Slow Ethernet on Mac mini server

Set up:
Mac Mini Server - Mid 2011 - i7 Quad 2GHz - 8GB RAM - OSX 10.7.3
13" MacBook Pro - Mid 2009 - Core 2 Duo 2.53GHz - 8GB RAM - OSX 10.7.3
Both wired in to Virgin SuperHub Switch/Router and physically next to each other
Hi All,
Bit of a strange one this but I recently upgraded my cable connection to 100MB line from 50MB. As everyone does, the first thing I did was to test my new toy on speedtest.net. I was overjoyed to see my MBP fly directly up to 104Mbps dl speed. However, my Mac Mini Server peaked out at somewhere around the 60Mbps range. At first I thought it was flakey network connection and so duley tested at random intervals during the day, one device after another but always with the same (or similar) result. As stated above the kit is physically next to one another and both on Ethernet. I have also tried swapping over LAN cables, difference ports and new cables all together but no change. Next I tried to change the MTU settings on my Mac Mini Server but again no improvement (plus the MBP is still on the standard Auto config 1000BaseT Full-duplex with a standard Ethernet MTU of 1500.
The hardware spec states that they have slightly difference NIC's installed but the MAC Mini Server is the newer of the two and all software is up to date. Any idea's pls?

Hi BD, thanks for responding again.
I've disabled TM while I test and I dont think Spot light is doing anything. I've also run the test now tens of time at all times of the day.
RE console, i've looked and nothing jumps out (although im no expert there)
Re connection priority, yes top of the list, infact diabled everything else while I test also.
One other point, the Mac Mini Server does have the server addition of Lion OSX, sorry i didnt make this clear earlier. I normally only run the TM, Web, Profie Manager and Files sharing servivces - no are them are under much load at the moment although, again, I even disabled all of these while I test and no change to the result.

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Douglas Urner wrote:
Is anybody out there successfully using the Apple USB Ethernet adapter on a Mac Mini Server running 10.6.6? They have stopped working for me.
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Only the specific build of Mac OS X that comes with a MacBook Air includes the kernel extension to run the Apple USB Ethernet adapter, however there are no hardware issues preventing it being used on other Mac models if you have a suitable driver.
Generic USB drivers can be downloaded for free from http://www.sustworks.com/site/newsusbethernet.html and this worked for me.

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sounds like you need a DROBO. If all you're doing is serving up audio and video, a USB 2.0 connection is fine. It sounds like you're looking for two different things...local storage and an online backup service. Or, are you talking about uploading all your content somewhere and streaming it down to your mini? If it's #2, then that's going to be way slower than connecting a USB device.
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Mac mini server networking and DNS setup help

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me with this. I'm working at a small business where I'm the only guy with any IT experience at all, but I'm new to Macs and OS X (<1 year) and being a server admin so please bear with me.
We just bought a Mac mini server as we are expanding from a bunch of workstations and Google Docs. I've just gone through the installation process, but nothing else is on the server, no user data at all, so if the answer is to reinstall from scratch, I can do it.
We'd like the mini to be a file server, print server as well as the gateway for the internet. I realize we could stick to our router and have the server as another node in the network, but we also got a Time Capsule for backing up the server and will locate it in another room to be another wireless access point there.
When going through Server Assistant, I didn't really know what to name the machine so I used corp-Server.local for the Current Hostname and corpserver.private for the DNS Hostname (though i actually use a 3-letter company acronym instead of "corp").
However, i realized after setup we'd want to access the server externally by name, so I changed the DNS hostname to server.companyname.com in the Zones tab of the DNS section of Server Admin (edited primary zone name, changed Nameservers entry for both primary and reverse zone).
I don't know what else I need to do though because there are loads of instances where corpserver.private still shows up, like in the Open Directory section of Server Admin (which btw always hangs when I open it) and the Contact Info of users (eg. user email is [email protected]). I also had trouble earlier using Server Preferences and Server Admin either not connecting or not recognizing my login, but that seems to have abated.
I guess my problem is, where else do I change the DNS hostname? Or do I have to change the DNS hostname back to corpserver.private (in Server Admin)? That way, I think at least everything will be consistent, but would I be able to still configure it somehow so that externally, we could access the server by the server.companyname.com URL?
Also, can the mini be a wireless router for the office? As mentioned before, we want to cut the existing wireless router out and use the mini instead (and use the Time Capsule as a wireless bridge).

So the ISP<->router connection can have a dynamic IP address, but the router<->server one should be static? I guess that means I have to set the IP address in the router. I hope I can get access to it. I don't suppose it matters which one I set first?
An IP router does not assign addresses.
A DHCP server does assign IP addresses upon receipt of a DHCP request from a client.
Some routers (and many firewall routers) do include a DHCP server.
A box with a static IP address does not need to send a DHCP request; it has a static address.
You'll need to ensure that the IP address pool within the DHCP server does not overlap the addresses that are manually assigned to your local hosts; the static IP addresses on your LAN.
[Here is an overview of the pieces involved here, and some of the typical terminology|http://labs.hoffmanlabs.com/node/275].
I hate to belabour the point, but I just want to clarify: in my setup where ISP<->router<->server<->clients, where the server is the only machine connected to the router, which one should be the local DNS server? The server, right? So if the DNS server is turned on in the router, I should turn it off? Or do I need both (ie. router for its LAN (to server), and server for its LAN (to clients))?
So to confirm, the configuration includes (probably) a modem, a router (firewall) and a router (Mac), and then the rest of the (local) show? That is not the simplest configuration, and it's Particularly given that Mac boxes make expensive and slow routers.
The usual configuration is ISP>firewall>LAN and the LAN is usually built from WiFi, wired connections and switches. Within one subnet (which is typical) any host inside your firewall is connected on the LAN, and can communicate (directly) with any other LAN client. The firewall is configured as the gateway; that's the default route for outbound connections.
One more thing that's bugging me: I still don't understand why I couldn't connect to the internet when I plugged in the Ethernet cable from server to router. Even if I was using DHCP to get a dynamically allocated IP, shouldn't it still have worked? I'm worried that I'm going to set up everything as it should be but the connection still won't work.
That's likely because you're trying to use the Mac as a router, and that takes specific configuration steps. It's easier to have ISP>firewall>LAN, and have the Mac OS X Server box and the rest of the stuff as peers on your LAN. If you really want to use the Mac as an IP router, look around for setting up static routes on Mac; there are postings around for that.
If your data is more valuable and your security preferences and requirements are higher, then you may want a firewall with a DMZ, and put your web-facing boxes over in the DMZ. If you're serving stuff to the web or a mail server or such, it's possible to get breached, and a breach means folks can potentially get further into your LAN. With a DMZ, they're somewhat more isolated from your LAN.

Is the mac mini server the same hardware as the other mac minis (except for the quad core i7 and dual hard drives) with different software or is it configured differently?

I have a mac mini with an i7 dual core processor. It is perceptably slower than my macbook pro with a quad core i7. Does the mac mini server have the same hardware configuation as the regular mac mini with server software or is the hardware different (aside from the i7 quad core and dual hard drives)? I want a mini with a quad core i7...

Your assumption is correct. The server does however only
have the Intel HD3000 graphics like the base model with
no option, at this time, for the discrete graphics chip. So,
depending on what you are using it for, that could be a deal
breaker. Remember that your MBP does have a discrete
graphics chip.
I have a 2011 Mini Server connected to a Thunderbolt display
that gets used as an engineering workstation and general
personal use (some photo editing, LP restoraton, general
internet browsing). You simply just not enable any of the
server services. I find the combination to work quite well
for my purposes. I also have a 13" 2.7 GHz i7 Macbook Pro
which is pretty much strictly for work. As far as CPU
power it is pretty much equivelent to your Mini. For the most
part I find the Mini does outperfom my MBP. I heavily use
Parallels and Windows7 virtual machines, so the more cores
the better.
So, If you do a lot of CPU intensive stuff that is multithreaded,
the Server may help. If it is graphics intensive and your software
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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

Mac Mini Server Mid 2011 i7 problems

I have a Mac Mini Server with an i7 Mid 2011 that had a lot of issues with memory because we were running so many services with 4GB of memory and would have 4 pages of usage in activity monitor after the 4GB of memory was full. It wouldn't restart on us or crash when running just really slow down due to usage of RAM. We just bought new RAM to bring it up to 8GB (2 x 4GB). It's the right memory for the computer. And now Lion crashes and restarts on us and even becomes way unresponsive too. Is there a way to check RAM to make sure it isn't bad without install a program. I recall someone once saying you could hold some buttons down at start up to do a RAM check.

I think verbose mode runs a simple check,
Starting up in single-user or verbose mode
1. Shut down your Mac if it is on.
2. Press the power button to start the computer.
3. Immediately press and hold the Command (Apple) key and
one
of the following:
the "s" key for single-user mode. (Command-S)
the "v" key for verbose mode. (Command-V)

Mac Mini Server with Leopard

I installed a Mac Mini Server in my media room. Connected it on my Ethernet, where i also have two other mac mini's a Mac Book Pro throughout the house. They all do "see" and "talk" to each other, and share files, like they are supposed to do. The only problem is: when i rent movies via i-Tunes on my Mac Mini SERVER, i can NOT see them on my other Mac Mini's throughout the house. I still can see the mac mini server on the left of the i-Tune menu, as well as the music and other files on it, photos etc... but if i want to watch that RENTED movie in my bedroom via my local mac Mini, no can do. is that normal.
By the way after hours of trying, and spending over 10,000 dollars worth of mac products in my home, i called "On Line Support", and after some 25 minutes of pre-heating my ear on the phone, the nice gentleman wanted to charge me 49 dollars to answer my question??

And that is how phone support works unless you purchase AppleCare for your Mac. Without AppleCare, you get 90 days of free phone support (starting from the date of purchase of the Mac); after that, you get charged unless the problem turns out to one that is covered under the Mac's warranty.
Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer

Mac Mini Server Hangs, Gets Sluggish

New 2012 Mac Mini Server (2Gig i7 with 8GB memory). Server App is off, and I'm using it as a standalone unit. Running iTunes on an external Thunderbolt RAID. Running Safari with several tabs open. The iMac generally gets irratic within an hour or so: iTunes may be sluggish, Safari slows or stalls, then eventually the whole system hangs with the fan running at full speed. I have re-set the contoller by removing power for a while and then re-initializing. No help. Seems for a loaded iMac something is very wrong. Any guesses.

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.
ClamXav is not needed, and should not be relied upon, for protection against OS X malware. It's useful only for detecting Windows malware. If you don't need to do that, avoid it. Windows malware can't harm you directly (unless, of course, you use Windows.) Just don't pass it on to anyone else.
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: Hardware test error on Hard Drive

Mac mini server: Hardware test error on Hard Drive
'checking for slow read failures': ERROR - Target device access failure - Test failed.
CAN I ACCESS HD (which is our data server) EVER AGAIN? IF SO, HOW?
Meanwhile we wonder if this is really a hardware error. It all happened during writing a time machine backup.
Probably while writing it, some data was relocated by accident, but we can not 100%-sure remember the sequence of actions :/
This is our trauma history:
- time machine got increasingly slower in writing a backup
- we quit the backup
- we switched off the mac mini (on power button)
- we switched on the mac mini
- we stopped time machine to the rules
- we shut down mac mini via command
- we booted the mac mini in save mode
- we see a loading bar
- no progress after 10th of loading bar
- switched off (power button)
- when we now switch on the loading bar below the apple-logo is all we see + the little wheel
- we started with cmd+alt+p+r pressed
- mac mini restarted but showed the loading bar scenario without progress again
- we started with 'd' pressed and did the hardware test (see above)
- we started with 'alt' pressed but it does not give us the recoverydrive to run the last backup
ANY IDEAS?
IS IT A SOFTWARE- OR HARDWARE ERROR?
THX IN ADVANCE!

BDAqua wrote:
I thnk Intenal 2.5" Drives for servers is silly, & Ithink the Minis & iMacs re poorly cooled.
I'd get Temprature Monitor & see what temps they're running.
Is Temperature Monitor an app or a device? If it's a temperature problem then that is essentially a design problem. Two drive failures in the same Mac mini server in four months combined with the fact that they're not really user serviceable already has me 90% on the way back to more pragmatically designed Linux servers. I think it would be foolish to waste any more money on these minis for my business hosting.

Help! Can't install SSD in my new Mac Mini Server (2012)

Previously I've purcahsed Mac Mini servers and removed one of the two drives, replacing it with an OWC SSD. The hardware change was not hard to do and resulted in incredibly good computers for my employees to use which allowed us to retire several old, slow and abandoned-by-Apple Mac Pros. There were no issues with reformatting the computers after they had SSDs put in.
Today I took delivery of a new Mac Mini server, and started to do the same thing, removing the top HDD and sliding in my SSD, since I have many of them around. Unfortunately, the OS would NOT let me format the disks separately or remove the RAID. The volumes (the original 1 TB that was inside and my 480GB SSD) were both colored red when I booted into Internet Restore mode and ran Disk Util, something I've never seen before, and all it would do was say "there was a problem with your disk, would you like to revert it to a working state?" which in this case means Disk Util forcing my drives back into a RAID whether I want them that way or not. (At one point it fused my SSD and the 1TB drive into a single logical drive that had the correct size but didn't show separate sections, and couldn't be de-RAIDED at all, even when I connected to another computer with the Mac Mini in Firewire target mode.)
I gave up and put a 240 SSD in the lower bay, resulting in a 760GB RAID of two mismatched SSD sizes, which isn't what I wanted but I guess it will do. So far it seems to be working.
My question is, why in the heck is Apple forcing me to run my computers as a RAID and/or not letting me break the system into one hard drive and one RAID, which is what I want? (Having the backup disk right inside the computer is very handy.) Is this some feature to keep us from "making our own" Fusion drives? If Apple is deciding we can't hack or do anything interesting with Mac Minis, this will the last one I purchase, and I'm sure there will be others who do the same.
Since replacing one HDD with an SDD is likely to be the most popular mode imaginable for Mac Minis, can anyone tell me if they got a similar setup to work, and if so what did you do? Can you post the steps here for others who will be in this situation?

I'm not sure how or what is different between the Standard 2012 Mac Mini and the 2012 Server...? However it looks like your Server also uses Fusion like or similar to the regular Mac Mini's.
"The version of Disk Utility that comes with Fusion Drive is unique. Earlier versions of Disk Utility can't be used with a Fusion Drive."
Have a look at > Mac mini (Late 2012) and iMac (Late 2012): About Fusion Drive
and > Special Note for Adding an SSD to a 2012 Mac mini. | Other World Computing Blog

Slow Ethernet on Mac mini server

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