Question re DNS settings on Lion Server

Bit of a newbie question this...
We have a Windows 2003 domain using SCHOOL.INTERNAL as the FQDN
We now need to integrate a new Mac server running Lion into the mix
The Mac server will not be Internet-facing, but will be used to manage internal Mac clients only
Have added a Windows DNS A name / PTR record for the Lion server (macserver.school.internal)
When we run the Server utility in Lion and look at the options in the Change Host Name window,the suggested server host name is macserver.school.internal (picked up from DNS I guess)
Question:
Does it cause a problem if we use the FQDN instead of the usual .local ?
If not, do the Mac clients all need to have .school.internal hostnames also ? And do these need to be manually entered in DNS ?
Thanks

The DHCP service collects the client names, so you don't have to enter them. Actually, in a Mac network the systems see each other via Bonjour anyway (there's that .local domain again!)

Similar Messages

DNS Changes (Mountain Lion Server & Airport Extreme)

I'm using a Mac Mini Mountain Lion Server with a Airport Extreme Router. The router is currently providing the DHCP funtion. Is it possible to change the DHCP settings on the router to use the DNS server on the Mac Mini Server rather than the one in the router.
I can't see any setting on either the Airport Utility or the Server App I was wondering if the DNS Server setting could be change via the comand line.
Many Thanks
Darren

Hi Darren,
Have you tried putting your Airport Extreme into Bridge Mode? That should enable you to use the DHCP service on your server.
Regards Alan

How to manage DNS in mac Lion Server

I just upgraded my Mac Mini Server from snow leapord to Mac OSX Lion Server, but in Server Admin, DNS is not displayed as a service.
Where you do you now manage DNS. The console contains messages that woudl seem to indicate that DNS did start up successfully.

Greetings,
You need to go here: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1419
The DNS server, which remains a part of the Server Admin, has been separated from the Server.
By the way, beware. I tried to to the Lion upgrade in place and the Server (not Server Admin) piece failed and after I installed Server Admin my DNS set got hosed. So I am now trying again using a clean install.

HT200088 Error Reading Settings in Lion Server Profile Manager

Whenever I try to use Profile Manager in Lion Server, it says "Error Reading Settings". Can anybody help?

I did a clean install of Lion/Lion Server, but I ran ino the same problem too with "Error Reading Settings" for both the profile manager and the wiki.
INVESTIGATION: I checked to see if the postgres database (which I presumed was were the settings were being read from).
# sudo serveradmin fullstatus postgres
postgres:dataDirHasBeenInitialized = yes
postgres:PG_VERSION = "9.0.4"
postgres:dataDir = "/var/pgsql"
postgres:postgresIsResponding = no # !!! why isn't it responding???
postgres:dataDirIsDirectory = yes
postgres:PGserverVersion = 0
postgres:dataDirExists = yes
postgres:setStateVersion = 1
postgres:state = "RUNNING"
PROBLEM: The postgres service hadn't been started properly; I found this by doing the following:
# sudo serveradmin stop postgres
postgres:state = "STOPPED"
# sudo serveradmin start postgres
postgres:error = "CANNOT_START_SERVICE_TIMEOUT_ERR"
FIX: The postgres service couldn't create the log file because it didn't have permission. I did this to fix it, then simply restarted it and all was well:
# sudo chmod 777 /Library/Logs/
# sudo serveradmin start postgres
postgres:state = "RUNNING"
I hope this helps someone.

"it's always DNS" - Need Help setting network/DNS settings for MacMini Serv

Well, I must admit defeat and ask for help. I've set up an Xsan or 2, but for the life of me cannot set up my mac mini server. My basic two problems seem to be these:
1) Service Order in System Preferences/Network
I want to run my private LAN through Ethernet, using a 10.1.17. IP range, and use my Airport Extreme Base Station (Technically a Time Capsule) for the Public ISP 192.168.1 DHCP service. Cannot get both to work. The only way I can get the server to work and to be able to login using Open Directory is to either set the Ethernet as Primary for both my client and server, in which case there is no internet service AT ALL for either. I have a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with either DNS or a few extra DNS entries in the ethernet or airport categories, but for the life of me I cannot find the right combination. Is there any way to have BOTH Ethernet LAN and Airport internet service?
2) Related to the first question, I think, is that my local FQDN (not registered, just meant for internal LAN use only right now) and DNS name only show up to my client computer in Server Admin, Directory Utility, Workgroup Manager if I DISABLE my airport card. Otherwise, they come up as <servername>.local and not the FQDN <servername>.editdog.com, and I cannot login using OD.
3) I'm not sure what happend to the Binding I used to have to do in OSX Server 10.5, but maybe that's the issue? I have the Peachpit OSX Server Essentials Book, and it's been less than helpful.
Any ideas out there?

bump

Basic Questions from Prospective Lion Server Switcher

I have five servers I am running right now using Windows 2003 Server and various 3rd party packages.     Several years ago I became a Mac fan, moved all of my client based stuff to Mac, and now want to start moving my server based equipment to the OSX platform.
I stopped by my local Apple Store, and they had a version of OSX Lion Server running on a MacMini, but couldn't seem to answer the most basic of questions because as their business people stated "We are not Server Certified" ... they recommended I talk to an outside consultant to get these basic questions answered which seems a little extreme.
So I'm hoping the group can help.
(1) I read through most of the Lion Server Advanced Administrative manual.    Lion server appears from the manual to do most of what I need.   However, when I tried doing some of the functions in the manual on the demo Lion Server at the Apple Store, many of the functions I wanted to do did not seemed to either be installed, or their were buttons missing in the Server App.     I do not know if this was a permission level problem, because the account I setup for myself had administrative rights.
(2) In the mail app, it only appeared you could setup one mail domain.    It appeared you could setup virtual domains and users through the user app, but not through the mail domain itself?
(3) I could not find any where to enable DNS services.    The manual seems pretty straight forward in turning on DNS, but the Lion Server I saw had no DNS services running, or any way to enable them?
(4) Same for mailman listserv type function ... manual seems to be straight forward on enabling under the mail server, but again, no signs of the settings or enabling under the mail service.
(5) Under the mail app, didn't find any way to setup alternative SMTP ports ( I allow now Port 26 besides the standard Port 25 and SSL ports for my users.) ... I find port 26 gets past most firewalls at hotels etc.      Didn't see any way to control SMTP authentification too.
(6) Under the Lion Server tech description, it talk about a built in web editor, saw nothing of the kind.
So did the apple store have a limited install or am I missing something that the lion server manual does not match the capabilities of lion server.
Love to get a straight answer before purchasing hardware to replace 5 present machines.
Thank you.
David

Thanks for quick response.   Indeed, in hindsight, it appears that they had only installed the Server App, but not the Server Admin tools.
Unfortunately, I am not a system admin, but I played one on TV <grin>
All kidding aside ... I'm willing to learn, but would need most of the basics controlled through the GUI ... and then feel comfortable reading up and editting configuration files and running commands from the Terminal.
On this line, is there good documentation of this, or is this something that you know because you are familiar with Unix?    ie something like the alternate port issue ... is this something in the GUI, or something I would have to edit via Terminal?
Just trying to make an informed decision before jumping platforms.
Thanks
David

I want to setup my mac os x lion server

I bought the mac mini server with lion server last week. I want to setup the server for mail server ical server, web server, file share. now my office network has a static ip address in the internet, i have a router can provide the port forward, i registed the domain in the ISP. ISP server provide the DNS. can you tell me how to setup the server step by step.
thanks

You should be able to do this in the Workgroup Manager like http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-configure-mobility-settings-on-lion -server-.html or in the Profile Manager. Depends on your setup.

DNS Setup for Lion.

I'm a little confused with the DNS setup for Lion Server.
My scenario is this.
I have a router, IP 10.0.0.1.
Server running DNS is manually set to 10.0.0.253.
FQDN for the server is server1.mycompany.net (it is proper registered and live domain name I have used)
Externally I use Dyndns to point external folks to mycompany.net, and through the correct ports I can hit the router/gateway with the URL. This confirms that Dyndns is working.
I have forwarded POrt 80 on the router to 10.0.0.253.
Currently I have set DNS to have a zone of mycompany.net. Within the zone I have a machine record server1.mycompany.net set to 10.0.0.253
I think I have set the reverse lookup correctly, but the way it is shown in the DNS record looks strange (IP address looks backwards and says something about ARPA.
Web Server is running on the server.
Currently if I go to a web browser inside the LAN and use either www.server1.mycompany.net or www.mycompany.net (or the same without the www) I get an error message. The same occurs outside the lan on an internet connected machine.
If I enter 10.0.0.253 from inside the lan, I get the Mac WebServer default screen, showing the server is working fine.
I'm guessing I have made a mess of setting up DNS.
I'm looking at some point set up a small website, just to prove to myself I can get this working, but I can't work out what I have done wrong.
Can anyone suggest where to look?
TIA

Right now down to diagnostics
in terminal on server type
william:~ william$ dig www.wenatcheefirst.org
below is what i get copy what you get
; <<>> DiG 9.7.3-P3 <<>> www.wenatcheefirst.org
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 29412
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 6, ADDITIONAL: 0
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;www.wenatcheefirst.org.                    IN          A
;; ANSWER SECTION:
www.wenatcheefirst.org.          3600          IN          CNAME          wenatcheefirst.org.
wenatcheefirst.org.          3600          IN          A          205.186.154.164
;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
org.                              126088          IN          NS          a2.org.afilias-nst.info.
org.                              126088          IN          NS          d0.org.afilias-nst.org.
org.                              126088          IN          NS          b0.org.afilias-nst.org.
org.                              126088          IN          NS          a0.org.afilias-nst.info.
org.                              126088          IN          NS          c0.org.afilias-nst.info.
org.                              126088          IN          NS          b2.org.afilias-nst.org.
;; Query time: 430 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.88.250#53(192.168.88.250)
;; WHEN: Fri Apr 13 20:08:06 2012
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 208

Lion server or Snow Leopard Server?

From a quick check of postings here, my question of whether to use Lion Server or Snow Leopard server on a Mac Mini for a small office, looks to be "stay away from Lion server" Snow Leopard server just works and is easier to support.
Most of these posts are from 2011, has anything changed where someone can say Lion is now a much better server choice now than considering Snow Leopard Server?
It seems that most posters feel Lion server is a real step backwards, is this the case?
Thanks in advance - Lewis

Which services have been removed or depreicated?
You have to bear in mind that 'removed' or 'deprecated' only really means 'no longer bundled and supported by Apple'. Just because Mac OS X Lion Server doesn't ship with a foobar server that doesn't mean you can't download and install your own foobar server. It just won't be integrated into the Server Admin apps.
For example, Lion Server no longer ships MySQL Server. So download and install your own copy. It's not like the GUI apps gave you any control over the MySQL anyway, other than starting it up and controlling the network ports.
Likewise for print server. Some of the advanced print features such as quotas have been removed from the GUI, but you can implement them yourself.
Likewise with QuickTime Streaming Server, where the functionality is little more than a web service.
What features that have been enhanced?
Lion Server has simplified the setup of a server for small workgroups with simple requirements. If that's you then the whole experience may be enhanced since you're not swamped with a slew of options that you don't understand, or need.
I think a lot of people were also stymied by Snow Leopard Server because they expected the GUI apps to cover all the options, which was never the case.
So my original point stands. There is pretty much nothing you cannot do in Lion Server than you could do in Snow Leopard Server, it's just that it might not be supported by the GUI. Most serious server admins eschew Server Admin.app anyway since even Snow Leopard Server's admin app doesn't cover all the capabilities of some of the services, so you end up driving it via the command line anyway.

Mac OS X Lion Server Roaming Profiles

I have Mac OS X Lion Server on my iMac and want to setup "Roaming Profiles" to be able to go into any one of my macs, laptops and desktops, and log in to the same profile. Any one know if this is possible and if so, how to do this???

You should be able to do this in the Workgroup Manager like http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-configure-mobility-settings-on-lion -server-.html or in the Profile Manager. Depends on your setup.

Mountain Lion Server 10.8 DNS ERROR READING SETTINGS

Hi! Well I changed from windows 2008 server to Mountain Lion Server. So far, I have been able to set up website hosting for one website, and I must say works better than windows server 2008, maybe thats because the mac keeps the drive spun up, while in windows server it was an external drive, whatever the issue mac serves up the site much faster that it comes exploding onto the screen of the searcher.. Then I went to try to set up email, I was totally excited, but I think I did a no no in the dns settings, and now, I cant even see them, I just get "Error Reading Settings" Of course I see things in the log that I should undo, but I cant access the DNS settings at all. Any ideas how I can get to the dns settings so I can undo my booboo? Now it has streched its error self into the file sharing, and I cant access those settings anymore either, so that means I cant set up other websites because I cant give permission to view those folders. I also just got another err saying "Multiple errors occured on this server while processing commands. Just exactly what the heck did I do? I must have REALLY SCREWED THIS THING UP! Also strangely Safari browser no longer acceses the web from the server computer. I THINK I KILLED IT.
Any Ideas?
Thanks I really appreciate any tips, I havent got to calendar or vpn, or any fun stuff yet.. Or maybe it might not be fun at all? hahahahahaa!
Thanks

I've gotten into this mess as well and Apple solved it for me.
The Server should be able too lookup itself so running DNS is a good thing, actually the server sets up DNS at install time if it can't find a server to serve it's DNS so it can lookup itself.
The main error in my case was that there wasn't a NS record pointing the machine itself and that there were some firewall rules preventing DNS lookups. Since there is no way to edit the firewall rules via GUI the engineer manually changed some stuff, but wasn't sure where the problem lies exactly, so he passed it on to another engineer.
At this point I was already forced to switch to Google Apps for Business and my website was already running at GoDaddy, at much lesser costs and to much lesser frustration I might add.
Let's face it, Apple has to deliver a better product with the old Server Admin back into place for those who want it for the extra control.
My servers were running great with Lion (eventually), but Apple just had to remove Server Admin from OS X Server... #their_loss

Question re: DNS configuration on 2012 R2 Essentials Server BPA

Just a basic question here for BPA re: DNS settings on server and workstations.
During server installation DNS server role was auto installed, I presume as a subset of ADUC. We have a small law firm with a single server and 17 users. I have made no forward or reverse lookup entries in DNS. The pri and sec DNS
settings on the servers lan adapter are set to Time Warner provided dns addresses. The workstations are set to the local server IP address for primary DNS. Is this an acceptable scenario?

Hi,
I am sorry to say that I am not quite sure of your environment.
Did you mean that you have a local DNS server in a workstation? Based on my experience, you can configure as below on the DNS server:
Primary DNS server : itself
Secondary DNS server : 127.0.0.1 (As the BPA for DNS indicates that DNS servers on <adapter name> should include the loopback address, but not as the first entry)
In addition, if you want to perform external name resolution, please configure a DNS forwarder (You can point it to your ISP DNS server, if the time provider can perform external name resolution, you can also point it to the time provider) on the DNS server:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/library/cc754941.asp
Then please point the DNS server on the clients in the workstations to the IP address of your local DNS server.
Best regards,
Susie
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected]

How To Set Up Mountain Lion Server/Point DNS to Mac Mini Server

Hello, First of all I have no experience with setting up servers whatsoever. Below is what I have
- Mac Mini with Mountain Lion Server
- Time Capsule as my router
- Comcast as my service provider
My goal is to set up my MacMini as a sharepoint for files and other data with my other partners.
- I have purchased a domaine name from NetworkSolutions. Does this mean that they are my DNS hosting as well? Not really sure. My biggest question is how to point my DNS to my mac mini server correctly.
1. How do you point the DNS to my mac mini server.
2. I've read somewhere to use the IP address from my mac mini server. The only IP address I see is from my Time Capsule (router). I know what my public IP adress is but I am not sure if that's the one to use. I think once I figure this DNS thing I can figure out the rest.
Thanks - Need lots of help.

Here's a detailed write-up on setting up internal (private) DNS on OS X Server, and no, you're probably not going to be setting up external DNS on your servers. Your public DNS service will be hosted on and served from the Network Solutions DNS servers.

Question about changing a Snow Leopard Server network settings

We have an Xserve running Mac OS X Server 10.6.8, the primary services running on it are afp, smb, dhcp, dns, jabber and the calendar sever.
Right now we have a router connecting two networks together, 192.168.0.0/24 and 192.168.1.0/24. The Xserve has a static IP address in the 192.168.0.0/24 range.
In order to combine two phone systems into one I am required to combine the above networks, this will involve removing the router and changing the subnet mask on every device from 255.255.255.0 to 255.255.254.0, any device that is currently part of the 192.168.1.0/24 network will also need to have it's router setting changed from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.0.1. That part should all be easy.
However, this is my first experience expanding a network past a standard class C and am wondering if there is anything I need to watch for on my Snow Leopard Sever.
Specifically I wonder about dhcp settings, right now there are two dhcp servers, the Xserve which provides dhcp for 192.168.0.0/24 and the router that provides dhcp for 192.168.1.0/24. Once the router is removed the Xserve will need to provide dhcp for the entire network.
Looking at the Xserve dhcp configuration right now I have one subnet defined providing addresses 192.168.0.5 to 192.168.0.125.
Can I simply click the + to add another subnet and add for instance a range of 192.168.1.5 to 192.168.1.125?
Will it simply give out all of the ip addresses in the first range and then start with the 2nd? Or do I need to find a single range of ip addresses large enough to meet my needs? (e.g. 192.168.1.5 to 192.168.1.225 or something).
Is there anythign else to watch for after making this type of network setting change?
Thanks in advance.

Thank you for your very detailed reply.
I understand the problems that can arise using 192.168.0.x and 192.168.1.x and if this were a new project I would definitely switch to something else, however in this case we have been using these ip ranges for years (they were in use here long before I started) and I don't want to have to redo all of my dns settings at the same time I make these other changes so I'm going to stick with the same ip's we are using at least for now. Anyone here needing vpn access has already dealt with this issue but we have very few vpn users so it has not been a major problem for us to date.
My biggest question is about increasing the size of the dhcp pool. For instance, after I change all the network settings and set up a /23 network is it possible to have a single dhcp pool that includes some ip's in the 192.168.0.x range and others in the 192.168.1.x range? I guess what I am asking is when I am in Server Admin and click on DHCP one of the tabs across the top is "Subnets". Right now there is a single "subnet" configured that provides addresses from 192.168.0.5 to 192.168.0.125.
Ideally I would like one dhcp pool that provides ip's in the range of 192.168.0.5 to 192.168.0.125 and then if all of those are used up, moves to 192.168.1.5 to 192.168.1.125. Can I do that by simply adding another "Subnet" so there are two? Or do I have to find one larger single range? (e.g. 192.168.1.5 to 192.168.1.225?) You may have already answered this indicating I have to have a single larger range but I just want to be sure.
The parts about changing subnet masks, and routers and all that I think I have a pretty good understanding of.
Your last paragraph is something I have been worried about, I do have a feeling that after making this change there will probably be unforseen issues that will need to be resolved, I'm just hoping it is not too many. For the scope of this thread I will just focus on issues that may arise with the Snow Leopard Server however.
Again, thank you for your help.

Lion Server Profile Management error reading settings

After starting up Lion Server the profile management pane showed an error. It is also not possible to login via de browser to the profile manager. How can I fix this? Using the default httpd.conf file did not help.
This is one of the many problems I have with Lion server that does not work as expected. So if someone has a solution to remove all profile settings from my client MBP than I can try to revert back to Lion on my server also.
I hope this question is also read by someone of apple as this is not the quality I expected from apple. It lacks decent documentation and the setup of Portable Home Users is not possible. I thought apple product were self explaining and intuitive. This reminds me of the old Windows days: sitting days to figure it out and use a lot of terminal commands.

Did you ever find a resolution? If not then this might help Server: An error with code -1 occurred while setting up Device Management

Question re DNS settings on Lion Server

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for