• Mac OS X Server

    Adding Recursion in named.conf

    In DNS, recursion references the process where a name server will make DNS queries to other name servers on behalf of client systems. Most name servers are simply DNS clients that cache information for a specified amount of time. Recursion is disabled by default on most name servers. In Mac OS X recursion is enabled for subnets local to the server only. In environments where you wish to provide recursive queries you can enable recursion by opening Server Admin, clicking on the disclosure triangle for the server you will be configuring and then clicking on the DNS service. From here, click on the Settings icon in the Server Admin toolbar…

  • Mac OS X Server,  Unix

    Replica Trees & Tuning Open Directory

    You have a fairly large Open Directory environment and you go to add the 33rd replica but you get a funny error that dserr doesn’t have listed. The reason is likely that a single Open Directory Master can only have 32 replicas. However, you can have 32 replicas on each replica (thus having a replica tree), ergo allowing for a total of 1,024 replicas and a master. So rather than bind that 33rd replica to a master, move to a replica tree model, trying to offload replicas in as geographically friendly a fashion as possible (thus reducing slap traffic on your WAN links) by repositioning replicas per site. Similar to…

  • Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security

    Snow Leopard Server & Adaptive Firewalls

    The term Adaptive Firewall can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. In Mac OS X Server it means that if you attempt to logon with an inappropriate password 10 times that a dynamic rule will be created blocking access for the computer that access was attempted from for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes the dynamic rule will be removed from the server. To see the number of Dynamic Rules running on a server, look at the Firewall services Overview tab, or Active Rules. There’s not a timer but it’s pretty easy to see which IPs are blocked. I’ve found it doesn’t always clear out after 15…

  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Xsan

    dotclean and Extended Attributes on Xsan

    If you’ve been upgrading Xsan from version to version without doing a nuke + pave of your volume then you might still not be using extended attributes. Instead you might still be using ._ files, or AppleDouble files. Apple has a script included with Xsan, dotclean, which will go ahead and perform the conversion, although it does take awhile to run according to how many files you have. In order to kick it off, first unmount the volume for all except the controller that will do the conversion. Next, simply open Xsan Admin, click on Volumes and then the volume you wish to enable it for. From here, click on the…

  • Business,  Home Automation,  Mac OS X

    Houseport Z-Wave for Mac Finally Available!!

    I’m a geek, I can’t help it. The Houseport USB Z-Wave Adapter can control 230 devices, set the level of lights that have dimmers, time lighting controls and garage door openers and maintain the actual Z-Wave mesh network. So how could I not be interested?!?! The Wayne Dalton Houseport software and Z-Wave adapter were announced some time ago. Betas went out and got our appetites wet. I have been sitting by my phone waiting for them to call and tell me I can buy it for months! Now, you can finally buy the Houseport software and adapter at http://www.smarthomeusa.com/ShopByManufacturer/Wayne-Dalton/Item/WDUSB-10MAC/ and you can download the manual at http://www.smarthomeusa.com/Products/WDUSB-10MAC/manuals/USB-MAC.pdf. The PC version…

  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mass Deployment

    Apple Remote Desktop Issues + Xsan

    The build_hd_index process is spiking! What to do?!?! In an Xsan environment where you have a number of clients and Apple Remote Desktop is running on an administrative computer, the Application Usage Data and User Accounting Data collectors can cause the build_hd_index process to run more often than is needed (okay so spiking is a bit extreme but a dropped frame once every couple of days is the end of the world to some people), especially in cases where you don’t actually use the collected data for business intelligence. If you do a Get Info on a computer in Remote Desktop you can uncheck Collect Application Usage Data and Collect User…

  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security

    Weird Facebook Spam

    I once denied someone’s request to add me as a friend on Facebook and got an earful about how they bought one of my books and couldn’t believe I would be so rude, etc. Since then I’ve been an open networker on most of the social networks. It’s kinda’ weird sometimes to listen to people talk about how they keep track of their friends through feeds when I have too many to keep track of, but the tools continue to become more sophisticated and I’m getting closer to be able to do so. Having said that, there is a new thing I’ve been noticing recently. Someone adds you as a…

  • Mac OS X Server,  public speaking

    MacWorld Talks

    The first sessions for MacIT have been announced at the talk I will be giving posted on http://www.macworldexpo.com/sessions?s=QEXPOA00009N. In addition, the HandsOn talk I will be giving has been posted at http://www.macworldexpo.com/sessions?s=QEXPOA0000C7. If you only plan on attending the expo then if you register today it’s free! If you plan on attending the sessions then you may have a little more time than deciding today. Either way, you can register for either at the registration page.

  • Mac OS X Server

    15 Changes in Snow Leopard Server

    Now that Mac OS X Server 10.6 has been out for a little while and the new features have able to sink in a bit, it seems like a good time to lay out what those new features are. While on the outside Mac OS X Server 10.6 has been described as a minor update outside of the whole 64-bit thing, it’s worth noting that it sports about as many new features as every version of Mac OS X Server that it follows. These include: NetRestore has been integrated with System Image Utility to facilitate easier creation of NetRestore NetBoot sets, allowing for asr-based restores (asr has not been given…