[box type="tick" style="rounded" border="full"]Download the Using Apple OS X Lion Server at Home eBook Now
If you've been enjoying our Using Apple OS X Lion Server as a Home Server series, then make sure you pick up a copy of the accompanying eBook. You'll find additional chapters and information on using OS X Lion Server to power your digital home that won't be available here on the site, and with all of our walkthroughs available in one convenient document (ePub or PDF), it's far easier to install and configure your server without having to click backward and forwards to the website.
Buy Using OS X Lion Server at Home – £14.99
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[box type="info" style="rounded" border="full"]Articles in this series…
- Introduction
- Choosing Your Hardware
- Features
- Installation
- The Server App
- Storage and Network Configuration
- Users and Groups Configuration
- Profile Manager and Macs [eBook Exclusive]
- Profile Manager and iOS Devices [eBook Exclusive]
- File and Folder Sharing
- Shared Address Book [eBook Exclusive]
- Shared Calendar [eBook Exclusive]
- iChat Server
- Time Machine Backup
- Windows PC Backup [eBook Exclusive]
- VPN Configuration [eBook Exclusive]
- Websites, Blogs and Wikis
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Way back at the beginning of the series, we discussed the core features of a home server, and we’ve walked through most of those features as they appear in OS X Lion Server. In the last chapter, I showed you how to set up and configure the platform’s VPN server for remote access to files and folders. But we can also access a richer view of published content on the server (both internally and remotely) via a web browser, by setting up Apple’s Web and Wiki Servers.
Before switching on these two features, OS X Lion Server’s Remote Access experience in the web browser is restricted to a splash page, remote calendar (if enabled) and access to Profile Manager.
However, enable the Web and Wiki Servers and things will look a lot different. Before diving into the features they unlock, let’s get set up. At this point, I’m assuming that you have already configured your server’s domain name, DNS and have forwarded the necessary ports (80 and 443 in this case) on your router to point at the server. If you missed those steps, head back to the server configuration chapters at the beginning of the book.
Starting the Lion Server Web Server
On your OS X Lion Server, open up the Server app and in the left hand pane, select Web. It’s a straightforward panel with the usual On/Off switch and a listing for your default website. More on that shortly. Throw the large On switch, and allow the server to grind away a little as it sets up and configures the Apache-powered web server and associated services.
In the Web Sites section, you should see an entry already listed. This is your default web site, with your Fully Qualified Domain Name (which can be a standard domain like a .com, or .private depending on your server setup) alongside the web site’s default location on the server. Once switched on, you’ll see a link at the bottom of the panel to View Server Web Site (you can guess what that one does, right?), but before we do that, let’s switch on the Wiki Server as well.
Starting the Lion Server Wiki Server
Wikis are a great way of building a displaying information digitally, as anyone who has used Wikipedia will testify. The concept is reasonably simple – pages of information which can be edited and added to by contributors with changes authorised and published by editors. OS X Lion Server ships with an integrated Wiki server which allows the creation and hosting of your own Wiki – perfect for computer projects, hobbies, business use and more.
In the Server app, click the Wiki link in the left hand pane.
The Wiki configuration panel in Server app is even more minimalist than the Web Server panel. You can choose who is able to create Wikis (all users, or only specific users) via the drop down menu and… well, that’s about it. Throw the On switch and the magic begins.
