Over the past few years, we’ve reviewed many small business servers, home servers and network attached storage devices and in that time we’ve learned that you can always expect features and performance to improve whilst prices come down. Manufacturers are understandably very keen to persuade mainstream consumers to eschew their USB storage drives in favour of better featured (read: pricier) network attached equivalents – the lower the price of the NAS, the easier it is to turn heads.

With Synology’s DiskStation DS-111, the company’s entry level consumer NAS server, we’re now at the (roughly) £150/$200 mark for a diskless device – still more expensive than direct attached storage (especially with current hard disk prices), but packing a swathe of value added features that you’d previously expect to find only in higher end devices. Whilst the hardcore enthusiast may well prefer a 4-bay powerhouse, could the single bay DS-111 be the right NAS for the masses? Let’s find out.

Features and Specifications

Let’s get one thing straight. Single drive devices can offer a lot of storage nowadays – sure, you miss out on local mirroring and RAID backup for protection, but the DS-111 supports up to 3TB of storage on a 3.5″ drive. 2.5″ drives are also supported, if you have a spare knocking around. Certainly for the average family, 3TB is a veritable server farm of content. If you do wish to expand, you can utilise the 3 on board USB 2.0 ports or the accompanying eSATA port for faster access.

The DS-111 isn’t built around the latest, most powerful kit, but you’ll find a 1.6GHz processor combined with 256MB RAM and Gigabit LAN for networking. Nope it’s not going to do a great job with Call of Duty MW3, but it will be able to push files around the network without too much of problem. The upside? Low power consumption – the DS-111 burns around 19W during disk access and just 8W when the disk spins down.

In terms of operating system, Synology don’t scrimp on software, bundling the DS-111 with their excellent DiskStation Manager OS. Indeed, the entry level device is also supported on the latest DSM 4.0 beta release which has just shipped – that means you get many of the same software features that can be found on much more expensive devices in the Synology range, including the company’s new CloudStation file synchronisation app, media browsing and streaming, file downloading, PC and Mac backup and remote access via your smartphone. Again, let’s remember the price – even with the cost of a hard drive bundled in, it’s an incredible array of features. Synology.com has a full list of features, which you should check out.

What’s in the Box?

Befitting its price, the DiskStation DS-111 ships in a brown cardboard box, which manages to balance humility and aesthetics. It’s not a flashy package, but still looks good. Synology haven’t gone to town inside the box, but you’ll find everything needed to get going, including:

• DiskStation DS-111
• Installation CD/DVD
• Welcome Note
• Assembling Kit
• AC Power Adapter
• AC Power Cord
• 2M RJ-45 LAN Cable

From a design standpoint, Synology are slowly evolving their design away from the industrial aesthetics of previous models to a more consumer friendly look – the DS-111 is no work of art, but you won’t need to but a bag over it when your friends come around either. The front panel is awash with LEDs (Status, LAN, Disk & eSATA at top, power and copy button illumination lower down) and you’ll also find a front facing USB 2.0 port and eSATA for convenient expansion access. The aforementioned copy button pulls content from connected USB devices (cameras, flash drives) directly to the DiskStation’s hard drive when pressed.

The rear of the unit is dominated by a large fan at the top, with a further two USB 2.0 ports, LAN socket and a Kensington desk lock loop accompanying the power socket.

Installing and Using the DiskStation DS-111

If you’ve purchased the DS-111 diskless, you’ll need to install a hard drive before you do anything else! Installing the drive is helped by the ability to simply slide the chassis cover off the main frame of the unit – no screws required at this point. Slide the disk on to the SATA connector, secure with the screws provided and slide the cover back. Two additional screws are provided to secure the chassis. Even if you’re a duffer with a screwdriver, you should be done in five minutes max. From there, connect the LAN and power cables and hit the power button.

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.

Think of a VPN connection as a private, secure “tunnel” that you set up between your remote computer (PC, Mac, Linux all supported) and the server, through which data passes back and forth. It allows you to access files, folders, printers and other network resources directly, so is very handy for mobile working. Media streaming? No, it’s not really set up for that – you’re better off using alternative cloud services that provide a faster, more seamless connection.

There are two types of VPN connection, both of which are supported on OS X Lion Server, but one that Apple promotes heavily (as it’s more secure). That protocol is called L2TP (Layer Two Tunneling Protocol). The second protocol, PPTP (Point to Point Tunneling Protocol), is an older technology and considered to be less secure – a modern VPN client should work with either protocol, but Apple only allow you to activate PPTP on Lion Server via the command line. They really don’t want you to use it. So, all you need to remember is that your Lion Server VPN connection uses L2TP, if you’re asked. As we’ll see, connecting a Mac client to the Server via a VPN connection is reasonably automated, so if you forget, there won’t be a crisis.

Enabling VPN On OS X Lion Server

On your server, open up the Server app and select VPN in the left hand menu. There are not too many controls available in the VPN configuration panel, but there are a few points we need to cover in advance of switching on our VPN service.

In the panel, you’ll notice something called a Shared Secret. A Shared Secret is a string of characters (a little like a password) that exists on both the server and client. Unlike a password, you don’t need to type it in each time you wish to make a VPN connection – it sits in a file on both computers. That means you can make it completely random and reasonably long (at least 8 characters). When you try to connect to the server over VPN, the server will check with your client computer whether it has the shared secret. If so, the connection continues. If not, it won’t. So an important part of enabling a VPN connection to the server is creating that shared key and downloading it to your clients.

The next thing to mention is IP Address Range. You thought we were through all of that IP address wrangling, didn’t you? Well, we have a little more to do on our IP address configuration here, but don’t worry – it’s straightforward stuff. When you set up a VPN connection, your client computer receives an additional, second IP address that is used exclusively for that VPN connection. The first, regular, IP address is used for the network connection (whether it’s a wireless connection or wired) and the second is for your VPN traffic. It’s very important that these two IP addresses are different, so we tell the server only to offer IP addresses in a specific range that we know isn’t used for those regular network connections. For example, if the router (or server, depending on your configuration) grants network addresses in the 192.168.1.2 – 192.168.1.100 range, we should configure the VPN address range to be something like 192.168.1.150 – 192.168.1.199.

Thirdly, Port Forwarding. I covered port forwarding in Chapter 5, so refer back if you need to. Before configuring VPN on the server, ensure your router is forwarding the following ports to your server’s IP address:

• TCP 1723
• UDP 500
• UDP 1701
• UDP 4500

This ensures that when VPN requests and other traffic is received by your router from the outside world, it will send it to your server (rather than your Xbox 360 by mistake).

To read the rest of this chapter, including VPN Server anc clint configuration on OSX, Windows and iOS check out the Using OS X Server at Home eBook.

Do you find navigating to Windows Home Server’s shared folders an arduous chore?  Take a look at how Windows 7 allows you to create a direct link to network resources.  This direct link is known as a ‘Network Location’ in the Windows Explorer application.  A network location is similar to a mapped network drive without assigning a drive letter.  Or you can think of it as a network resource shortcut.

To start the ‘Add Network Location’ wizard, open ‘Windows Explorer’ and select ‘Computer’ in the left pane.  Now, right-click on an empty location in the right pane.

Click Next.

Select ‘Choose a custom network location’ and click Next.

This will open the ‘Browse For Folder’ dialog box. Click on the arrow to the left of your home server. Hi-lite the folder you want to link. Click OK.

Name the folder as you want it to appear in Windows Explorer. Click Next.

Click the ‘Finish’ button to complete this task.

Your WHS Share is now available as a link under the ‘Computer’ tree in Windows Explorer.

To have this ‘Network Location’ appear on your desktop, right-click the folder, choose ‘Send to’ and click on ‘Desktop’.

Comments about this article are welcomed; but, questions about specific problems you are experiencing are best addressed in the WGS forums. So, please address any issues you are experiencing with WHS networking in the appropriate forum.

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!

To take advantage, simply visit the WGS store, add the eBook to your cart, view the cart and you’ll find a Discount coupon field. Enter JANSALE20 to get 20% off and join the hundreds who have already downloaded the eBook in the first few weeks of release. The usual price of £9.99 has been discounted to just £7.99 (€9.16 EUR/$10.61)

What do you get?

15 Chapters Covering Basics and Advanced Topics, With New Chapters Available Each Week

250 pages of straightforward, no nonsense advice on using OS X Lion Server with PCs, Macs and Mobile devices at home, illustrated with full colour screenshots. Buy now and receive new exclusive chapters over the coming weeks, covering Secure Remote Access via VPN, iCloud Server Integration, Hosting Client Updates on the Server and much more.

Exclusive Content, Not Available on the Website

The Using OS X Server at Home eBook will include tips, tricks, guides and walkthroughs not published at We Got Served, ensuring it’s the most comprehensive guide to creating a Mac Home Server available.

Follow Each Chapter On PC, Mac, Tablet, Kindle, Smartphone and more

Your download includes both ePub and PDF versions of the book, which can be read on thousands of devices. Far more convenient than switching back and forth to the website as you work through each guide.

Links to Online Discussion at WGS for Peer to Peer Support

No need to miss out on the conversation online! Join the hundreds of readers who have commented on each chapter with links to We Got Served. Ask questions, share knowledge and solve problems together.

Chapter List

1. Introduction
2. Choosing Your Hardware
3. OS X Lion’s Features
4. Installing OS X Lion Server
5. The Server App
6. Storage and Network Configuration
7. Users and Groups
8. Managing OS X Devices With Profile Manager
9. Managing iOS Devices With Profile Manager
10. File and Folder Sharing
11. Create a Shared Family Address Book
12. Create a Shared Family Calendar
13. Setting Up iChat Server
14. Backing Up Your Macs to Lion Server With Time Machine
15. Backing Up Your PCs to Lion Server

Chapter 16, Access Lion Server From Anywhere, published soon. All susbequent chapters in the coming weeks will be available for free to purchasers. Think of it a little like a book club!

Reader Reviews of Using OS X Lion Server at Home

Your series is excellent. I purchased Lion Server without any prior knowledge or understanding of servers but am waiting to roll it out until I’ve been able to read all of your posts.

I would like to say that your series has been a great help to me personally. Thank-you sincerely for the obvious time and effort you have put into these articles.

I really wanted to thank you for a fantastic walk through, personally I’ve found it very supportive.

Superb walk through. Thanks for such a great series on Lion Server. This is by far the best information I have found on the subject.

Great work! This series of articles has been a real life saver.

Really appreciating your no nonsense guide.  Thank you.

Great stuff as usual! My experience is parallel with the series and I can’t wait for the next installment. I have no problem waiting as long as it takes because having a walk-through as beautiful as those you provide make the process “cake”. Thanks again!

Buy Now

As soon as Windows Home Server 2011 was released last year, one of the first applications requested by the community was a dedicated anti-virus client. Vendors who had previously supported WHS v1 have not upgraded their software to support the newer release, but the good news is that G Data InternetSecurity for HomeServer is here to protect you, your home server and a few of your PCs.

The software is priced at £99.00/$99.00 and offers centrally controlled anti-virus protection for the home server as well as up to 5 PCs on the network. There’s full integration into the Windows Home Server Dashboard, with automatic distribution of virus updates across the network.

Full specs from G-Data as follows:

Award-winning technology

• Award-winning virus detection thanks to two virus scanner modules
• Secure protection against viruses, worms, rootkits, spyware, diallers, Trojans, adware and other riskware
• Instant protection against new viruses: email and web-based CloudSecurity blocks infected emails or websites in real time
• Integrated rootkit blocker / special module for discovering rootkits

G Data ManagementServer

• Easy setup: installation, virus scan, updates, settings and reports are remotely controlled using the home server
• Seamless integration into the Microsoft HomeServer 2011 console
• Automatic distribution of updates in the network
• Also central administration of clients that are not always connected to the home server (notebooks, netbooks, tablet PCs)

G Data AntiVirus and AntiSpam client

• „Invisible“ client protection in the background, including for computers that are not permanently connected to the home server.
• Mail protection for Outlook, Outlook Express, Mozilla and POP3 / IMAP mail clients
• CloudSecurity: Instant protection against new viruses and spam
• Fully functional when working offline
• If desired, independent settings and virus scans on the client are possible

G Data Firewall client

• Remotely controlled installation and configuration
• Simple administration using individual learnable access rules on the client
• Monitors all incoming and outgoing connections
• Blocks and reports DoS attacks, port scans and much more.
• Four security levels or expert mode
• Invisible stealth mode

For more on G Data InternetSecurity for HomeServer, check out the company’s website. Thanks to Garry for the tip!

More: G Data InternetSecurity for HomeServer

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 – reading through each part of the series is handy for some, but if you want to sit down and work through each guide next to a Mac Server, then there’s no substitute for having everything in the one file or document.

I’m very happy to announce that from today, you’ll be able to download the Using OS X Lion Server as a Home Server series in both eBook (ePub) and PDF formats, for reading on PC, Mac, Tablet and eBook reader. It’s taken a few weeks to research what’s required for eBook publishing and then reformat the content here on the website – imagine copying and pasting around 25,000 words from multiple web pages into a word processing app and then inserting hundreds of images and captions into that text. Sounds like fun? (No, it wasn’t). But it’s done.

I’ve also taken the decision to make the OS X Lion Server eBook a commercial release, at a (very reasonable) price of £9.99. In truth, whilst I’m really enjoying writing the series, it’s been a massive amount of work and when you bring it all together, we basically have all of the content you’d find in a book costing a whole lot more! So, if the series has been useful to you, and you’d like to show a little appreciation for the effort, then I heartily encourage you to pick up a copy of the eBook/PDF edition.

Going forward, the eBook edition will be updated with new chapters, well ahead of any release here on the website, and it’s likely that the eBook will have some exclusive chapters that won’t be released on the site – that’s to say thanks to those donating their hard earned cash. Apologies to all who believe that everything should be free, but I hope you see the work that’s gone into the series so far and value the time and energy that’s gone into creating it, converting it, and writing the rest of it!

For those purchasing, you’ll receive both PDF and ePub versions of the book as a download, and will receive an email announcement of each new chapter as it’s published, including a link for the updated download. Think of it a bit like a book club. There’s a host of additional content waiting in the wings, including walkthroughs on client backup with Time Machine, remote access via VPN, iCloud integration, support for Back to My Mac, OS X Software Update Services and, of course, removing Lion Server from your Mac (if you wish to revert to a standalone client). That’s just for starters! The next chapter, Client Backup via Time Machine, should be released next week, exclusively to eBook purchasers.

So, to support the site and buy Using OS X Lion Server at Home, head over to the WGS store! Please feel free to spread the word to friends and colleagues via your favourite social network too!

Tranquil PC have announced a new range of forthcoming servers, which include a new chassis design and a range of configuration options.

The Riley CP10 and SU12 servers will be available to order in the next fortnight, and comprise standalone “processor” and “storage” units. The CP10 processor units will have the choice of Intel dual core Atom, or i3/i5 processors and include 2 2.5″ hard drive bays for the server OS and server backup drives.

The four bay SU10 storage unit supports RAID 0, 1, 5 or 10 configurations for data protection. Multiple storage units can connect to the processor unit, depending on the processor model selected.

Design features include:

• 100% fan less operation
• Near silent operation processor
• Low power consumption
• Single piece construction, without vents or any joints
• Optimised for ‘living space’, visually and acoustically desirable
• 3 year limited warranty
• Designed and manufactured in UK

No pricing has been released at this time.

Experience Level: Standard

G Data InternetSecurity for HomeServer offers anti-virus protection for Windows Home Server 2011 and up to 5 connected PCs on your network.

The add-in offers full integration into the Windows Home Server Dashboard, with automatic distribution of virus updates across your PCs.

Full specs from G-Data as follows:

Award-winning technology

• Award-winning virus detection thanks to two virus scanner modules
• Secure protection against viruses, worms, rootkits, spyware, diallers, Trojans, adware and other riskware
• Instant protection against new viruses: email and web-based CloudSecurity blocks infected emails or websites in real time
• Integrated rootkit blocker / special module for discovering rootkits

G Data ManagementServer

• Easy setup: installation, virus scan, updates, settings and reports are remotely controlled using the home server
• Seamless integration into the Microsoft HomeServer 2011 console
• Automatic distribution of updates in the network
• Also central administration of clients that are not always connected to the home server (notebooks, netbooks, tablet PCs)

G Data AntiVirus and AntiSpam client

• „Invisible“ client protection in the background, including for computers that are not permanently connected to the home server.
• Mail protection for Outlook, Outlook Express, Mozilla and POP3 / IMAP mail clients
• CloudSecurity: Instant protection against new viruses and spam
• Fully functional when working offline
• If desired, independent settings and virus scans on the client are possible

G Data Firewall client

• Remotely controlled installation and configuration
• Simple administration using individual learnable access rules on the client
• Monitors all incoming and outgoing connections
• Blocks and reports DoS attacks, port scans and much more.
• Four security levels or expert mode
• Invisible stealth mode

More: G Data InternetSecurity for HomeServer

Release History

v1.0 (December 2011)

• Initial release

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.

That opens up the ability to send text and video chat between rooms at home – handy if you need to get the kids off the Mac upstairs and can’t summon the will to shout after a long day at work. We’re not going to go through all of the features of iChat in this guide, (I’ll let you have fun discovering them for yourself) but we’ll walk through configuring iChat Server and connecting up your clients.

As you’ve probably guessed by now, we’re heading back to the Server app on your OS X Lion Server to enable the iChat service. In the list of services, you’ll see an iChat option listed. Click on it, and the iChat Server panel is displayed.

The configuration options here are very simple indeed. Switch on the service with the On button, that you’ll know. Options include the ability to pass messages from one OS X Server to a second OS X Server (that’s the server-to-server federation option) – most likely not required in most homes. Secondly, you can archive all chat messages, which you may wish to do from a security perspective. Check any options required, and that completes our work in Server app. All done? Actually, no.

If you’re an existing iChat user, you’ll know that a specific type of user account is required for iChat (the application supports a range of accounts including Jabber, Yahoo Messenger, MobileMe and others). To use iChat Server on your local network, your users require Jabber accounts – you’ll have noticed that there is no way of configuring a new Jabber account, or attaching your users to an existing Jabber account within the Server app. Whether it’s a deliberate omission, or Apple simply didn’t have time to bake in the settings in the Server app, we’re going to need to delve into a different configuration panel to get our iChat accounts set up. All hail the Workgroup Manager.

So far, we’ve been able to configure most aspects of OS X Lion Server for the home without the need to open up old school tools like Server Admin (not to be confused with the Server app) and Workgroup Manager, but these two tools offer many advanced settings that aren’t available in Server app. Unfortunately, they’re not installed with Lion Server, so you’ll need to visit Apple’s support site to download and install them.

Once installed, you’ll see a new Servers folder appear in Applications, which contains the Server Admin and Workgroup Manager tools. Open Workgroup Manager, and if requested, log-in with your Administrator account and password.

At the top of the Workgroup Manager panel, you’ll notice a small lock icon on the right hand side. You’ll need to click this, then enter your Directory Administrator account details to edit the required information. That means you need to have already set up Open Directory on the server. Check out Part 7 for more on this. In the left hand pane, you should see a list of users that have previously been set up on your server. Select one of those users, and then click the Info tab to bring up full details of that user (much of the potential information that can be included here is likely to be blank, don’t worry).

You’ll notice a field named Chat a little way down the page – that’s where we’ll need to configure our chat (Jabber) account. Click the Plus button, and select Jabber. An account name will appear in the Chat field, which you can edit if you wish. Click Save, and that’s the account set up. OK, that’s all we need to do on the Server side, so repeat the setup steps for the rest of your users.

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. The utility of such an application should be reasonably obvious. One day, we may all settle on a cloud service that intelligently holds and de-duplicates our family’s lists of contacts, sharing them across multiple devices of various flavours. But, unless you have too much time on your hands, I’m betting that right now, your contacts are most likely a bit of a mess. Sure, your mobile phone’s contact list may be in reasonable shape – after all, it’s where you need those contacts most. But are they synced with your computers? De-duplicated? Stored securely and backed up? For all family members? Whilst Lion Server’s Shared Address Book service was originally designed to support businesses with their internal/external contact list (and still fulfills that role in many organisations) it can most definitely do a job for us at home. Let’s take a look.

Configuring OS X Lion Server’s Address Book

On the Server side, configuring Lion Server’s Address book is very simple indeed. Open up the Server App and click on the Address Book entry in the left hand pane. You’ll discover one of those big Apple switches for starting the Address Book service, alongside an option to include your directory users’ information in any search results. Select that option, and throw the switch. Down at the bottom of the panel, you’ll see messages stating that the Address Book Server is starting (good), and a second message about Writing Profile Manager settings. Remember, each time you enable a new service in the Server app, you’ll switch on additional configuration settings in Profile Manager for your network devices. That’s why, if you click briefly on Profile Manager in the left hand pane, you’ll see an Address Book icon now appears next to Include configuration for services. The new configuration settings in Profile Manager will allow you to push your shared Address Book configuration (also known as the CardDAV configuration) down to your network devices. But we’ll configure a client manually next to dig into the detail.

Configuring Your Clients to Use the Address Book Server

With the Server configured, we now need to ensure that our Mac clients on the network can take advantage of it. To do so, on your Mac go to System Preferences > Mail, Contacts & Calendars.  Select Other, and check the radio button to Add a Mac OS X server account.   With any luck, your server will pop up in the resulting panel automatically (as shown here), otherwise, drop in your server’s address where requested. You have two choices at this point, depending on how you wish to configure your shared contacts list. You can choose to allow each user to create a personal address book on the server, that will be shared across the network on multiple devices, but is only accessible by their individual user account. Or, you can create a single shared address book for the family that everyone can use. I think most households will prefer the latter, but we’ll walk through configuring both types.

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.

Certainly one of the things that impressed me when I started using Macs was the ease with which OS X is able to discover, connect to and share with other computers around the home – whether they’re other Mac clients, Windows-based client PCs, or indeed Windows Server (or Windows Home Server) machines. The good news is that easy experience extends to OS X Server too, with regard to accessing files and folders on client PCs from the server. Accessing shared folders on Lion Server from non-Mac clients – a reasonably essential and usually straightforward task, one would assume – can incur potentially major headaches.

You may well have heard that Apple made a number of significant changes to support for sharing files and folders with Windows-based PCs – this was due to the company dropping its use of the Samba file sharing suite due to licensing changes and moving to its own implementation of the SMB protocol. At the same time, Apple also revised the version of their AFP file sharing protocol which has led to a devices from Sonos, Synology, Drobo and others to push out firmware updates to maintain support. Without a doubt, the debut implementation of new file sharing protocols are going to create issues, and in the case of Lion Server, unfortunately, they’re fundamental. Mac client to Mac Server? You’re golden. But then try accessing those same shared folders on the server from a PC? Using your previously created Open Directory account credentials? My experience, and reading around, the experience of many others is that up to the current Lion Server version 10.7.1 at least, it can be tricky and unreliable – that’s not to say it’s impossible, and indeed as you’ll see, I managed to access shared folders on Lion Server on a client PC, but it’s a little fussy.

But before we get into the head scratching, let’s take a look at File Sharing between OS X clients and the server.

Sharing Files With Macs

Once you’ve installed Lion Server, you’ll notice a section in the Server app that pertains to File Sharing in the left hand pane. This exposes the necessary controls required to share any folder on the server’s hard drive that you’d like to share with other computers on your network. The first thing to do is to hit that very large switch at the top of the panel to start the File Sharing service. Adding a folder to the list is very easy – simply click the Plus button to open up a file browser window, navigate to the folder you wish to share, and select Choose.

For each folder selected, you have the ability to change access permissions for Groups and Users between Read/Write, Read Only, Write Only or No Access.

To add a different user or group to a folder, double-click the folder (or Share Point in Apple language), then click the plus button. This will create a new blank entry in the Access list, into which you can type a user or select Browse to see a list of all users and groups.

Once selected, click the arrows next to the user or group to set the necessary permissions. Note the controls at the bottom of the panel, which allow/prevent file sharing with different types of device, including Mac clients (using the previously mentioned AFP protocol), Windows PCs (SMB) and your iOS devices (iPhones, iPads using the WebDAV protocol). For security purposes, you may wish to leave guest access to your server folders disabled. Completing the list of options is the ability to use a folder for user’s home directories.