How to use this book

This book is written as a guide to the basic setup and management of Mac OS X Server. Before you start working with Mac OS X Server, you'll want to install the Mac OS X Server Administration tools on your Mac OS X computer and run Software Update so you can manage your server remotely (these tools can be found on Apple's support Web site, at www.apple.com/support). You'll also want to have the Terminal application handy, possibly placing it in your Dock, and you'll want to know a little about the network on which you're installing Mac OS X Server, such as what IP addresses are used on that network and whether that network is totally off or is connected to the Internet.

You'll also want to familiarize yourself with three main tools: Server Assistant, Server Admin, and Workgroup Manager. Learn how to stop and start services and to change directories in Workgroup Manager, and quickly run through the process of setting up a server.

When you're ready to go, you can use this book in a variety of ways. You can leaf through the chapters and tasks, locating just the tasks that interest you and following them from beginning to end. You can also read the book from beginning to end, following all the tasks along the way. As you will see, Mac OS X Server uses many services, and many of them are interrelated.

Chapters 1 and 2 describe the components of Mac OS X Server and how to install Mac OS X Server on your Mac. Chapter 3 discusses Open Directory, explaining in clear and concise language what Open Directory is and its potential uses with Mac OS X Server; if you are totally new to Mac OS X Server, you may want to read the DNS section of Chapter 6 in conjunction with Chapter 3. Chapter 4 focuses on user and group management, though users of Mac OS X Server in the educational field will appreciate the user, group, and computer management discussions in Chapter 13. Chapter 5 discusses file sharing and access to share points. Chapters 6 through 12 describe the services Mac OS X has to offer. Chapter 6 explores services such as DNS, DHCP, and network address translation. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 discuss, respectively, printing, mail, and Web services. Chapters 10 and 11 describe security and NetBoot. Chapter 12 explains how to set up a QuickTime streaming server.

Note that this book includes some Unix commands, which, in most cases, should be typed on one line. Because some lines are very long, however, they cannot appear on a single line in this book but instead wrap onto subsequent lines. Where this happens, the subsequent lines will be indented and a gray arrow will be used to indicate the line is wrapped.