I’ve written about SQLite databases here and there over the years. A number of Apple tools and third party tools for the platform run on SQLite and it’s usually a pretty straight forward process to get into a database and inspect what’s there and how you might programmatically interact with tools that store data in SQLite. And I’ll frequently use a tool like Navicat to quickly and visually hop in and look at what happens when I edit data that then gets committed to the database. But I don’t always have tools like that around. So when I want to inspect new databases, or at least those new to me,…
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Use Time Machine Server In Mavericks Server To Backup Macs
The Time Machine service in Mountain Lion Server hasn’t changed much from the service in Lion Server. To enable the Time Machine service, open the Server app, click on Time Machine in the SERVICES sidebar. If the service hasn’t been enabled to date, the ON/OFF switch will be in the OFF position and no “Backup destination” will be shown in the Settings pane. Click on the ON button to see the New Destination screen, used to configure a list of volumes as a destinations for Time Machine backups. The selection volume should be large enough to have space for all of the users that can potentially use the Time Machine…
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Configure Volume Shadow Copy on Windows Server
Working with Shadow Copy requires elevated privileges. I usually access Shadow Copy through vssuirun. This prompts for elevating privileges. Once open, use the Settings pane to select the volume you’d like to schedule backups to. Then choose how much space shadow copies can use. Click on the Schedule button to configure how frequently backups run. I usually try to time these things for when the server isn’t slammed. Otherwise you might run into issues. By default, Shadow Copy keeps 64 versions of each file. Running snapshots every hour. You can restore easily, by selecting a volume, although volume-based restores are not supported on system derives. Restores can be done using…
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Using Payload Variables in Profile Manager
Profile Manager allows you to leave certain fields that are user-centric blank and it will prompt at the time that the profile is installed for the blank information. These are usually user-centric fields, such as short name and password. You can also create a profile in Profile Manager for each user you want to setup mail, Exchange, iCal, Address Book and other services that are tied to a specific user. You can enter the username for each and leave the password blank and the user will be prompted for the password but have the username filled in. And then there are payload variables. Note: Before we get started on Payload…
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Fixing Service Issues When Upgrading to 10.7.3 Server
The 10.7.2 to 10.7.3 update for Lion Server has introduced a few issues in some environments that I’ve seen. It just so happens that the update corrects a lot of behavior with Lion Server while also introducing new features, so it’s something you’re gonna’ need to do eventually. Therefore, before I update, I would strongly recommend backing up all of your services, your service data and Open Directory. Once you’ve run the 10.7.3 update, there are a few things that I’ve seen happen. The first is that the web server won’t start. If this happens, reset the web server back to factory default: serveradmin command web:command=restoreFactorySettings Once it’s reset, you…
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Mac OS X: Use dscl to find the GUID for a user
To find the GUID for the cedge user, use the following command: dscl . -read /Users/cedge GeneratedUID