A nifty little feature of nvram is the ability to delete all of the firmware variables you’ve created. This can get helpful if you’ve got a bunch of things that you’ve done to a system and want to remove them all. If you run nvkram followed by a -p option you’ll see all of the configured firmware variables: nvram -p If you run it with a -d you’ll delete the given variables that you define (e.g. boot-args): nvram -d boot-args But, if you run the -c you’ll wipe them all: nvram -c
-
-
Use serverinfo in macOS Server 5.4 for High Sierra
macOS Server 5.4 (for High Sierra) comes with the /usr/sbin/serverinfo command (which was originally introduced in Mountain Lion Server). The serverinfo command is useful when programmatically obtaining information about the very basic state of an Apple Server. The first option indicates whether the Server app has been downloaded from the app store, which is the –software option: serverinfo --software When used, this option reports the following if the Server.app can be found: This system has server software installed. Or if the software cannot be found, the following is indicated: This system does NOT have server software installed. The –productname option determines the name of the software app: serverinfo --productname If you…
-
Using Wikis In macOS Server 5.4
A wiki is a repository of dynamically created and managed content, or content created or edited by multiple users collaboratively. This article is about using the wiki service in macOS Server 5.4 (the Apple Server app running on 10.13/High Sierra). I reference file services with WebDAV because it is a very nice integration piece that I think a lot of people will find pretty beneficial. To get started with the Wiki service, first turn it on. This one isn’t heavily dependent on host names (other than being able to access the server from a browser) or directory services (other than being able to authenticate users, but local accounts are perfectly functional)…
-
Setup An Open Directory Master In macOS Server 5.4 On High Sierra (10.13)
Open Directory has never been this easy to setup for a basic environment as it is in macOS Server 5.4 (for macOS 10.13 running on High Sierra). As with almost any previous version of macOS Server and Open Directory, once you’ve installed the Server app, run the changeip command along with the -checkhostname option to verify that the IP, DNS and hostname match. If (and only if as it will fail if you try anyway) you get an indication of “Success.” I know, I know, you’ve been told that you didn’t have to do this kind of command line stuff any more… But really, you should – and if you don’t…
-
Configure Xsan Clients Using macOS Server 5.4
Yosemite brought Xsan 4, which included a whole new way to add clients to an Xsan. Xsan Admin is gone, as of El Capitan, but unchanged from then to macOS Sierra (other than a couple of binaries moving around). These days, instead of scanning the network using Xsan Admin. we’ll be adding clients using a Configuration Profile. This is actually a much more similar process to adding Xsan clients to a StorNext environment than it is to adding clients to Metadata Controllers running Xsan 3 and below. But instead of making a fsnameservers file, we’re plugging that information into a profile, which will do that work on the client on our behalf.…
-
statshares in Server 5.4 for macOS High Sierra
The statshares option has an -m option to look at a mount path for showing the path to the mount (e.g. if the mount is called krypted this should be something like /Volumes/krypted): smbutil statshares -m /Volumes/krypted When run, you see a list of all the attributes OS X tracks for that mount path, including the name of the server, the user ID (octal), how SMB negotiated an authentication, what version of SMB is running (e.g. SMB_1), the type of share and whether signing, extended security, Unix and large files are supported. Additionally, if you’d like to see the attributes for all shares, use the -a option after statshares: smbutil…
-
Upgrade macOS Server
The latest version of macOS Server (5.4) is now available to be installed. To do so, first backup your server. Then, backup your server again, making sure you have a functional, bootable clone. Once you’re sure you have a solid backup of your server, open the App Store and search for Server. When you find the Server app, click on it. Once downloaded, you’ll be prompted that the Server app has been replaced.Go into Applications and open the Server app. When prompted, click on Install (or Open if the server is already installed). The download will begin. Once complete, you’ll see a notice that the “Server app replacement detected.” Click OK.…
-
Enable Push Notifications In macOS Server 5.4 On High Sierra
Push Notifications can be used in most every service that macOS Server 5.4 (for High Sierra) can run. Any service that requiring Push Notifications will often provide the ability to setup APNS during the configuration of the service. But at this point, I usually just set up Push Notifications when I setup a new server. To enable Push Notifications for services, you’ll first need to have a valid AppleID. Once you have an AppleID, open the Server app and then click on the name of the server. Then click on the Settings screen and click on the checkbox for Notifications. At the Settings screen for your server, click on the check-box for…
-
Use SSH, ARD, SNMP, And The Server App Remotely on Server 5.4
SSH allows administrators to connect to another computer using a secure shell, or command line environment. ARD (Apple Remote Desktop) allows screen sharing, remote scripts and other administrative goodness. You can also connect to a server using the Server app running on a client computer. To enable any or all of these, open the Server app (Server 5.4 for High Sierra), click on the name of the server, click the Settings tab and then click on the checkbox for what you’d like to enter. All of these can be enabled and managed from the command line as well. The traditional way to enable Apple Remote Desktop is using the kickstart…
-
Before You Upgrade to macOS Server 5.4 on High Sierra (macOS 10.13)
The latest version of the Apple Server app is out (macOS Server 5.4), and before you upgrade, there are a few points to review: As always, make a clone of your computer before upgrading. During the upgrade to High Sierra, if the operating system is running on a solid state drive, the drive will automatically upgrade to APFS. You cannot share APFS volumes over AFP, so if you’re running file services, make sure you’re aware of that. You can choose not to upgrade to APFS using the command line to upgrade a server. Even though the file sharing services are not in the Server app, you can still configure ACLs…