Setting Up Your Server with Server Assistant | Apple Pro Training Series: Xsan Quick-Reference Guide (2nd Edition)

Assuming that Mac OS X Server has been properly installed on your server, you will use Server Assistant to configure your headless Xserve G5. You can use an Xsan client or your MacBook Pro to configure your server. Create a network connection using DHCP, and connect this system to the server (either directly or through a switch).

Run Server Assistant (Applications > Server > Server Assistant) and choose Set up a Remote Server.

The destination window searches for all servers visible via Bonjour.

Select the server that you wish to configure, and enter the password in the Password field. The password will be the first eight digits of the serial number of the server. In some cases (in older servers or where the logic board has been replaced), use 12345678 as the password.

Click Continue.

You will be granted access to set up the server.

Choose the desired language for your server.

Enter the serial number for Mac OS X Server (provided in your documentation).

The Administrator Account window appears. This will be the admin for the Xserve as well as the admin for the entire SAN. Be careful when giving out this information.

The Network Names window lets you assign what the metadata controller will be called by other controllers and clients.

It is important to note that the hostname of this server will be mdc. Normally, an FQDM (fully qualified domain name) would be used here, such as www.apple.com. Since our SAN does not require access to the public Internet, and does not need to be resolved by other users, we can safely place a non-FQDM name in the Local HostName field.

In the Network Interfaces window, we are able to assign protocols to physical interfaces. We will be using Built-in Ethernet 1 for connection to the metadata network using TCP/IP protocol. In the case where you are administering a separate LDAP server, you might want to enable TCP/IP on Built-in Ethernet 2. If you forget to set it up, it can always be configured after the server has been set up.

The next window, TCP/IP Connection, will assign the static IP to your metadata controller (choose Manually from the pop-up menu). This IP can be one of any number of supported non-routed IP addresses. They include:

Private Address Range	Associated Subnet Mask	Comments
10.0.0.0-10.255.255.255	255.0.0.0 - Class A	10/8
172.16.0.0-172.31.255.255	255.240.0.0 - Class B	172.16/12
192.168.0.0-192.168.255.255	255.255.0.0 - Class C	192.168/16

Here is an example of a possible implementation:

IP Address	System Name
10.1.0.1	Primary metadata controller
10.1.0.2	Secondary metadata controller
10.1.0.101	Client #1
10.1.0.102	Client #2
10.1.0.103	Client #3
10.1.0.162	Client #62

(You can have a total of 64 nodes on Xsan, thus the last client would be client #62.)

This example uses the 10.0.0.010.255.255.255 address range for the metadata network.

The Directory Usage window allows you to determine whether the server you are configuring is to be used as a stand-alone server, an Open Directory master, an Open Directory replica, or whether it is connected to a directory system.

Note: In this instance, we will not be entering a Router address for the NIC connected to the metadata network. You will receive a warning stating "The host portion of the Router Address cannot be all zeros. Do you want to cancel and make changes or continue?" Click continue to advance to the next step.

Choose Standalone Server for the directory usage. This will assume that we are not hosting a directory server on this metadata controller. If you must use this primary metadata controller as an Open Directory master, it is recommended that you choose Standalone Master. You can use Server Admin to promote the server to an Open Directory master after the server has been configured.

Note that the primary metadata controller should be running as few services as possible. This means that FTP, AFP, NFS, mail, and other services should reside on other servers. This keeps the additional network traffic to a minimum and allows the metadata controller to focus primarily on metadata token passing.

10.

The Services window allows you to enable the services that you would like the server to run. One service that is extremely helpful to enable is the Apple Remote Desktop Client service. This will start the ARD service on the server so that after a restart you will be able to remotely administer your metadata controller with Apple Remote Desktop.

11.

Confirm your settings in the next window, and you are finished with Server Assistant. The server will restart and be ready for Xsan Admin to be installed.