Mac Mini server hangs during periods of heavy outbound traffic

I first noticed this last night, when trying to set up Time Machine backups.
The backups will run for around 30 minutes on average, and then the Mini will go into a state where the mouse still works and most commands work, but no network-related things will work: the machine won't respond to pings; Networks preferences will hang when you try to open it; Server Manager will hang when you open it, and so forth.
This occurs regardless of whether I am using gigabit ethernet or wireless ethernet.
I swore it was Time Machine's fault, so last night I made sure it was turned off, and the machine was completely stable again in the morning so I thought things were okay.
But just now, I was watching a video over the network from a shared directory on the Mini, and it acted up in exactly the same way as before, and this happened twice in a row when watching two separate videos.
Interestingly, it seems to be okay to copy large amounts of data to the Mini, as over the past week I have copied around 1.5TB of data to the Drobo attached to it with no problems at all. It just seems like copying any amount of data away from the system dooms it to have a crash.
But there was a 10.6.2 update at some point during all of this, and I'm not confident that it wasn't the update which caused the problem.
Is anyone familiar with these symptoms? What can be done?

It's running Server (I cross-posted to the server forum after being advised to.) There is a gigabit switch on the way to a Billionton 7504VGO router/modem. The problem itself is separate from Internet connectivity though, as the computer becomes inaccessible from the local network when it occurs.
I think I am narrowing in on the problem though, as it seems to reproducibly occur on some files and not others. On the Time Machine side of things, if I exclude my home directory then it seems to work even for the initial backup which takes ages. On the sharing side of things, there are video files which crash it reliably and then others which don't. Interestingly it seems to be the newer files which work more reliably, which makes me think it's something about the files which were transferred to the Mac when the data was first brought over from the previous machine I was using.

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Mac Mini Server Hangs, Gets Sluggish

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1. This comment applies to malicious software ("malware") that's installed unwittingly by the victim of a network attack. It does not apply to software, such as keystroke loggers, that may be installed deliberately by an intruder who has hands-on access to the victim's computer. That threat is in a different category, and there's no easy way to defend against it. If you have reason to suspect that you're the target of such an attack, you need expert help.
2. All versions of OS X since 10.6.7 have been able to detect known Mac malware in downloaded files. This feature is transparent to the user, but internally Apple calls it "XProtect." The recognition database is automatically updated once a day; however, you shouldn't rely on it, because the attackers are always at least a day ahead of the defenders.
The following caveats apply to XProtect:
It can be bypassed by some third-party networking software, such as BitTorrent clients and Java applets (see below.)
It only applies to software downloaded from the network. Software installed from a CD or other media is not checked.
3. Starting with OS X 10.7.5, there has been another layer of built-in malware protection, designated "Gatekeeper" by Apple. By default, applications and Installer packages downloaded from the network will only run if they're digitally signed by a developer with a certificate issued by Apple. Software certified in this way hasn't actually been tested by Apple (unless it comes from the Mac App Store), but you can be reasonably sure that it hasn't been modified by anyone other than the developer. His identity is known to Apple, so he could be held legally responsible if he distributed malware. For most practical purposes, applications recognized by Gatekeeper as signed can be considered safe.
Gatekeeper has, however, the same limitations as XProtect, and in addition the following:
It can easily be disabled or overridden by the user.
A malware attacker could get control of a code-signing certificate under false pretenses, or could find some other way to evade Apple's controls.
For more information about Gatekeeper, see this Apple Support article.
4. Beyond XProtect and Gatekeeper, there’s no benefit, in most cases, from any other automated protection against malware. The first and best line of defense is always your own intelligence. All known malware circulating on the Internet that affects a fully-updated installation of OS X 10.6 or later takes the form of so-called "trojan horses," which can only have an effect if the victim is duped into running them. The threat therefore reduces to a battle of wits between you and the malware attacker. If you're smarter than he thinks you are, you'll win.
That means, in practice, that you never use software that comes from an untrustworthy source. How do you know whether a source is trustworthy?
Any website that prompts you to install a “codec,” “plug-in,” or “certificate” that comes from that same site, or an unknown one, is untrustworthy.
A web operator who tells you that you have a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with your computer, or that you have won a prize in a contest you never entered, is trying to commit a crime with you as the victim. (Some reputable websites did legitimately warn users who were infected with the "DNSChanger" malware. That exception to this rule no longer applies.)
“Cracked” copies of commercial software downloaded from a bittorrent are likely to be infected.
Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must be downloaded directly from the developer’s website. No intermediary is acceptable.
5. Java on the network (not to be confused with JavaScript, to which it's not related) is a weak point in the security of any operating system. If a Java web plugin is not installed, don't install one unless you really need it. If it is installed, you should disable it (not JavaScript) in your web browsers. Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This setting is mandatory in OS X 10.5.8 or earlier, because Java in those obsolete versions has known security flaws that make it unsafe to use on the Internet. The flaws will never be fixed. Regardless of version, experience has shown that Java can never be fully trusted, even if no vulnerabilities are publicly known at the moment.
Follow these guidelines, and you’ll be as safe from malware as you can reasonably be.
6. Never install any commercial "anti-virus" or "Internet security" products for the Mac, as they all do more harm than good. If you need to be able to detect Windows malware in your files, use the free software ClamXav — nothing else.
Why shouldn't you use commercial "anti-virus" products?
Their design is predicated on the nonexistent threat that malware may be injected at any time, anywhere in the file system. Malware is downloaded from the network; it doesn't materialize from nowhere.
In order to meet that nonexistent threat, the software modifies or duplicates low-level functions of the operating system, which is a waste of resources and a common cause of instability, bugs, and poor performance.
By modifying the operating system, the software itself may create weaknesses that could be exploited by malware attackers.
7. ClamXav doesn't have these drawbacks. That doesn't mean it's entirely safe. It may report email messages that have "phishing" links in the body, or Windows malware in attachments, as infected files, and offer to delete or move them. Doing so can corrupt the Mail database. The messages should be deleted from within the Mail application.
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8. The greatest danger posed by anti-virus software, in my opinion, is its effect on human behavior. When people install such software, which does little or nothing to protect them from emerging threats, they get a false sense of security from it, and then they may do things that make them more vulnerable. Nothing can lessen the need for safe computing practices.
9. It seems to be a common belief that the built-in Application Firewall acts as a barrier to infection, or prevents malware from functioning. It does neither. It blocks inbound connections to certain network services you're running, such as file sharing. It's disabled by default and you should leave it that way if you're behind a router on a private home or office network. Activate it only when you're on an untrusted network, for instance a public Wi-Fi hotspot, where you don't want to provide services. Disable any services you don't use.

Mac mini server hang at startup

My mac mini server (1st gen) installed with Lion server has a strange problem.
At some point, it stop to deliver it services (imap, dhcp and ical server). I connect on it (wich take a long long time), make it restart by the system menu entry.
It restart, and stay forever with the blank screen with Apple logo and the waiting circle which loop.
No way to restart.
I then boot on a Mountain Lion installation USB key (I loose my Lion one :-( ), choose the restore from time machine option, selecting the last entry on my Time capsule, everything goes well, and the server restart with no problem. I can even restart it by the system menu.
But after 2 or 3 month, it has the same problem, and again no way to restart without restoring the last time machine backup.
It's now the third time it does this, and it's make me go crazy.
I've try to start in verbose mode, and I have the following fsck error message :
disk0s2 : I/O error.
Invalid node structure
(4,26622)
the volume on macintosh hd could not ve verified completely
fsck failed !
I've try to start on single mode and do the fsck -fy -> same result.
Does someone has an idea of why it does this ?
Regards,
Marc

Just recently I ran into a problem when I tried to Verify my hard disk and when it tried to verify the catalog, it responded "Invalid sibling link." Repair Disk didn't work. I searched the web and Apple's site, and couldn't find anything useful except to buy DiskWarrior or reformat the drive. Knowing that OS X is built on Unix gave me a few clues on how to proceed. The solution is pretty simple:
    1.    Boot off the OS X CD (reboot, hold C while booting).
    2.    The installer will load up, go to Utilities in the menu and run Terminal.
    3.    Type df and look for the drive that has your Mac system mounted---you'll have to unmount this. On my MacBook Pro, it was /dev/disk0s2.
    4.    Type umount /dev/disk0s2, replacing disk0s2 with whatever disk your OS lives on.
    5.    Type fsck_hfs -r /dev/disk0s2. If you umounted the wrong thing, it will complain that you can't repair a mounted drive. Go back and umount the right thing and repeat this step.
Just for fun, you might want to run another fsck_hfs on your disk (use the -f option because your drive is probably journaled). Hope this helps someone so they don't buy a program that's going to do pretty much what we did with fsck_hfs, and so they don't waste time searching for an answer to no avail. By the way, TechTool Deluxe (3.1.1) didn't find the Catalog problem for some reason (you'll have this on a CD if you have AppleCare), which is why I resorted to fsck.
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20070204093925888

Mac Mini keeps hanging during boot

My ~3 year old Mac Mini keeps freezing during booting with the error message "You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button...". This happens every time. Booting in safe mode works.
This happened with Mac OS X Tiger but keeps happening even after I have completely reformatted that hard disk and reinstalled Leopard from scratch. There are no external devices connected to the computer besides the monitor and a bluetooth mouse and keyboard.
After reading some discussion forums I have already tried starting into Open Bootware and running "reset-nvram" and "reset-all" but to no avail.

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
What you are suffering is a Kernel Panic, and given you have reformatted your drive and reinstalled MacOS, it would tend to suggest the issue is hardware related - most common culprit being RAM.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106227 explains what kernel panics are, and http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html and http://www.index-site.com/kernelpanic.html may give some assistance in working through the problem to determine the cause.
The one good thing is that your system appears sufficiently stable to allow you to boot to the Leopard installer and complete a full install. This makes it less likely there is a fundamental issue with the most expensive component of the system, the logic board.

Mac mini server (late 2012) - mLion 10.8 - hangs on startup

Just got a Mac Mini server late 2012 running mLion 10.8...out of the box...I was setting up my Server and the Wiki & profile manager went out. I surfed around and found a wipe solution (/Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/usr/share/devicemgr/backend/wipeD B.sh) through terminal which did work. Later on they went out again after changing my host name or some ip options for the server but my Open directory started erroring as well. Tried to do the terminal thing and I got a error. So I shut-down and restart only to get the pinwheel screen. Tried safe mode (shift) to no avail. Then to lion recovery (cmd+r) which open the terminal and disk utility. ok. But from here I'm lost. I found somethings to check like fsck and chmod 775, checking/verify permissions but they didnt get it. I'm thinking its a permissions problem but I'm not sure. Any thought on what to check out from here?

6 hr reboot of mLion thru the cmd-r start up worked...it took me back down to 10.8.1 from 10.8.2...just had to reload some apple updates to the server.app and java....maybe some other things too...anything on mLion prolly...not sure yet, but all my apps and files were still there...
*The reboot didn't fix Profile Manager or Wiki in the server.app but it did get me back online and OD is ok again...
*Sifted some articles about the OD, wiki, PM stuff and my problem is similar to this https://discussions.apple.com/message/20561662#20561662
So...this thread is prolly in the wrong place srry bout that...Here's a link to the lion server board.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/servers_enterprise_software/mac_os_x_lio n_server

HELP! Mac Mini Server Journaling issue during reinstall

H E L P !
Mac Mini Server Journaling issue...
Hi there,
I have taken on a nearly new Mac Mini Server running Snow Leopard.
It has a RAID set up already.
When I try to reinstall the OS from the original disk the installation willl not let me select the drive as it says it is not journaled.
I have then opened Disk Utility and selected the main HD (there is one HD plus 2 Raid slices listed).
From this point on there are no options available:
The only 2 tabs above the right hand window are 'First Aid' and 'RAID'.
First Aid shows all 4 options greyed out.
Selecting the main HD and then going to File>Enable Journaling will not work as 'Enable Journaling' is greyed out.
Deleting the RAID does not work either, as the HD (mirrored RAID set) and both RAID sclices have the padlock icon next to them.
Can anyone help?
I really need to reinstall the OS and set the machine up with a TimeMachine Capsule asap!
Many thanks,
Haberdashery

Sorted!
All is good now : )

Mac Mini Server freezing in install when choosing PPPoE

I have a Mac Mini Server and when I go through the installation procedure and choose the connect PPPoE from the Network settings, the installation hangs every time.
I have already tried several clean installs from the Mac Mini Server disc to no avail.
Suggestions?
Thank You.

What part of the install process do you have trouble with? I'm assuming, and I think Tony did as well, you're talking about the server setup assistant that launches once the OS is installed. Naming your server/domain is a critical part of setup, as is DNS. If you put faulty configs in during setup, or try to setup services before DNS is working, you'll run into trouble - so please include whatever you're trying to do - if you're new to servers, most everybody around here will be helpful or at least understanding.
In any event there's a great tutorial at
http://www.wazmac.com/serversnetwork/fileservers/osxserversetup/index.htm
While I agree with Tony that PPPoE isn't the best bet, you ought to be able to make it work - but you will need a static IP for your server. Best bet is probably to make it a static IP on your LAN using NAT and let your router/firewall have the live IP. But more info is always better - what are you trying to setup and what other equipment/network stuff is already going on? There are a lot of ways to setup a server and to setup a network, and there is certainly no one correct solution. Somebody smart (like Tony) may be able to give you a lot more options with more details. I'll try too, but I'm far from the most knowledgeable person around these parts.
Another thought - if you're not using the advanced server, I believe you need DNS set up beforehand somewhere - if you just enter your ISP's DNS server info, it won;t have any records for your server. The Wazmac setup notes will walk you through setting up your own DNS for your LAN and using your ISP's DNS for everything on the WAN side.
Message was edited by: Jeff Kelleher

Mac Mini Server freezes hard, too hot?

Hi,
Our Mac Mini Server (half a year old) with the newest system crashes hard now and then.
It could run for up to three weeks occasionally but now in the summer it could sometimes only run for minutes until it hangs hard with frozen mouse and clock.
I have found no other way than resetting by the power switch.
According to the technical specification it should handle up to 35°C environment. (Right now we have 28°C in the room here.)
It seemed to help a bit by installing smcFanControl and increase the fan speed.
It will crash even without any work being done on it. No special applications started. No network traffic.
If the exhaust temp is above about 32 to 34° the problems seem to worsening. Now it is 37°C despite full fan speed (5500 rpm) and it crashed after minutes.
Sometimes it will even hang during the boot process.
Have anybody else heard about such problems?

Hi MalcomKay,
I had to open a service ticket as Jiri suggested. The technician was pretty sure the crashes were caused by a defective Airport board and exchanged that (despite I doubted that and never used Airport for the server).
I came back home (2x2x120 km of travel) and started the Mac Mini Server up. I booted and run the AppleServerDiagnostics.app test from an USB. It lasted 15 minutes (until it was warmed up) and then crashed so hard it was not counted by the test. It just froze hard. It crashed when running the memory test. It always crashed before finish when running that test!
I returned the server to the Apple Service (another 480 km of travel). This time they exchanged the whole motherboard. They tested it running intense traffic and operations for one full week without a freeze. So it was a faulty mother board!
Now it has been running like a charm for months.
This is not the first temperature problem affected board Apple has delivered to me.
Good luck! /Johan
Tips: Prepare an USB stick you can boot from. It is so frustrating to have a computer without a dedicated DVD where you can boot from and run the hardware tests.

Mac Mini Server Boot Camp Windows 8.1 White Screen Issue

Hello Apple Peeps!
I have a Mac Mini Server 2012 which I have had for around 6 months. I use it quite a lot mainly for Music Production on the OS X side and Graphic Design on the Windows side.
I recently decided to factory restore it as I wanted to spring clean it and reorganise the way some of my apps were installed. The way I had it set up was it was running OS X on one SSD and Windows 8.1 (installed using Boot Camp) on the other SSD. The way I went about the factory restore was I first used disk utility to erase/format the Windows SSD to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and then went about the factory restore of OS X onto the other SSD as normal (following instructions from the Apple website).
The issue I am having now is that my newly installed Windows 8.1 (used solely on a single SSD) is hanging on a white screen for quite a long time before the Windows splash screen shows up, where before when I would boot or restart into Windows there was no white screen and it would go straight into the Windows splash screen and load to the desktop very quickly.
So my question is...
Why do I get this prolonged white screen before the Windows 8.1 splash screen appears? How can I get rid of it? It was certainly not present on my previous installation. Can anyone advise me what the computer is doing during this time so that I can do some further research into a solution.
What I have tried already....
1) PRAM & SMC reset.
2) Setting the startup disk to Boot Camp in both OS X and Windows 8.1.
3) Reinstalling Windows 8.1 through Boot Camp.
MAC MINI SERVER (LATE 2012), 2.6GHZ QUAD CORE I7, 16GB RAM, 2 x 256GB SSD, OS X 10.10.2, Windows 8.1 (Retail), Boot Camp Assistant (5.1.3), Covered By AppleCare.
I would really appreciate some help with this ;-)

I have right clicked on each SSD in Device Manager and selected the option 'Properties' from the drop down menu, which brings me to this window...
I'm not sure where I can find Device Attributes, I have clicked on each of the tabs in the window above, as far as I can see none of them mention AHCI enabled or anything similar. Thanks for all of your responses by the way...much appreciated!

Mac mini server as AP

Hi, recently I've been thinking about building SOHO router/server based on Intel NUC and Linux but then it stroke me. It would be nice if I could use Mac mini Server for that! So now I'm looking for someone with good knowledge of both Server.app and Mac mini possibilities to find if it would be even possible. First of all: is it possible to turn Mac mini server to access point with RADIUS server? That would go over basic 'internet connection sharing' built into every OSX but theoretically shouldn't be impossible, right? We have all required hw and sw in one place (well, I wasn't able to find ANY performance tests of shared connection from Mac against let's say, Airport Extreme but one task after another).

Hello John, MrHoffman. This is exactly why I started this thread, thank you. I don't want to extremely customise OSX or something, I've got Linux for that. It's just that OSX is my OS of choice whenever possible. Because I don't have any experience with Server.app I'm simply not aware of what it can do (and didn't want to find out by spending 20 bucks just to see the thing).
Now, I like streamlined and elegant solutions (that's why I'm here at Apple's in the first place) so I adored the idea of having one tiny box doing all the heavy works like routing, wifi, packet filtering, DNS, time capsule, mail/file/media/print server...and I'd surely come with more ideas during time. And as I said, with Mac mini we have all required tools both hw and sw in this one awesome box, so I guess it's more like business decision from Apple side. Maybe one day, in the future, as we see consolidation of features lately... I don't want to mess around with Synology or some homebrew Cortex based board even though I know how, I'll definitely stuck with x86. So I have two options I guess. Buy Mac mini and Airport extreme, do click here and click there and have all this in two boxes, or build that unified solution from scratch on Intel NUC and Linux. That would take days and nights but it would be also fun (and tears and sweat) and also mostly educative.

I am having keyboard problems when trying to boot up an OS (bootcamp on Mac Mini Server)

I recently tried using bootcamp on my new Mac Mini Server.
I uploaded a windows ISO Image perfectly the way it asked, Windows 7, I followed the correct steps, euqally divided one of the hard drives, and I was ready to actually set up the new Windows section of my computer. During this booting session, my dog came in the room with her ball and knocked the computer plug out of the socket. Now when I turn on the mac, the fan still works, the same Macintosh sound comes up, the screen turns that usual very bright gray, but it stays on that gray. After a minute or two, the screen turns black, with a blinking underline, as if it were confused to choose which operating system it has to boot.
My problem here is that I use a wireless keyboard (not by Apple) -- and I suppose that bluetooth syncronizes with the OS and not the computer system itself -- so my keyboard commands do not get recognized in order for me to navigate into Windows 7 or OS X Mountain Lion. I tried solving this problem by purchasing a brand-new USB keyboard (since Mac Mini Servers do not have the PS/2 entrance). I guess this new USB keyboard didn't work, I imagine, either because the USB slots on the machine are not recognized by the computer's internal system, only by the Operating Sysytems (which I hope isn't true), or that the mac had never used that USB Keyboard and wasn't going to be capable of using it until it had installed the necessary drivers, but without the OS running that would become impossible.
So my question is: Is there a way that I can connect a keyboard to the mac so I can continue installing my alternate Operating System? Is it maybe another problem all together?

It is starting to sound more like Bootcamp failed to install properly.
Have a look at > Boot Camp 5: Frequently asked questions
then perhaps > Failed bootcamp instlation - Google Search

Mountain Lion Mac Mini Server Ethernet Port Not Working

I have a Mac Mini Server and once I upgraded to Mountain Lion Server the Ethernet port is unresponsive. It worked before upgrading. Is there something with Mountain Lion Server that is causing the Ethernet port not to work properly?

Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store.
Back up all data on the internal drive(s) before you hand over your computer to anyone. If privacy is a concern, erase the data partition(s) with the option to write zeros* (do this only if you have at least two complete, independent backups, and you know how to restore to an empty drive from any of them.) Don’t erase the recovery partition, if present.
Keeping your confidential data secure during hardware repair
*An SSD doesn't need to be zeroed.

Please help me decide on a Mac mini server or MacBook Pro i7 for Logic

Hi folks,
I've really taxed my brain trying to figure out what's the smartest way to go. I'd love to know what any of you think I should do.
My current setup:
2007 MacBook Pro 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo
2GB Ram
FSB 667 MHz
M-Audio ProFire 610
WD-Passport external drive for samples and audio files
Logic 8 (looking to upgrade to 9)
Record 1.5
Various AU plugins including Omnisphere, Miroslav Philharmonic, Amplitude 2, FM-8, BFD 2 and Korg Legacy Analogue
Final Cut Studio (latest version) for modest HD editing but sometimes multiclips as well
I tend to use lots of tracks - around 10 vocals, 4 guitars and lots of software instruments.
As you can imagine, Omnisphere runs like a dog past 2 instances and BFD practically makes everything grind to a halt.
Since going to Record 1.5, rewiring also seems to be unusably slow.
I'd love a new iMac or Mac Pro but I make several plane journeys to visit my Mum in another country. My solution has to be mobile, although I have got monitors, a keyboard and mouse that I can use at my Mum's.
As far as I can see, there are 2 options:
1
A new MacBook Pro 2.66 Ghz i7
2
A Mac Mini Server 2.66 Ghz Core 2 Duo
Physically, the Mac Mini is the better option:
- much lighter in my hand luggage so I could take it in addition to my existing MacBook Pro.
- more USB ports
My worries with getting a Mac Mini are:
- Is it powerful enough or at least significantly better than my MacBook Pro?
- Will it run the latest version of Final Cut Studio (a little off-topic, I know but I couldn't seem to find any straight answers elsewhere).
- Is it noisy when under a heavy workload?
- There is no Superdrive so can I use my MacBook Pro to install the software DVDs across a network?
Thanks for reading this. Let me know what you think.
Kind regards,
Steve

The mini will be about as powerful as your current MBP. You could have more RAM in the mini, 2 GB is certainly not enough for any serious work.
People on this list were initially(LP 9.0.0) underwhelmed by the MBP i7 dual core, it is a step up from your older MBP, but don't expect miracles. Get lots of RAM/a SSD for optimum performance.
9.1.3 may have improved performance, not sure,
Fast and relatively cheap: iMac i7 quad core. Not very portable, though.
Not ideal either is your M-audio interface, its drivers are below par making your Mac sweat more than necessary.
My 2c,
Zip

RAID on Mac mini Server (2011 i7)

I just purchased a new Mac mini Server today (the base configuration 2011 Quad Core i7 with 4GB RAM and 2x 500GB 7200RPM magnetic hard disks) and wanted to share what I've learned about setting up RAID on the system.
First, as you may have heard, the Mac mini Server does not include any installation/reinstallation media (I was hoping for a USB reinstall key, but it seems that the new systems don't include these or optical discs; last year's Mac mini Server included handy reinstall DVDs even though the system didn't have an optical drive). Out of the box, the new Mac mini Server has Mac OS X Lion, the iLife suite, and the Mac OS X Lion Server tools pre-installed on one of the two 500GB internal drives; the other disk is formatted as a separate, second drive.
If this is the configuration you're looking for, you're good to go right out of the box. As an aside, this shipping configuration is ideal for using the second disk as a Time Machine drive. I would argue that Time Machine would be a better use of the second volume than a RAID 1 configuration, as Time Machine provides versioned backups and you don't incur the write performance penalty RAID 1 requires every time data is saved to the disk. I would further caution that, while an internal Time Machine disk is a convenient safety measure, any critical data should be backed up outside of the system as well.
Now for those like me who were intrigued by the opportunity to mate the Quad Core i7 with a RAID 0/striped configuration for a performance boost (or if you want to use RAID 1), a RAID configuration is possible, but it there are a few caveats.
First, Apple has two recovery options for the new Macs: a small hidden recovery partition on the boot drive and their Internet Recovery system. While it's possible to boot other systems from a Lion installation DVD extracted from the App Store Lion installer, such bootable optical discs will not boot the Mac mini Server at this time (this may change if Apple modifies the App Store Lion installer). Therefore, as of right now, the recovery partition or the Internet Recovery system are the best options for installing/reinstalling on a RAID set.
Second, if you boot the system using Command+R to access the recovery partition, you can wipe the two drives and create a RAID set, but this process will remove the recovery partition and is incompatible with FileVault encryption (a warning to this effect comes up when you try to start an install/reinstalll on a RAID set, but at that point, you've likely already erased the recovery partition in Disk Utility). If the system boots after the recovery partition is deleted, the only install/reinstall option is Apple's Internet Recovery.
Third, as might be expected depending upon your internet bandwidth, the Internet Recovery system can take a while to boot the recovery tools (10-15 minutes to boot on a standard cable modem connection) and to reinstall the OS (50+ minutes on a standard cable modem connection). Internet Recovery currently reinstalls only Mac OS X Lion and the Server tools on the mini Server; there's no option to install iLife during the OS install (Apple could always change this by updating their servers, and there is a Customize button on the installer, but it is greyed out and cannot be clicked at the present).
Fourth, once the OS is reinstalled, it's possible to reinstall the iLife applications by launching the App Store from within Mac OS and selecting Purchased. The store will indicate that the system is eligible to download the iLife apps and you can do so by agreeing to upload system-identifying information to Apple and signing in with your Apple ID.
I hope all this helps. Here's a more concise step-by-step of how to set up the system with RAID:
THINGS YOU NEED
A fast Internet connection for the mini
Patience
Hold Command+R on the keyboard at start up to boot from the system's recovery partition (if the recovery partition has been deleted, the system should start from Apple's Internet Recovery system; you may need to connect to WiFi if wired ethernet isn't available)
Once you get into the recovery utility, select Disk Utility and for each of the two hard drives:
highlight the drive
select the Partition tab
select 1 Partition from the Partition Layout pulldown menu
select Free Space from the Format pulldown menu
click Apply
After you've wiped both of the drives, highlight one of the disks and click the RAID tab, then create a RAID set (striped or mirrored, as you prefer)
Quit Disk Utility and from the main recovery utility menu select Reinstall Lion (from this point on, if you have any trouble, you can restart the mini from the Internet Recovery system and return to this point, but the recovery partition will be gone as long as you keep the RAID set)
After you install and configure Mac OS X Lion Server (which can take well over an hour to download and install), you should be able to reinstall the iLife applications by launching the App Store App and selecting Purchased, then logging in with your Apple ID and agreeing to send your system info to Apple to download the iLife Applications
If you're using the mini as a production server, I highly suggest setting up some local, external recovery tool, as you don't want to have system downtime protracted by having to wait for an Internet Recovery boot/reinstall. I would also beg Apple to consider this sort of scenario and to provide more supported methods for recovering and reinstalling from local media.
Best of luck to you all.

I found the basic principle on another forum thanks to a guy called 'e-whizz' and this what I did to make RAID 1 work on a mac mini server with LION server.
You can easily configure the second drive on a mac mini server for a Mirrored RAID 1 set with Lion Server without either reinstalling or erasing your existing setup.
The initial setup process takes about 30 minutes, though the rebuilding of the mirror disk will take several hours, depending on the amount of data you have on the drive. It took around 3 hours on a new mac mini server with lion server installed, nothing else configured.
Before you start, please ensure you have a current backup of the server. Getting the following commands wrong can render you server unusable.
What you need to use is the command line version of Disk Utility, diskutil.
Before you start, clone the hard drive. You can use SuperDuper (or similar, I have used SuperDuper) with copying all files onto a USB memory stick. If Lion is freshly installed, 8Gb will do. SuperDuper will create a bootable copy on the USB.
Boot the mac mini from the external USB. To do that, reboot and hold down the option key while restarting. You will see a window, select the USB drive to boot from.
Launch the terminal and type the following command:
diskutil list
This gives you a list of all the drives and partitions your system knows about.
You need to find the Server HD partition (the first disk) and the HD2 partitions (the second disk). These are the two main ~500GB drives. You will be using the disk IDENTIFIERs when issuing the diskutil commands. For a stock standard Mac Mini Server, the commands below are correct, but if you have previously changed the volume names, or repartitioned at any stage the disk identifiers and volume names may differ.
First enable RAID mirroring on existing Server HD volume. This will create a single disk, unpaired mirror, without affecting your data.
Using this syntax:
diskutil appleRAID enable mirror disktomirror
where disktomirror is your disk identifier for Server HD
On my mac mini server, Server HD was disk0s2, so I used this command:
diskutil appleRAID enable mirror disk0s2
You now need to run diskutil list again to see the disk identifier for the new RAID volume. The new RAID volume will be listed as disk# on its own at the bottom of the list.
On my mac mini server this was disk3 (disk 2 was the USB I booted from, disk 0 the first disk and disk 1 the second disk)
Next add the disk HD2 to the Server HD raid mirror volume (on my mac, as I said before, this is disk3) as a new member.
This step will erase disk HD2 and begin an auto repair of the Server HD.
Using this syntax:
diskutil appleRAID add member newdisk raidvolume
replacing newdisk and raidvolume with your particular disk identifiers
On my server this was:
diskutil appleRAID add member disk1s2 disk3
To follow the progress of rebuilding the mirror set, type
diskutil list
It will show you the progress in % of the rebuilding under status
Once finished, reboot and your RAID 1 is up and running and you have also a working backup on your USB (coz' that's where you booted from ;-)
After reboot you can check the status of your RAID with
diskutil appleRAID list
Both drives should show ONLINE under status, interestingly, the device node for the RAID changed on my mac mini server from disk3 to disk2
That's it

Multiple users on one mac mini server?

We're four ios developers looking for the cheapest mac setup, so can we just buy one mac mini server and four displays and use it sumalteneously for xcode development??

During the last months... did you get the answer yet, i also would like to know if this is possible

Mac Mini server hangs during periods of heavy outbound traffic

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