Newbie to XServe

I have inherited our XServe and RAID which currently only provides disk space for video editing.
We image many different kinds of Apples (MBP -PPC and Intel, G5's etc.. until recently we have done this with bootable external hard drives.
I recently went to a MAC OSX Fundamentals class. When we were done the instructor had us boot to the network and (it looked like) imaged the 12 G5 Duals all at the same time.
My question, as you may have guessed is: Can I do this with the XServe? (from the XServe)?
How?
Will it significantly slow my network down?
Is there some documentation that you know of to point me in the right direction?
Please excuse the ignorance. This might be something simple to do, but it would help us tremendously if we could have all the images for all the machines on the XServe, then image the machines one by one or class by class as needed from the network. Then change one image, one time instead changing the image then taking the image machine to machine.
Thanks for your help!
Curt

This is a standard part of Mac OS X Server.
Depending on exactly what you were seeing, it sounds like either NetBoot (where clients run off a disk image stored on the server), or NetInstall where a disk image stored on the server is used to push out software images to clients.
Either way, it's all documented in the NetBoot and NetInstall documentation.
As for the 'slow my network' question, that depends on how many clients are running simultaneously. If it's just one or two, then no. If it's all of them, maybe, but even so it will still probably be faster than doing each one by hand sequentially.

Similar Messages

Newbie - Setup Xserve with Mac Os X 10.6 for small group

I already have infrastructure with DNS, DHCP, file storage etc.... I have a small group of users that will use Macs with OS 10.6 and a new Xserve. I only wnt them to autthenticte to OD on Xserve and thats it. And so I can see logs og their logins.. I will use Apple Remote Desktop but I guess will use it on another MaC not on server.
My background Novell Shop and MS mix, with Linux/Unix. I do Zenworks stuff.. So my question... Ho do I use the xserve only for OD authenticatin I ran through the install worksheet and setup my OD. And I have a MAC workstation im testing. I try to login on thta MAc to my OD server with an account I created on Xserve in Workgroup Manager. But when I login on MAC i see my full name then login window shakes and goes back to login window. I created another user account on server and created that account on MAC locally. I can login but I see no record on xserve password logs. When I login with network account that does not have local account on MAC and get the shaky window I see log on Xserver Password log and see authenticaiton.
On mac I setup to join the OD xserve and tahts it. What am I missing??

But I have another question. If there is a user locally on the MAC workstation and they try to login as th enewtork user, same shortname, it doesnt login with network password only local password. I set password on Network to that one on Local. they login but no hit to password service server log? We only want to use the server to Authenticate OD users and thats it. So can you have local user synch up to network? Or am i only stuck with network users and setting as you described?
This is the function of the Search Path. When binding to external domains, OS X will follow a search path defined in Directory Utility. However, DSLocal is always searched first, followed by BSD flat files, then external directories (AD, OD, LDAP, etc). DSLocal is ALWAYS first. This can not be changed. What this means is that if you have a user on the workstation named Bob Smith with a short name of bsmith and a password of letmein and a UID of 502 AND you create a user in the external directory named Bob Smith with a shortname of bsmith and password of hereiam and a UID of 1026, you will never reach the external directory during login. This is because the shortname bsmith will be hit in the DSLocal domain first as it is always the first directory encountered.
The way around this for systems that you are migrating is to delete the user's account plist and the chown the entire home folder. Now, this assumes that a local admin exists at account 501 already. If this is the case, then the bmsith account attributes (/var/db/dslocal/nodes/Default/users/bsmith.plist) file can be removed from the machine, effectively "deleting" the account without altering the user's data (/Users/bsmith). Then, if the machine is bound to the domain, all that is required in a chown of the /Users/bsmith folder so the UID value of the external directory account is set (1026).
And again, there seems to be some confusion about OS X and home folder types. Apple supports a lot. They are:
Local account with local home: This is the most common. Take machine out of box and create account. For IT, the local initial admin is this type of account. The user exists in the local domain and the home folder is in /Users.
Mobile (domain) account with cached attributes with local home: This requires are directory domain like AD or OD. For the AD plugin, this is default behavior. For OD it is very common. The machine is bound to a domain and on initial login, the user's account attributes are cached to the machine for offline use. This will create a "permanent" account in System Prefs and the user can use his or her domain credentials when offline. As an added feature using MCX, you can add home folder sync on top of this style.
Mobile (domain) account without cached attributes and network home: This is common in schools and training rooms. The workstations are always on the network so there is no need to cache the account nor do you want to litter the machines with local homes. A net home server is established and then users can freely move from machine to machine. On login, an automount share must be available to the workstation and the user uses domain credentials to access the network home. All data is stored in the central network location allowing for ultimate mobility of user.
Now there are also external homes (homes on external drives), guest accounts and more. But the three above are the most common.
Hope this helps all following the thread.

Newbie lesson - xServe RAID boxes need 2 Controller modules to work well!

So I thought I'd share my experience with my xServe RAID box, because I built it from parts (via eBay) I thought I could run it with a single controller with up to 7 drives until I needed to expand it later, I had all sorts of strange problems:
- Could't build new RAID arrays
- Couldn't update firmware
- Restarting box often led to the array disappearing
- Existing array sometimes didn't show up in Disk Util.
I tried replacing cables and Fibre cards but no change until I added a second RAID controller and then suddenly everything worked great!
Thanks to everyone here for trying to help me out with my problems, the box now runs great
So the lesson here is that an xServe RAID box needs 2 controllers to function properly, with only 1 it runs in some kind of undocumented failsafe mode.

See my response to your crosspost in the Xserve RAID group.

G4 XServe won't boot from CD

Newbie to XServe here...
I bought a used G4 XServe DP with 4 installed HDs and "Pre-Installed" (No Disks or SNs provided) OS 10.2
When it boots from the system drive, it immediately goes to the Setup Assistant, and I get to the point where I have to enter the software SN. Since I don't own 10.2 Server, I bought a copy of OS 10.4 Server.
Now I can't get the system to boot from the 10.4 CD or DVD, it always seems to boot from the HD despite following the "Boot from CD" instructions doc I accessed here on Apple's site.
Also, the SN it asks for is a different scheme than the one provided with 10.4, (the first digit is a single letter) while the 10.4 SN starts out XSVR.
Any help would be appreciated! And Thanks!
G4 XServe DP Mac OS X (10.4)

First, a 10.4 serial number is not going to work with a 10.2 installation, so you're going to have to (re)install Mac OS X Server 10.4 to get this machine to work.
So the questions are:
What happens when you try to boot from CD?
Does it ignore it completely? eject it? try to boot from it and fail?
Have you checked the front panel enclosure lock is open?
(the XServe won't boot from CD/DVD if the enclosure is locked)
Does the OS recognize the drive once the system is booted (you should be able to log in via SSH or the console port while the system is waiting for Server Assistant to do it's thing).
The XServe G4 had an option for CD-RW or DVD drive. It's possible you have the CD drive in which case it won't read the DVD drive.

Newbie XServe Question - File Server

Hi,
I recently purchased XServe. I will be using it mostly as a file server for my Macs in our LAN. It is working fine for this service. Is there some way to safely access these same user files remotely via the internet while on the road ?
Could someone point me in the direction to find a solution for doing this ?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Art.

Tod, thank you for your answer.
My XServe will have a fixed private IP 192.168.0.11 and will be behind a Linux firewall that has two NICs (one public to the internet and one private to our LAN). I have complete access to this firewall so port forwarding should not be a problem. A few questions:
1. What ports do I have to forward to my XServe's IP in order to have multiple users access their files ?
2. What software should my remote users have for this remote access on their Mac Laptops ?
3. What service should I activate in the XServe to grant access to these remote users ?
4. Where can I find documentation on how to do this on the Server Side ? On the client side ?
Thank you very much in advance for your help.
Art.

Xserve Fans (Help a Newbie Out!) I can't believe I just admitted that!

Brand new Xserve out of the box. Works fine but the fans are running extremely fine. Have a blinking light on the indicator button. Blinks three times.

Daddy Paycheck
Hey thanks for the help. I did look at ram and anything else that could have come loose. I even pulled out he HD's. Must have been something loose. Fired it up to check my a sure enough she's up and running and taking software.
We're cooking!!!!!!

Xserve newbie needs help

I've never worked with a server without having a monitor hooked up to it and I'm trying to figure out how to install software on the Xserve. Also, where's the eject button for the disk drive on the Xserve?
Thanks in advance!

All of the Mac OS X Server admin apps are network-based, meaning you can run them on any machine on the network and control the server remotely.
If you've just installed the server, install and run Server Assistant from another machine on the network. This app will walk through the initial setup where you can assign IP addresses, etc. Once that is done (and the server has rebooted) you can use Workgroup Manager to setup accounts, etc., and Server Admin to start and stop various server processes on the machine.
If you feel more comfortable with a GUI, the server does ship with an ARD server built in (you can enable this during the initial setup where you choose which services to start), but you'll need to buy Apple Remote Desktop to be able to view the screen from a remote system. However, for most tasks, either the server tools or a ssh connection should be able to do what you need.

Xserve Newbie needs advice

Hi Guys,
I own a Graphic Design studio here in sunny London Right now I am looking into backup and server solutions. As all the machines here are macs I want to look into the Xserve and Xserve RAID solution. But I do not know where to start!! Can you guys offer your help as to what solution would be best for a 4 workstation group that deal with a lot of high-res images and assests? Do I need the Xserve or can I just get Xserve RAID and plug it into one of the PowerMacs?Your advice will be very much appreciated
James
PowerMac G5 Dual 2.3ghz Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Hmm, I thought I already said...
You need to look at the types and sizes of files you're moving across the network - small? large? hundreds of KB a day? hundreds of GB a day?
You also need to look at when you're doing it. Do all the users download files in the morning, work on them locally, then upload them back to the server at night? or are people continually uploading and downloading files throughout the day.
Then you need to look at the workload on the machine that would act as the server.
Bearing in mind that large file transfers consume more resources on the server than small ones, and that the overhead of running a server is negligible if no one is actively using the shares you can now determine whether or not the file sharing load is going to impact the user of that machine.
For example, if that machine is used by the boss, it's not likely to be very busy therefore it may well be a viable file server.
But if all the machines are used 24/7 by high-output graphic designers you're only going to set in someone's way by slowing down their machines every time someone else pulls their project off the server.
These are the kinds of questions that only you can answer.
The other option, of course, is to do it on one machine and see how it goes. it isn't hard to switch over to a dedicated server afterwards if the load is too great, or leave the server as-is and buy a new machine for the user whose system you usurped.

Xserve newbie question

Hello, I am very new to mac and am hoping for some guidance. The school I work for has just purchased an Xserve for use with our imac labs. We have a number of campuses in various locations all supported by a dedicated network link (Telstra managed for those in Australia). We are looking at the possibility of putting an Imac at our Admin site for our DTP person as they are more familiar with them and it would hopefully help boost his productivity. My question is will it be possible to fully integrate this IMac with our Xserve that is located on our main teaching campus or do we need a xserve at each location? Our current windows network needs domain controllers at each location. It would be great if we could make use of the full functionality of the xserve on all campuses without the need to purchase multiple servers (at around $8k a pop).

Well, what are you looking to do here?
What particular Mac OS X Server services are you planning to use?
How reliable are the data links, and the latency and bandwidth here?
Can "stuff" operate over your data links? Sure. If the data links are sufficiently stable, reliable and fast.
And yes, the iMac box can generally be connected to and can screen-share the server(s) for remote management and remote access.
Whether this stuff works depends greatly on what you need done, and what you have available.

Newbie here...Need help for XServe RAID w/ XSAN in Vid Editing environment

We're establishing an XSAN environment for video editing work flow. We're not new to SAN technology or video editing, but we are new to Xserve RAIDs, XSAN technology, and marrying them together in a production environment.
We have an XServe RAID at 14x750GB configuration. 1 Xserve metadata server, 1 Xserve Quicktime server, and 4 editing stations (2 MacPro's, 2 G5's) that are in the fiber channel fabric. Each machine has dual channel 4GB cards.
My PLEA for help concerns any advice this community can offer on RAID configuration, and XSAN configuration to achieve maximum performance. Settings, configurations, etc.
XServe, XServe RAID, XSAN, MacPro, G5 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Were on the same boat but more like a life jacket
We only need the Fibre for back-up.
We have a single Avid Adrenaline on MacPro.
One Xserve that basically acts as a server for fonts, audioclips, photocatalog and minor back-up via gigabit ethernet.
Three G5s/MacPro/PC with 2/4GB FC installed.
One 10.5 TB Xserve RAID.
Last but not least a QLogic 1400 SAN box for Fibre.
Nothing is installed yet as were waiting on our Apple rep for some answers with Xsan.
Were not serving anything as far as external network and everything stays within the confines of our studio.
My question is that are we missing anything other than maybe getting more ports on the SAN.
We can live with a few workstations in the fabric.
Thanks in advance
XServe Mac OS X (10.4.6) OSX Server

Binding to Active Directory Problem. I am a Newb! probably something stupid

Hey All,
Trying to get my apple xsever to join our windows domain. I got it to bind and the user accounts show up on the machine but then it askes me to join it to the Active Directory Kerberos realm. I am confused.
what i am trying to do is joint it to the windows domain for my admin account on the actual server and then set up local user accounts on the machine so when my mac users log in they authenticate using the local mac account and not the windows domain account. Does this make sense? From what i read macs authenticate using the local account before going to the windows account which is what i want. I am a total newb to this so forgive me for the stupid questions.
cheers all,
jess

Hi
set up the xserve as an Open directory Master
will it place nice on the network
with the rest of the windows servers that we have.
There should be no problem in doing this. All you need to do is decide whether you want your Mac Server to run its own DNS Service or to use the existing DNS service being provided by the AD Server. Open Directory Master requires DNS Services running somewhere.
i just want to have a mac studio of about 35 people be
kind of an island within a sea of windows users. If
there can be cross over there then fine.. but really
i want the mac to work well with the apple server and
if i can get the windows clients hooked up also then
fine.
There should be no problem with this.
When you say studio do you mean a graphics design studio? Or are you talking about a video production studio? If the answer is yes to either one or both then perhaps a simple file server would do. An Open Directory Master is OK in this environment but your network needs to be up to job. Ideally gigabit ethernet certainly for video production and also if your studio are heavy photoshop users. You could get away with 100Base-T but with 35 heavy users editing files stored on the server as well as Home folders it may be a bit too much. If this is the situation in your studio you would be better placed working locally and saving the files back to the server at the end of the day. You would set up your users with names and passwords in the OD directory node. Your studio can use those account details to log on to the server to access share points but still work locally if they need to. If you start windows services on the mac server then there should be no reason for windows clients to access share points on the mac server as well. Be careful how you configure windows services as you already have existing PC servers on the network.
As you have already stated your aim is to keep the macs completely separate from the PCs then consider connecting all your macs to a separate switch and have them running of a different IP address range and subnet mask. You could then use an intervening router to handle traffic between the two networks, this way you control cross platform access to shared resources. If you understand networks, routers etc then you should be able to accomplish this without too much trouble. Again searching the Server forums should give you plenty of ideas and advice on the best way to achieve what you want. As ever defining and deciding what you want you want the server to do is half the problem.

Hooking up esata drives to an Xserve

Hello! Newbie here. We have an Xserve 2x2.8Ghz Quad core Intel with 2 gigs of Ram. I need to hook up external Esata drives to copy files on and off the Xserve and the raid. There are firewire connectors but no Esata connectors so I guess I have to buy a card. My question is, which one? I don't need to make the external drives raids, I just want to hook them up so I can copy files. Anyone have a reliable card that they use? Thanks

I've used Sonnet cards before - http://www.sonnettech.com/product/temposatae4p.html
Check the compatibility listing, though - there are specific issues with certain drive make/models.

Workgroup Manager loses all passwords when the Xserver is rebooted

Hi all.. I'm a newbie with Mac server, an MCSE and former Network Adminstrator of an all Windows domain, now in a mixed environment and responsible for the Mac server/clients as well as the Windows server/clients.
In January we attempted a migration from Panther server to Tiger/Xserve, on a brand new server. It appeared to have worked, and users were able to log in successfully after being created in Workgroup Manager, and given passwords.
Our problem is huge!! We cannot reboot this server!! Therefore, we cannot do upgrades, for just one problem. What happens when we reboot is that ALL passworeds in Workgroup Manager have to be entered again!
Any help will be gratefully appreciated!
High School XServe Administrator

Tony,
I wish to thank you for the helpful comments/suggestions to download the article at:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=ServerAdmin/10.4/en/c3gs4.html
It was an excellent quick guide that I followed to the letter, and then I called Apple Support and was able to further troubleshoot our server/client connection issues. When I left at the end of the day, the server is in great shape, although we still have some connection issues and tomorrow one of our Mac teachers who used to manage our Mac server will show me how to re-create the shared folders/shares and then add the users to the shares.
The good news is that the users are now semi-connecting, with the peppermint-stick progress indicator, but then a failure message that refers to the shares.
Your link to the article was a terrific start for me, and the Apple technician was most impressed that I had already covered all of the suggestions in that article when we spoke.
Thanks... one more post after a complete success, hopefully tomorrow... which I will probably spend re-creating all users and shares..
High School XServe Admin

Newbie needs help trying to update iMac from OS X v10.6.8

Newbie trying to update iMac as far as it will go without having to purchase a new one yet. Can I update from OS X v10.6.8 to OS X 10.7 with the following specs: Intel Core 2 Duo; Processor Speed 2.66 GHz; Processors: 1; Cores: 2; L2 Cache: 6 MB; Memory: 2 GB; Macintosh HD: 63 items with 228.18 GB available?

Upgrading to Lion
If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mavericks, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.
You can purchase Lion at the Online Apple Store. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.
     Lion System Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,
           or Xeon processor
       2. 2GB of memory
       3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
       4. 7GB of available space
       5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Upgrading to Yosemite
You can upgrade to Yosemite from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Yosemite can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE.
Upgrading to Yosemite
To upgrade to Yosemite you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download Yosemite from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Yosemite is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
    OS X Mavericks/Yosemite - System Requirements
    Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Yosemite
         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
     Are my applications compatible?
         See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.

Seeking advice for backing up Xserve G5 w/ RAID PCI card

Hello all!
I'm a newbie to Macs and server admin, and I have inherited the job of setting up a server at work for file storage. I'll do my best to give a concise description of our set-up - I'm looking for some advice on the last few odds and ends... mainly how we can backup the system.
We bought an Xserve G5 with an option RAID PCI card. We have 3 500GB drives in the Xserve, configured to RAID 5 (giving us effectively 1TB of storage space). We will be using the server for data storage. About 20 computers will access the server over a network; we are using an assortment of Macs and PCS.
I am seeking advice on backup systems for the server. In the event that the RAID5 fails, we don't want to lose our data. We just need a snapshot of the server; we don't need to archive data or to take the HD offsite. Our old server just used Retrospect to run incremental backups every night (with a complete clean backup once a month). Our current thought is to attach large external hard drive to our admin computer (not the server directly) and run nightly backups as before.
The major points I have are:
-Any thoughts on reliable 1 TB external drives?
-Any recommendations on software that can backup from a RAID over a network? I found info for Retrospect Server 6.0 - it seems to do what we want, but is rather pricey.
Thanks in advance for any advice! I really appreciate it!
Xserve G5 Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Greetings-
We all started out as newbies at one time or another-no worries. That is why we are here.
I personally use the Lacie branded drives. They are sturdy and reliable. My only thoughts here are to have at least three external drives-one for today's backup, one for a backup stored securely nearby, and one to be securely stored off-site. Rotate the drives daily so that your worst-case scenario will be a catastrophe that requires you to use a three-day old backup, depending upon how old your off-site backup is. Not ideal but better than the alternative. External drives are cheap enough these days to allow you to do this at a reasonable cost. Plus it is easy enough to throw one in a briefcase and tote it home for safety (just don't lose it!)
I would stay away from Retrospect. If you search these forums you will find several instances of folks having some serious issues with the program. I use a program called Carbon Copy Cloner that does the job nicely for my basement server. There are ways to do the backups via the command line interface as well but I am not so familiar with those commands. You may have to dig a little deeper to find something that works for you.
One of the other advantages of the FW external drive is that you can share it with other users, so perhaps you can set things up to have your network backups to go to that drive. Tis a thought.
Luck-
-DaddyPaycheck

Newbie to XServe

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