Will OS X Mountain Lion Server work full feature with PC Clients?

I have a small business with mixed PC and MACs, I want to purchase a Mac Mini Server and launch it in our company, we are about 25 employees that might increase to about 40 so I wonder if sevices like Calendar, VPN, Messages, Chat, Mail, Contacts, wiki, profile manager.. etc work with PC Clients, what will and what will not?
I would like if at least, contacts, calendar, mail, wiki, open directory, VPN and iChat work, the basic things one needs in business to work with PC clients, will they work seemlessly, do I need to install certain software on PC clients... any thoughts or pointers?

Hello,
YamenQ wrote:
I wonder if sevices like Calendar, VPN, Messages, Chat, Mail, Contacts, wiki, profile manager.. etc work with PC Clients, what will and what will not?
I recommend using eM Client for windows. The software is not free however I find that windows users seem to like it better then the free software because its more like Outlook with everything in built in.
I would setup both PPTP and L2TP VPN. PPTP for your windows clients and L2TP for your Mac Users. The VPN service on the Mac Server is pretty solid and I have very little problems with windows clients.
Thanks,
ebrind

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How to configure Mountain Lion Server to run Web2py with wsgi?

I am trying to config Mountain Lion Server to run Web2py with mod_wsgi. I get an error saying: "Premature end o scritp Header" wsgihandler.py (which is the wsgi file for Web2py).
I had it working fine in Snow Leopard and Lion Servers but not in Mountain Lion Server.
Thanks for your help.
Flavio.

I don't run web2py framework so can't tell you specifically.
That error means your script is not writing an http header to the browser so the browser can't decode whatever string it is getting. Your script is running as a plain old Python script. This is most likely because the Server.app in 10.8 now includes mod_wsgi built-in and configured from the GUI.
You can insert an intercept anywhere in your code to check any variable by saying this:
########## PROGRAMMING HERE ###############
print("Content-type:text/plain\n\n")
print(someVariable)
# raise SystemExit
The above sends an "http header" so the browser knows what to do. These headers are invisible in the browser window. But depending on your Python version, the pring statement may not work (I am running Python3). The SystemExit statement is optional, just in case your script crashes downstream.
WSGI sends a header like this:
startResponse("200 OK", [("Content-Type", "text/plain")])
but it sounds like mod_wsgi is not even being invoked. Normally your WSGI script is named *.wsgi and your Apache is set up to run the Python script as CGI under the mod_wsgi handler using this directive:
AddHandler wsgi-script .wsgi
The file having the config is located at
/Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/httpd_wsgi.webapp.conf
where webapp is the name of your webapp. I would suggest copying the file called httpd_wsgi.conf and renaming it to your webapp name. When Server.app is configured properly, you enable wsgi webapps in the GUI Advanced wndow for your domain.

Will the new mountain lion os work on this model of Imac

Here is my model number MB324LL/A.

General Requirements
OS X v10.6.8 or later
2GB of memory
8GB of available space
Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
Supported
Models
iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
Xserve (Early 2009)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
Hope this helps

Firewall gui for Mountain Lion Server

Is there an easy firewall for Mountain Lion server? Im amazed Apple took this feature away. For what reason? I dont know command line very well and shouldnt have to learn it seeing as how Macs are supposed to be "user friendly". Doing a port scan I see about 20 ports open that I want to close but just dont know how as they're not application specifc (like pop3...). Any suggestions would be helpful.
thanks.

Scott Howe wrote:
I meant to say "Is there a GUI for the Firewall for Mountain Lion Server"
I totally agree with you, the whole point of OS X was to be easy to use i.e. GUI based, if we wanted a pure CLI system we would get Linux
There are actually two different Firewalls on Mountain Lion Server, the 'standard' one you see in System Preferences which is an Application level firewall (ALF), and has extremely limited options but does have a GUI, and the CLI only one which is pfctl (Packet Filtering).
Note: ipfw is depreciated in Mountain Lion.
There is a third-party tool for configuring pfctl called IceFloor. Be careful though, I managed to screw up a system with it, as always make sure you have a backup before making changes.
See http://www.hanynet.com/icefloor/

Mountain Lion Server Web Server not working after time machine restore

Our Mountain Lion Server (mac mini) lost its drive yesterday. We got a new mac mini and did a time machine restore. Everything in the Server seems to be working (users, groups, file shares, etc) except for the web server.
Trying to connect to the server results in safari not being able to connect to the server. Even just clicking on the "view server website" link in the Server app doesn't work.
We've tried stopping / restarting the services. We have confirmed that the files in Library / Server with the web pages were restored.
Are there any gotchas, troubleshooting steps or guides anyone can point me to? I'd like to get our wiki back.
Thanks
Jeff

/var/log/apache2/error_log repeats the following lines about every 30 seconds:
[Tue May 07 18:44:15 2013] [error] Init: Pass phrase incorrect
[Tue May 07 18:44:15 2013] [error] SSL Library Error: 218710120 error:0D094068:asn1 encoding routines:d2i_ASN1_SET:bad tag
[Tue May 07 18:44:15 2013] [error] SSL Library Error: 218529960 error:0D0680A8:asn1 encoding routines:ASN1_CHECK_TLEN:wrong tag
[Tue May 07 18:44:15 2013] [error] SSL Library Error: 218595386 error:0D07803A:asn1 encoding routines:ASN1_ITEM_EX_D2I:nested asn1 error
[Tue May 07 18:44:15 2013] [error] SSL Library Error: 218734605 error:0D09A00D:asn1 encoding routines:d2i_PrivateKey:ASN1 lib
[Tue May 07 18:44:26 2013] [crit] (17)File exists: mod_rewrite: Parent could not create RewriteLock file /var/log/apache2/rewrite.lock
Configuration Failed

I recently (4 days ago) bought a Mac mini server with 10.7 lion; will I qualify for a free upgrade to Mountain Lion Server?

How has Apple honoured buyers of other releases of OS X immediately before a new version was announced?

omnomnomz wrote:
How has Apple honoured buyers of other releases of OS X immediately before a new version was announced?
I recently (4 days ago) bought a Mac mini server with 10.7 lion; will I qualify for a free upgrade to Mountain Lion Server?
Mtn Lion not due out until the Summer, so no, you will not get a free upgrade.

OSX server - Comment on Wiki (Mountain Lion Server) does not work

OSX server - Comment on Wiki (Mountain Lion Server) does not work - it always give an error "Comment could not be saved, please try again" eitheir upgrade from Lion Server or fresh install.

sorry, I had been allowed anyone to comment, and use wiki owner user also.

I am running Mountain Lion Server, and the App Store indicates an upgrade to Server.App version 2.2.5. When I try to upgrade it will not install. Is that because OSX8 is no longer supported; and if so, is there an alternate source for this upgrade if

Mountain Lion Server.app no longer supported?

Probably a long shot, but try resetting the App Store and Clearing Cookies.
Reset Learned from Old Toad
Resume Interrupted Downloads
Sign in Doesn’t Appear/Accept Text
Software Update - Adjust
Software Update – Stop it From bugging you
App Store support. There is troubleshooting and a contact link.
Support

Will Mountain Lion Server be slower that Lion Server on my 2009 Mac Mini?

I have a 2009 Mac Mini running Lion Server. Specs are: 2.0 GHz 8 GB ram.
As always, I'm wanting to reap the benefits of the latest OS without upgrading my hardware. I know mirroring won't be supported, but who cares about that on a server.
Does anybody have Mountain Lion on a similar setup?

We've found Mountain Lion Server to run just as fast as Lion. MLS boots a bit slower on our Mac minis, but it's
neglegable.
Also have had trouble migrating from Lion and 10.6.8 server to Mountain Lion Server. Issues with Open Directory and Mail.
Hope Apple puts out a .1 release to address the issues soon.

Smooth transition from Mountain Lion Server to Mavericks Server 3.0!!

After an new OS release that are always complaints about installation and configuration problems. First comers to using any new software tool provide valuable feedback we generally hope will help improve the new product. It's how things have worked since the first 6503 Apple II's and 8086 IBM PC's.
I've been using and upgrading PC's since THOSE DINOSAURS! And I can't remember EVER having an OS upgrade go as smoothly as my recent upgrade from Mountain Lion Server (OS X 10.8.5 w. Server 2.2.2) to Mavericks Server 3.0.
I chose to do a clean Mavericks install on a clean partition created on a 1 TB disk that was upgraded into my trusty MacBook. I used the DiskmakerX app to create a Mavericks installation USB drive. When the screen came up with the option to import users, programs & files (took a pass on email) from the Mountain Lion Server partition, I let it run overnight to transpose everything of value into the clean Mavericks installation.
The next morning the only program that wasn't PERFECTLY installed and configured on Mavericks was Server 2.2.2. I deleted it and bought/installed Server 3.0. After Server 3.0's setup ran that only thing I had to do manually was start Postgres! My domain setting, DNS, all my web applications that were set up on Mountain Lion Server were all GOOD TO GO again on Mavericks Server!
I'm disclosing this here, publicly because it was a BIG PAIN to install and deploy all my websites using Mountain Lion's server app. To say the easy transposition into Server 3.0 was an unexpected and pleasant surprise amounts to massive understatement.
Now I'm going to describe two small anomolies I've noticed in either Mavericks or Server 3.0 that other users might want to be on the lookout for. They're not fatal. But they might be "habringers" suggesting underlying problems in either the new OS or the new Server's internals.
The toolbar icon for TimeMachine doesn't "spin" when it backs up. It's not a big deal. But it's convenient to see the circle around the clock whirling so we know when TIme Machine is backing up.
Mavericks Server isn't reporting newly upgraded apps as available under the Updates Tab of the Server's Software Updates subsystem. It might be inconsequential. But with a new OS version it never hurts to let the developers know about the "little things" that don't apparently work.
Kudos to the Maverick's developers for releasing an OS X version that's THIS CLEAN. And hugs to Apple's management for making it a free download upgrade for developers!!!
Full disclosue: I don't now and never have worked for Apple. but I do own a few shares of Apple stock that we purchased many years ago at $14.00 / share. I'm not a big shareholder. But based on my recent seamless upgrades to Mavericks and iIOS 7, I'm a happy one who's not likely to sell any time soon.
If Apple can do for ALL THEIR HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE PRODUCTS what they seem to have done for OS X and iOS, they've got at least a fighting chance to recover from their losses after their stock peaked at about $700.00 /share.
Keep up the good work!
Dr. Bob Blomeyer

After an new OS release that are always complaints about installation and configuration problems. First comers to using any new software tool provide valuable feedback we generally hope will help improve the new product. It's how things have worked since the first 6503 Apple II's and 8086 IBM PC's.
I've been using and upgrading PC's since THOSE DINOSAURS! And I can't remember EVER having an OS upgrade go as smoothly as my recent upgrade from Mountain Lion Server (OS X 10.8.5 w. Server 2.2.2) to Mavericks Server 3.0.
I chose to do a clean Mavericks install on a clean partition created on a 1 TB disk that was upgraded into my trusty MacBook. I used the DiskmakerX app to create a Mavericks installation USB drive. When the screen came up with the option to import users, programs & files (took a pass on email) from the Mountain Lion Server partition, I let it run overnight to transpose everything of value into the clean Mavericks installation.
The next morning the only program that wasn't PERFECTLY installed and configured on Mavericks was Server 2.2.2. I deleted it and bought/installed Server 3.0. After Server 3.0's setup ran that only thing I had to do manually was start Postgres! My domain setting, DNS, all my web applications that were set up on Mountain Lion Server were all GOOD TO GO again on Mavericks Server!
I'm disclosing this here, publicly because it was a BIG PAIN to install and deploy all my websites using Mountain Lion's server app. To say the easy transposition into Server 3.0 was an unexpected and pleasant surprise amounts to massive understatement.
Now I'm going to describe two small anomolies I've noticed in either Mavericks or Server 3.0 that other users might want to be on the lookout for. They're not fatal. But they might be "habringers" suggesting underlying problems in either the new OS or the new Server's internals.
The toolbar icon for TimeMachine doesn't "spin" when it backs up. It's not a big deal. But it's convenient to see the circle around the clock whirling so we know when TIme Machine is backing up.
Mavericks Server isn't reporting newly upgraded apps as available under the Updates Tab of the Server's Software Updates subsystem. It might be inconsequential. But with a new OS version it never hurts to let the developers know about the "little things" that don't apparently work.
Kudos to the Maverick's developers for releasing an OS X version that's THIS CLEAN. And hugs to Apple's management for making it a free download upgrade for developers!!!
Full disclosue: I don't now and never have worked for Apple. but I do own a few shares of Apple stock that we purchased many years ago at $14.00 / share. I'm not a big shareholder. But based on my recent seamless upgrades to Mavericks and iIOS 7, I'm a happy one who's not likely to sell any time soon.
If Apple can do for ALL THEIR HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE PRODUCTS what they seem to have done for OS X and iOS, they've got at least a fighting chance to recover from their losses after their stock peaked at about $700.00 /share.
Keep up the good work!
Dr. Bob Blomeyer

Unable to add/remove users in Mountain Lion Server (Options are greyed out)

For some reason, im unable to add/remove users in Mountain Lion server. The + and - are greyed out. It seems like something is wrong with the permissons because it looks like it cant write the the Ldav3 file (although that may be speculation). Does anyone have any advice for me? I URGENTLY need to add users.
Maybe theres a way to restore default permssions for the boot drive (if that in fact is the issue). Hopefully there is a way that I can fix this while leaving all users, groups, their permissions and shares intact.

Anything interesting and relevent in the server logs?
Anything interesting in the server alerts?
Since it's far and away the most common cause of problems with OS X Server and with distributed authentication (Open Directory is entirely based on network encryption and digital certificates and on responses from your local DNS server(s)), verify your local DNS configuration is working and requires no changes with the following Terminal.app (Applications > Utilities) harmless, diagnostic command:
sudo changeip -checkhostname
sudo requires an administrative password. You might get a one-time warning about the sudo, and that can safely be ignored. The command will display some details, and indicate whether the local configuration appears valid and no changes are required, or further diagnostics for (most) common errors that can arise.

Configuring postfix on Mountain Lion Server

I'm trying to upgrade from Snow Leopard Server to Mountain Lion Server and did an install of Mountain Lion Server on top of a working instance of Snow Leopard Server. The "crippled" GUI on Mountain Lion Server is forcing me into using terminal to configure Postfix to handle incoming email.
I would like to configure Postfix to only accept email that is forwarded from a gmail business account. The public email address is [email protected] which is received by Google Mail, goes through their spam filters and then is auto-forwarded to [email protected]
The server WAN domain is nonpublic.com The ip address is 96.231.165.126
The server LAN is nonpublic.local The ip address is 10.6.18.201
The server is a MacMini running Mountain Lion Server 10.6.8 hostname server so the FQDN is server.public.com.
The network on the MacMini is configured to handle both LAN and WAN traffic through the 1GB physical ethernet port which plugs into a CISCO 3750 switch. The external traffic to the WAN flows through the switch as tagged packets. The LAN traffic is not tagged. The VLAN connection is running 802.1q
When an email is sent through the WAN to [email protected] the Postfix SMTP log shows:
Jun 7 19:29:22 server.public.com postfix/smtpd[42181]: connect from cisco.public.com[96.231.165.123]
Jun 7 19:29:22 server.public.com postfix/smtpd[42181]: disconnect from cisco.public.com[96.231.165.123]
I can send emails from a client on the LAN through this server with no problems. The incoming mail server can connect to the machine via the Cisco router/switch but Postfix just shows "cisco" as the connection (that's the router's DNS name) and provides no more info. I suspect Postfix possibly doesn't like the 802.1q connection and drops the SMTP request to connect on port 25.
I have turned on "debug" logging in Postfix, but that is all that appears in the SMTP log file
I've spent most of the week reading through everything I can find on how to install and configure postfix on Mountain Lion Server and work around the cripled GUI in the "server" application. I'm barely OK using Terminal and not familiar at all with configuring Postfix directling editing the config file.
What is the best approach to configure Postfix to allow SMTP connections from the outside to deliver incoming email that is forwarded from gmail.com?
I did find an "aliases" file in /etc/postfix/aliases but I'm not sure how to add the aliases and if adding aliases with a text editor is going to cause the "server" app problems and if the changes will be lost when the machine is restarted.
Any help would be appreciated.

MrHoffman, thank you for your response to my challenge to get the new test server working. This is a migration from Snow Leopard Server to Mountain Lion Server.
Here is the "checkhostname" test results:
blue:~ admin$ sudo changeip -checkhostname
Password:
Primary address     = 96.231.165.211
Current HostName    = blue.pderby.com
DNS HostName        = blue.pderby.com
The names match. There is nothing to change.
dirserv:success = "success"
blue:~ admin$
Here is the response from postconf -n
blue:~ admin$ postconf -n
biff = no
command_directory = /usr/sbin
config_directory = /etc/postfix
daemon_directory = /usr/libexec/postfix
data_directory = /var/lib/postfix
debug_peer_level = 2
debugger_command = PATH=/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin xxgdb $daemon_directory/$process_name $process_id & sleep 5
dovecot_destination_recipient_limit = 1
html_directory = /usr/share/doc/postfix/html
imap_submit_cred_file = /Library/Server/Mail/Config/postfix/submit.cred
inet_interfaces = loopback-only
inet_protocols = all
mail_owner = _postfix
mailbox_size_limit = 0
mailq_path = /usr/bin/mailq
manpage_directory = /usr/share/man
message_size_limit = 10485760
mydomain_fallback = localhost
newaliases_path = /usr/bin/newaliases
queue_directory = /Library/Server/Mail/Data/spool
readme_directory = /usr/share/doc/postfix
recipient_delimiter = +
sample_directory = /usr/share/doc/postfix/examples
sendmail_path = /usr/sbin/sendmail
setgid_group = _postdrop
smtpd_tls_ciphers = medium
smtpd_tls_exclude_ciphers = SSLv2, aNULL, ADH, eNULL
tls_random_source = dev:/dev/urandom
unknown_local_recipient_reject_code = 550
use_sacl_cache = yes
blue:~ admin$
I agree that I should change the LAN domain from .local to something like .internal or whatever.   I've been running with .local for 5 years on snow leopard server and never had any problems so that was a low priority.
I hope I'm just not seeing some obvious setting in main.cf

Complications migrating from Snow Leopard Server to Mountain Lion Server.

I'm migrating from Snow Leopard Server to Mountain Lion Server. The article "OS X Server: Upgrade and migration" (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5381) says
"Make sure that any DNS or DHCP servers on which your server depends remain running during the upgrade"
This advice is reinforced by the details of the article "OS X Server: Steps to take before upgrading or migrating the Open Directory database" (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5300).
As the server I'm migrating from provides these services it will need to be running during the migration process. This would seem to limit my options to doing the migration from a Time Machine backup (or, making a seperate clone of the server's drive and connecting it externally to the new box)
My main concern is the seemingly inevitable clash that is going to occur on the network as the new server takes on the roles of the old one - while it is still running.
What are my options here ?
This is my second attempt as on my first try I did the migration from the TM backup with the network down - and none of my local network users or their home directories were migrated, although the settings for the mount points were, but there were no actual directories where they pointed to!
Clear directions on how to procede would be VERY MUCH appreciated
Thank you.

Moving from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion means first installing the client (non-Server) version of Mountain Lion and then install Server.app this means that for at least part of the process you will not be running DNS, DHCP or Open Directory.
If you are going to end up using the same DNS name and IP address after the change then an approach you could follow would be as follows.
Destroy any Open Directory replicas
Archive your Open Directory Master (to make a backup)
Note down your DNS records in case they get messed up
Export via Workgroup Manager your users, and groups (you might not need this but better safe than sorry), make sure you do not include the diradmin account
Keep a full back of the server (you should always have backups)
Note down your DHCP server settings in case they get messed up
Note down any other service settings
Install Mountain Lion
Install Server.app
Install Workgroup Manager (extra free download)
Run Server.app
Make sure settings for services are as much as possible the same as before
If your lucky that may be all you need to do, otherwise...
Restore Open Directory archive, if your lucky that will be all you need to do, otherwise...
Make new Open Directory Master
Run Workgroup Manager
Import users and groups you previously exported
You will then have to set passwords for each user as these are not preserved via Workgroup Manager export
When I did this, I was also being forced to change all my IP addresses so I had no choice but to use Workgroup Manager to export and import accounts.

Upgrade to Mac OS X Mountain Lion server

Hi folks,
I just bought the OS X Lion server for $49.99 and installed it on my Macbook Pro.
However when I upgraded to Mountain Lion, it no longer works, that's obvious.
So my question is that will get a free upgrad to Mountain Lion server or I need to buy the it which now @ $19.99?
Can anyone clarrify me?

Sorry but the Server that runs in 10.7 is incompatible with 10.8, it has an entirely different folder structure. If your Server purchase was recent you may want to ask about a free upgrade, but don't know what the procedure is. Good luck with that.

Mountain Lion Server bond support?

After migration to new Mountain Lion Server from Snow Leopard Server, the Server App don't recognize the Ethernet aggregation of my Mac Pro! The services that was active in Snow Leopard Server are active, but if I try to stop the service of net install I don't try to restar the services because there isn't no interface!!!!! it's Possible? And probably it's the same for the other services!!!

Yea, I actually run our current SUS on an older Mac Pro. It provides both Apple software updates and Adobe software updates (for our Adobe deployments) and is dedicated to these two services. My primary server (running Mountain Lion—capable of Mavericks, but again, because of the File Sharing issues in Mavericks Server, we're sticking with ML Server for the time being) is a loaded 2009 Xserve—which I don't run "secondary services" (my term <G>), like SUS, on.
Unfortunately, the current SUS box won't do Mavericks Server (though, I have tested running a VM of Mavericks Server, just for SUS and Caching, inside the physical OS, and it worked fine, but seemed like a waste of system resources and just really didn't make much sense—and a bare metal install doesn't work because of RAID, etc.), so I was considering the Caching Service in ML as an alternative (if it did, in fact, feed Mavericks clients). I realize I could just "turn it on" and see what happens, but would rather look into first (as I assumed others would have ML Caching Service on, and probably had Mavericks clients on the network, so would have the info I was looking for).
Anyway, at this point, unless ML Server Caching Service will do the trick, Reposado it is.
k.

Will OS X Mountain Lion Server work full feature with PC Clients?

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