lion Server.

It can be found here.

ScreenSharingMenulet: A Quick Way To Connect

Brian Stucki — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:39:48 +0000

Since most of our customers only have one server they manage, Apple Remote Desktop can be overkill for controlling their server. In these cases, I recommend Apple’s built in Screen Sharing capability. This service is fast, and works real smart. It also has built-in encryption of key strokes.

The one problem is that there is no way to store the addresses and logins for your machines. ScreenSharingMenulet is just the right answer for that problem.

With this menu application, you can store your commonly used addresses as well as their logins. It also will find servers that are available via Bonjour.

You can download the free application here

Disable mDNSResponder in Snow Leopard

Brian Stucki — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:14:08 +0000

For some large installs of Mac computers, it would be ideal to not have so many Bonjour advertisements. This would include advertising services like Screen Sharing and File Sharing.

To stop the Bonjour advertising, you’d want to disable mDNSResponder. However, doing so in the past would also disable DNS on your Mac.

Luckily, Apple has built in (and documented) the proper way to disable mDNSResponder in Snow Leopard. It involves adding a line to the mdnsresponder.plist.

For instructions see this Apple Support page. Take note to read thru the whole article before starting.

Free Snow Leopard Server Workshop From Apple

Brian Stucki — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:49:51 +0000

Apple has recently announced a series of Snow Leopard Server workshops. They will be help in 7 major US cities over the next few months.

It is free to attend these classes, but you do need to register on the announcement page.

There will be a Macminicolo representative at most of these workshops. Get in touch if we can answer any questions while there.

Snow Leopard Server Pre-Order Available

Brian Stucki — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:13:47 +0000

Today, Amazon started taking pre-orders for Snow Leopard Server. This version comes in only one version of unlimited licenses for $499. (Previously it was $499 for 10 clients and $999 for unlimited. )

I know we have a lot of customers looking forward to the new iCal and Address Book services. The Mobile Access Server will be especially used for Mac/iPhone based businesses.

To learn more about Snow Leopard Server, see the official Apple page.

If you’re ready to order, it’s available tax-free at Amazon.com here

(And of course, we’re big fans of building servers with the client version as well. Snow Leopard is available as well, right here)

Moodle: A Quick Install for Educational Sites

Brian Stucki — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:12:05 +0000

We work with a lot of schools, universities, and academies. Moodle is a good fit for those those looking for a “free web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites.”

Because Moodle uses the great MAMP package, it is as simple as dragging and dropping to get started with the site on a Mac server. And for those who use Leopard Server, there is a step-by-step guide for you too.

Moodle is free and can be downloaded for PPC or Intel Macs from the official site.

Mac Server Series: Multiple IP Addresses on One Mac

Brian Stucki — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:38:40 +0000

A question we get often is how to have multiple ip address on a Mac mini since there is only one ethernet connection. As with most things, this is real easy to do on a mac.

In this video, I connect to the Mac mini in the data center and add a second ip address to it.

And now a link to the video: Multiple IP Addresses on One Mac (option+click to download)

If you have questions or comments on the video, you can send them via twitter (@macminicolo) or using our contact page.

Mac Server Series: Enable the Web Server

Brian Stucki — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:28:22 +0000

One of the more popular uses for the Mac minis in our data center is to run a web server. The minis have incredible performance for this service. At one point, I was serving 3.5 million hits per month off of one G4 server. The Intel minis are naturally much better with more RAM allowed.

Mac OS X makes it easier to get a web site up and running. In this video, I show you how to enable the service, where to change web site documents, and how to test that it’s working.

In the video, I mention a few links. I’ll list them here:

DNSMadeEasy.com – a great service for DNS
More Info on Apache

And now a link to the video: Enable the Web Server (option+click to download)

If you have questions or comments on the video, you can send them via twitter (@macminicolo) or using our contact page.

Mac Server Series: Enable and Use SSH

Brian Stucki — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:51:46 +0000

Secure Shell or SSH is a network protocol that allows data to be exchanged using a secure channel between two networked devices. It’s used mostly to access Unix or Linux commands, and is a secure way to send text like passwords and other private data.

In this video, we focus on SSH We look at enabling the SSH service, connecting to the server, and we show a couple uses for it. These uses include restarting the Screen Sharing service, and connecting with SFTP.

In the video, I mention a few links. I’ll list them here:

Enable Screen Sharing or ARD Via SSH
Transmit FTP client

And now a link to the video: Enable and Use SSH (option+click to download)

If you have questions or comments on the video, you can send them via twitter (@macminicolo) or using our contact page.

Mac Server Series: Connect With Screen Sharing

Brian Stucki — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:12:54 +0000

Once the Mac mini is placed into the data center, Leopard provides a Screen Sharing application that works really well. In this video, we’ll look at connecting with this Screen Sharing app.

This video assumes the Mac mini is setup using the techniques in the Initial Setup video. In that video, we configured the Screen Sharing server. We’ll show where that is located in this video, but you won’t be able to connect if it wasn’t enabled previously.

And now a link to the video: Connect With Screen Sharing (option+click to download)

If you have questions or comments on the video, you can send them via twitter (@macminicolo) or using our contact page.