• Mac OS X Server

    Manage Groups in OS X Server 5

    There are a number of ways to create groups in OS X Server 5, running on Yosemite or El Capitan. The first is using the Server app, the second is using Workgroup Manager (which requires a little work to get working in El Capitan), the third is using the Users & Groups System Preference pane and the fourth is using the command line. In this article we will look at creating groups in the Server app. Once a server has been an Open Directory Master all user and group accounts created will be in the Local Network Group when created in Server app. Before that, all user and group objects…

  • Mac OS X Server

    Demote An Open Directory Server In OS X Server 5

    OS X Server, Server 5, El Capitan Server can have problems with Open Directory. Sometimes, you just need to reset your directory service. You can demote and restore the server if needed. But buyer beware, you may end up screwing things up while the directory server is being demoted and you’re restoring a backup. Or if you haven’t built out the directory server, you may end up just demoting the server and starting over. In this article, we’ll look at demoting the server. To get started demoting the Open Directory master, first open the Server app and then click on Open Directory. From the Open Directory screen, click on the minus button…

  • Mac OS X Server

    Configure the Calendar Server In El Capitan Server

    Configuring Calendar Server in OS X Server 5 (running on El Capitan or Yosemite) is a fairly simple and straight forward process. The Calendar Server is a CalDAV Server, leveraging HTTP and HTTPS, running on ports 8008 and 8443 respectively. To enable the Calendar service in OS X Server (Server 5), open the Server application and click on Calendar in the SERVICES section of the sidebar. Once open, click on Enable invitations by email to enable email notifications of invitations in the Calendar Server. Provide the email address and then click on the Next button. At the Configure Server Email Address screen, provide the type of incoming mail service in use, provide the…

  • Mac OS X Server

    Manage Users In OS X Server 5

    There are four ways to create users in OS X Server 5, running on El Capitan or Yosemite. The first is using the Server app, the second is using Workgroup Manager (which barely works in OS X El Capitan and won’t install in El Capitan by default), the third is using the Users & Groups System Preference pane and the fourth is using the command line. In this article we will look at creating users in the Server app. To do so, open the Server app and connect to your server. Then click on the Users entry in the ACCOUNTS list. The list of users is displayed, based on the directory…

  • Mac OS X Server

    Demote Open Directory Servers In OS X Server 5 Using The Command Line

    The command to create and tear down an Open Directory environment is slapconfig. When you disable Open Directory from the Server app you aren’t actually removing users. To do so, you’d use slapconfig along with the -destroyldapserver. When run, you get a little insight into what’s happening behind the scenes. This results in the following: bash-3.2# slapconfig -destroyldapserver The logs are as follows: 2015-09-08 04:17:58 +0000 slapconfig -destroyldapserver 2015-09-08 04:17:58 +0000 Deleting Cert Authority related data 2015-09-08 04:17:58 +0000 Removed directory at path /var/root/Library/Application Support/Certificate Authority/Krypted Open Directory Certificate Authority. 2015-09-08 04:17:58 +0000 command: /usr/sbin/xscertadmin add –reason 5 –issuer Krypted Open Directory Certificate Authority –serial 3449505949 2015-09-08 04:18:19 +0000 command:…

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

    Xsan Command Line Options

    Let’s start out with what’s actually available in the Server Admin CLI: serveradmin. The serveradmin command, followed by settings, followed by san shows a few pieces of information: bash-3.2# serveradmin settings san
san:computers = _empty_array
san:primaryController = "95C99FB1-80F2-5016-B9C3-BE3916E6E5DC"
san:ownerEmail = "krypted@me.com"
san:sanName = "krypted"
san:desiredSearchPolicy:_array_index:0 = ""
san:serialNumbers = _empty_array
san:dsType = 0
san:ownerName = "Charles Edge"
san:managePrivateNetwork = yes
san:metadataNetwork = "10.0.0.0/24"
san:numberOfFibreChannelPorts = 2
san:role = "CONTROLLER" Here, we see the metadata network, the GUID of the primary (active) MDC, the name of the SAN, an array of serial numbers (if applicable – in a purely Mountain Lion/Mavericks SAN they aren’t), the owner info plugged in earlier and the metadata network interface being used. Next, we’ll take a peak at…

  • Mac OS X Server

    Configure The Mail Service in OS X Server 5

    Mail is one of the hardest services to manage. Actually, mail is pretty simple in and of itself: there’s protocols people use to access their mail (such as IMAP and POP), protocols used to communicate between mail servers and send mail (SMTP, SMTPS) and then there’s a database of mail and user information. In OS X Server 5 for El Capitan and Yosemite, all of these are represented by a single ON button, so it really couldn’t be easier. But then there’s the ecoysystem and the evil spammers. As a systems administrator of a large number of mail servers, I firmly believe that there is a special kind of hell where…

  • Mac OS X Server

    Setup FTP in OS X Server 5 for El Capitan and Yosemite

    OS X Server 5 (for El Capitan and Yosemite) sees little change with the FTP Service. Instead of sharing out each directory the new incantation of the FTP service allows administrators to share a single directory out. This directory can be any share that has previously been configured in the File Sharing service or a website configured in the Websites service. To setup FTP, first open the Server app and then click on the FTP service. Once open, use the Share: drop-down list to select a share that already exists (output of sharing -l basically) and click on one of the shares or Custom to create a new share for FTP.…