Following the release back in December of Using OS X Lion Server at Home, I’ve just sent a new edition for the Apple iPad off to the iBookstore for approval. Check out these preview screenshots.
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. Today, I’ll show you how.
So far, remote access to our Lion Server has been restricted to viewing the server webpage and checking out our Calendar remotely. That’s providing a little bit of value, but we need more! The good news is that we can remotely log in to the server from a remote location, and use it just as if we were sitting in front of it at home, using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection. I won’t bore you too much with the technology, but I should cover a couple of things before we get started.
Our Using OS X Lion Server at Home series and eBook has been surprisingly popular – it seems that many WGS readers are planning, or have bought and are configuring Apple’s OS X Lion Server for use as a home server. With a paucity of information out there on working through Lion Server’s (sometimes quirky) configuration and setup, I hope the guide has been useful to everyone whose taken a look at it so far.
For those who haven’t checked it out, and are thinking about a switch then this weekend, we’re running a special 20% discount on all sales of the Using OS X Lion Server at Home eBook!
OK, I know what you’re going to say – in fact, you’ve probably already said it. It’s all very well and good being able to back up my Macs to OS X Server, but hey, what about my PCs? Right at the start of the book, I mentioned that we’d look after you if you had a mixed PC and Mac home network, so let’s talk about backing up your PCs to Lion Server.
Over the last few parts of our (now extensive) guide to Apple OS X Lion Server, we’ve taken a look at some of the more differentiating features of the platform – namely the Shared Address Book, Shared Calendar and iChat Server. Today we’ll take a step back and look at one of the most important features in any home server platform – client backup.
I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who’s taken time out to read and comment on We Got Served’s OS X Lion Server series, Using OS X Lion Server as a Home Server. It’s been our longest feature series to date (13 parts and still only half way through), and has received hundreds of comments from readers interested in experimenting with a Mac Home Server.
Over the last few months, I’ve had quite a few comments asking for the series to be presented in full in PDF or eBook format – now it’s here!
Our run through of OS X Lion Server continues with one of the platform’s smaller features, but one that may well be useful to some in the home. iChat is Apple’s instant messaging service, and will be a familiar sight to Mac users. It offers text, voice and video messaging across the Internet in its standard guide (that is, when used on a Mac client without a server) but with Lion Server installed on your network, iChat can also be used locally around the home.
If you’ve been following our series on using OS X Lion Server as a Home Server then you’ll know that last time we configured our Mac Server and clients (including iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad) to take advantage of a shared family address book – one contacts list that can be used by the whole family, available from any Mac or iOS device in the home (or mobile). That’s one really useful feature of Lion Server, and along similar lines you’ll find a shared calendar for the family equally useful for tracking family events on a day to day basis. Let’s take a look at getting it set up.
In the last part of our series, we looked at File and Folder Sharing – one of the foundation elements of a server platform. In the next few parts, we’ll be looking more at the applications which are bundled with OS X Lion Server. First off, it’s the turn of Lion Server’s Address Book, a central repository of contacts which can be searched and accessed by users and devices across your home network.
In the last two parts of our OS X Lion Server series, we took a detailed look at one of the more advanced aspects of the platform, in the shape of Lion’s Profile Manager. Today, we’re going back to basics with a look at one of the most vital aspects of a server platform – file and folder sharing. For those of you in all Mac households, you’ll quite rightly expect Lion Server file and folder sharing to work out of the box, and (barring any bugs) that’s pretty much what you’ll get. But with many WGS readers running or considering running mixed Mac and PC infrastructures, how well does OS X Lion Server play in that scenario? Let’s find out.
If you read Part 8 of our series, then you’ll now be comfortable using the Profile Manager to remotely configure various user and device settings on your Mac clients. One of the great new features in OS X Lion Server, however, is the extension of the Profile Manager to support remote configuration of iOS devices as well – iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches. Obviously, there’s an increase of these devices (certainly the first two) in business, so it makes sense for Apple to include management support in their server platform, but it’s also a great addition for those thinking about Lion Server in the home.
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