Question

Mac Networking Rookie

Asked by: diggisaur

Hello all,

I used to be fairly well versed in networking Mac OS 7.x-9.x and then deviated to the PC side. Now I am back in the world of OS X. I am fairly good with the hardware and software but not too good with OS X Server. How does one connect their OS X iMac to a OS X Server so I can access file shares? I know how to mount volumes but don't know how to get a new out of the box Mac onto a Mac OS X Server.

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Asked On
2009-09-09 at 13:22:04ID24719435
Topics

OS-X Server

,

Mac OS X

Participating Experts
2
Points
500
Comments
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Answers

 

by: roylongPosted on 2009-09-09 at 14:30:37ID: 25295778

a couple of questions:

what version of OS are both running?
are they both on the same network subnet?
do you have bonjour networking switched on?
do you have the file shares set up on AFP or SMB, both?

you should be able to see the OS X server via the Network finder window..  Finder.. ..Go Menu.. ..Network..

If you know the IP address of the server (or hostname is set in DNS) then -->  Finder.. ..Go menu.. ..Connect to Server..  Enter the IP address or hostname and then log into the server with username password set up on the OS X server.

Are you trying to integrate with any kind of domain?

 

by: diggisaurPosted on 2009-09-09 at 17:42:03ID: 25296724


1. The server and clients are all running 10.4.11.
2. They are all on the same subnet.
3. Not too sure about the whole Bonjour thing. What is that all about?
4. File shares are currently set up but I am not sure if they are AFP or SMB. How do I check that on the server?
5. Yes, I know both the IP and the hostname.
6. No domain. Although I saw the Open Directory stuff. When does it make sense to use Open Directory through the server? A bit of additional background is that the only real use for this server is file and print only. No email, no iCAL, no Address Book etc. Doesn't even do DNS, DHCP or anything like that.

 

by: diggisaurPosted on 2009-09-09 at 17:42:49ID: 25296727

Oh about 25 Macs connect to this server if that makes a difference on OpenDirectory.

 

by: roylongPosted on 2009-09-10 at 02:05:02ID: 25298466

Do you have the Server Admin Tools installed anywhere?  These applications will let you start and stop services on the server and add and remove users, check that the file services and print services are running, let you monitor errors/problems etc...

recommend installing the correct version to match 10.4.11 (should be on the server if you cannot find the download).  I think the latest version is 10.4.7 of server admin tools (pasted below)

Server Admin
For configuring service settings, monitoring server activity, logging information and the state of each service.

Workgroup Manager
For managing share points, users, group and computer lists, privileges and Managed Network View.

10.4 server admin tools download "http://support.apple.com/kb/DL334"
10.4 support manuals... "http://support.apple.com/manuals/#Server 10.4"

Bonjour is Apple's zero configuration networking protocol.  If the server is running Bonjour and the clients have the service active (which is the default for clients) then the clients should see the server available in the Network [as above - Go..  Network]

It makes sense to use Open Directory if you have no other directory services running on your network.  But that's a whole different question...  If you set up users and groups through the server admin tools, this 'kinda' uses Open Directory anyway.

 

by: nappy_dPosted on 2009-09-10 at 03:19:47ID: 25298759

For the Mac to fully participate in your OS X server(presumably Open Directory) infrastructure it should be bound to OD. This is much like Windows Active Directory.

On your xServe, go in to the /applications/Server tools directory. This (as roylong) has mentioned the apps necessary to manage your xServe and OD(again, think of these tools like the Administrative Tools in the control panels on Windows computers).

You will still need to and should setup OD for file sharing on your server. This is the best way to manage users and groups for networked share security.

There are some advantages to doing this. Like Windows and NTLM, in OS X server, Kerberos functionality would give your environment Single Sign-On capabilities. Logon to your Mac once and your logged in credentials gives you access to all networked resouces in your OD domain.

It's not necessary to have DHCP or DNS configured on this xServe, but for OD a pre-exisiting DNS infrastructure is a necessity if you will not use the xServe's DNS server daemon.

 

by: diggisaurPosted on 2009-09-10 at 13:20:56ID: 25303877

Thanks for all the info guys. After some more digging it looks like all shares are AFP. I don't see SMB.

Also it look like OpenDirectory is not in use in this case so to get to the desktop they are using "local" accounts set up on each Mac's Account properties and when they connect to a server they are using an account created through the Workgroup Manager. I found a computers section in there somewhere and no computers were in there so I guess this is set up much like a Windows workgroup would be and no Single Sign on is used.

So it looks like they are mounting volumes after supplying a user/pass on the server and that the computer is just part of the workgroup.

Thanks for the help.



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