I've seen that single-color desktop background with the familiar serif font showing the computer's name since the 1990s. I very much doubt that all of the server admins I've come across in that time have painstakingly created actual image files with the same font treatment. How the heck does one set that up? (I'm in a Yosemite environment with Yosemite servers, and I'm trying to put their names on their desktops. Shouldn't be that difficult, right?)

Our SBS2003 is basically only managing user IDs (aka Active Directory). Files shares are on a NAS and mail is to soon be on Google Apps. Can I replace SBS2003 with a MountainLion Mac Mini Server to manage Windows XP desktop logins?

My desktop Mac mini (2018) shares files to other computers on the network. I've set it up in System Preferences > Sharing so that only known users can connect, with their username and password. If I go to restart my Mini, I sometimes get a message to say that 1 or more users are connected. **Is there an easy way to find out which users are connected?** I used to use Server.app, and it would be easy to use that (or serveradmin on the CLI) to determine who was logged in. But since Server has been 'withdrawn', it doesn't seem so easy. I'm on Mojave. last |grep "logged in" gives: Ben ttys000 Sun Jun 7 15:24 still logged in Ben console Sun Jun 7 15:22 still logged in which doesn't seem to include current AFP connected users, as suggested by the recommended article. Nor does it give those connected to TM sharing or other connections; however, those can be gleaned from Activity Monitor. netstat -na |grep 139 just gives me a bunch of IP6 addresses. tcp6 0 0 fe80::18cf:f908:.51390 fe80::cab:3d08:d.61984 ESTABLISHED tcp6 0 0 fe80::18cf:f908:.61391 fe80::cab:3d08:d.61898 CLOSE_WAIT tcp6 0 0 fe80::18cf:f908:.54029 fe80::cab:3d08:d.61394 CLOSE_WAIT tcp6 0 0 fe80::18cf:f908:.64954 fe80::cab:3d08:d.56139 CLOSE_WAIT tcp6 0 0 fe80::18cf:f908:.50799 fe80::cab:3d08:d.51394 CLOSE_WAIT tcp6 0 0 fe80::18cf:f908:.52279 fe80::cab:3d08:d.61394 CLOSE_WAIT 6f249e60a5b12c27 stream 0 0 0 6f249e60a5b1396f 0 0 6f249e60a5b1396f stream 0 0 0 6f249e60a5b12c27 0 0 The best I've found is: netstat -f inet -n | grep '.548 ' | awk '{ print $5 }' | sed 's/\.[^.]*$//' which gives me IP4 addresses for all connections except SMB. Ideally, something that lists the connection type and username would be ideal, but it does seem that this is going to require a script rather than a one-liner.

I've already done tons of experimentation with this and feel mostly confident I know the answer and I have done searches on here to make sure this is not a duplicate query. I recently replaced my Mac mini 2018 with the new Mac mini M4. My Plex server has been running on a Mac Pro Tower (2009) for years and it's not IF but when it gives up the ghost. So I figured I'd repurpose the 2018 Mac mini to be my new Plex server with an external 4 drive raid box. Since it will be pretty much just an always running server I see no need to have a display, keyboard, and mouse always attached after I get it all set up. I have several Macs in the house in different locations and they all work great with ARD but the are full systems with display, keyboards, and pointing devices. All of them give me pretty much full control including being able to reboot them remotely, and log back in remotely. But after several days of trying different ways of doing this including plugging in a HDMI dummy connector to simulate a display it appears the only way I can do this on this Mac mini is to keep a mouse, keyboard, and display plugged in all the time. I know I could keep all that stuff unplugged and nearby after getting it going but the pain of pulling them out and using them to reset the system would be such a pain and I really don't have the space for the display and keyboard and mouse to be sitting around. I've disabled much of the built-in security thinking that would be the issue -- but no. And by default every time a remote access attempt is made that does not work because everything is not plugged into it, the Mac goes into recovery and I have to plug all that stuff back in to get it up and running back to the login screen. **SO... is it the case I'm reduced to leaving a keyboard and mouse and display plugged into it all the time and just hide it away behind the rack we have everything supporting our home office in?** I just want to be sure I've not overlooked something. I've tried every variation and combination of setups I can and every time I'm having to reboot the Mac with all its accessories to get it to work again.

One option for a home lab/server/NAS is to use a Mac Mini oder Studio with external Thunderbolt gear like the OWC Thunderbay Flex 8 and a Thunderbolt 10GbE SFP+ adapter. Every solution has advantages and disadvantages, of course, and with a Mac, especially a Mac Mini, there are obviously advantages in terms of ecosystem, computing power & power consumption, but you often read that macOS is simply not meant for server operation. One of the relevant issues is the creation of LUNs as iSCSI targets. I would need this, because I'd also want to use my server for production work, not just for file storage, media-related things (like Plex) and other services (e.g. Vaultwarden). For the latter three, macOS plus Docker or native installations is probably a fine solution, provided you're using proper Thunderbolt devices. For high-bandwidth fast-access production work, however, my client Mac would need to connect via iSCSI for local mounting, and you can do that with third-party initiators on macOS, even if the best/fastest option will cost you a decent amount of money. But can you *create* a LUN on macOS? On turnkey solutions like a Synology NAS it's a simple process via DSM's SAN Manager. On Linux you have tgt or scsi-target-utils to create targets, but those are not available via macOS package managers, so I assume that either they haven't been ported, or macOS is simply not suited. Is there any solution for macOS, a solution that is stable, e.g. after reboots?

When experiencing some MAJOR file sharing slowdowns in a new macOS High Sierra machine running Server.app I came across this page from Apple showing how to enable "performance mode for macOS Server". https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202528 Some online resources make reference to the "old" procedure before SIP prevented that from working, and provided instructions on how to turn off SIP and then use "serverinfo" to enable perfmode, and then turn off SIP. References at https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/265620/no-boot-args-in-nvram and https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/264958/what-does-serverperfmode-1-actually-do-on-macos gave me some more information, but I cannot find info about checking the perfmode status in High Sierra. I have set the NVRAM variable like Apple says, and checking it returns the proper result of "boot-args serverperfmode=1" and I restarted a few times, but "serverinfo --perfmode" still returns the result of "Server performance mode is NOT enabled." When set via the NVRAM, should "serverinfo --perfmode" tell me that performance mode is enabled? If not, how can I tell if it has been enabled? The NVRAM variable essentially says "turn it on when you boot", but it does not tell me "it got turned on when I booted".

I had a mac mini server with OSX server. The profile I user on my iMac was created on the server, and some groups where on the server, which was also a server for TM backups. For now, the user on the iMac is Admin, Managed, Mobile. The server died recently (in fact, with the different downgrades of the server App by Apple, at the end it was just serving files), but the user on the iMac is still locked to it. For example, I can't change password anymore... What can I do to transform the managed account into a normal independent account on the iMac?

I have two macs running OS X 10.10.3. One has Server.app installed, is connected to the internet via ethernet, and also has a 2 TB disk attached via USB, with two partitions - "Backup" and "Storage". My other mac is a laptop used for schoolwork. Using the Time Machine feature of Server.app, I was able to use the standard Time Machine interface to begin backing up my local mac onto the "Backup" volume on the server mac over the network. However, I discovered that it takes 7 minutes to copy a 1 GB file over AFP, so backing up 300 GB on my local mac would take at least 35 hours. So, I'm trying to figure out a way in which I could do the initial 300GB backup onto "Backup" over USB, and then connect that external hard drive to the server mac and continue doing backups over the network. That way, the incremental network backups would be much smaller than 300GB and could be done in a reasonable time period, e.g. overnight. Any suggestions? I read the man page for tmutil but I'm not very comfortable with it just yet.

Currently, we're implementing 802.1X authentication in the company, but having some trouble with getting an IP address when using some Macs (MacBook Pro). I created a profile through Profiler Manager of macOS Server. After the profile installed, I was able to get an IP address by manually clicking "Connect". **PS: We are using the EAP-TLS.** But I have to manually click "Connect" to get an IP address, every time I disconnected the Mac from the LAN cable or reboot the Mac. Q: Is there any way to trigger the 802.1X authentication to get an IP address automatically or is there is any way to click (without interaction or silently in the background, maybe command line or plist files?) the "Connect" button automatically once a user logs in? Any ideas would be appreciated.

I need to be able to run the code that issues an Apple **attest** but not on Apple OS -- on Linux. Or, at the very least, on a MacOS **VPS** -- not a **physical** device.

import DCAppAttest

func generateKeyAndAttestation() {
    guard let attestationKey = DCAppAttestService.shared.generateKey() else {
        print("Error generating attestation key.")
        return
    }

    // Generate a nonce (you may need to use a more secure source for your actual use case)
    let nonce = Data.random(count: 32)

    // Prepare the data to be attested
    let dataToAttest = "Data to be attested".data(using: .utf8)!

    // Concatenate nonce and data
    var attestationData = nonce
    attestationData.append(dataToAttest)

    // Use DCAppAttestService to attest the data
    guard let attestation = DCAppAttestService.shared.attestData(attestationData, withKey: attestationKey) else {
        print("Error generating attestation.")
        return
    }

    // Print or use the attestation key and the resulting attestation
    print("Attestation Key: \(attestationKey)")
    print("Attestation: \(attestation)")
}

I expect there to be new customers daily, therefore this code will be run regularly. Therefore, using an Apple **physical device** for this, if indeed required, will be inconvenient. 1) I haven't found a clear answer as to whether or not DCAppAttestService must be run **only on** MacOS/iOS . 2) And whether or not it has to be a **physical** Apple device or will any VPS running one of the latest OSX do too? I'm aware that validation, verification of **attest-s** can, indeed, be run on Linux. This will the 2nd step. My question, however, about the code that issues, generates **attest-s** initially -- the 1st step. --- https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicecheck/dcappattestservice

I have a bit of a problem. I recently undusted my old Mac Mini 2011 I received as a gift a couple years ago. It was running Mac OSX Lion on a Raid 1 setup with two 500 GB disks, with an older version of Server. It had the Sierra installer already downloaded to it so I ran that, only to be told that the installer is faulty and to reboot. After rebooting I found myself in the installer again, this time prompting to redownload Sierra. It did and attempted to install, then said there was an error and rebooted. Upon rebooting, it told me that Mac OS Sierra is not compatible with the version of Mac OSX Server, then prompted me to reboot again. I went into recovery mode and am now trying to re-install Lion, which takes a while because my internet is slow. My question is: Is there a way to completely uninstall Mac OSX Server through the Terminal app the installer provides? Is there a good chance Sierra installation will just work once the Server app is gone? I remember being told to update the Server app the first time I tried installing Sierra. But since it let me continue, I figured the Server app would just not work or get deleted during the installation, not brick the system installation. Edit: Screenshot of failed Sierra Installation

I need to find out if there are OSX/iOS caching servers on a bunch of different networks - and put in a caching server where needed. But since the caching service on a Mac server is pretty black box, there isn't much information available on how it works. I know that if I have access to a server, it's trivial to check if caching is on in the server software. I'm looking for, say, a port to scan, or a flag that gets set on client devices' App Stores that can be checked, or something in firewall logs to look for. There is just so little information out there I can't say exactly where to start. I have remote access to at least a headless Mac Mini on each network.

I am connecting to a server in Sweden from the US. I have no problem connecting to the server in Terminal using two factor authentication, required by the server in Sweden. However, I've been struggling getting Mountain Duck to work as in addition to the password. The server in Sweden also requires the two factor authentication where I get a code on my mobile app. Is there a way to solve this issue?

Apple sells two Mac minis; one is a server edition, the other is a standard Mac mini. What are the differences between the Mac mini and the Mac mini server? I know that the server doesn't have an optical drive and runs a server edition of OS X. Besides this, what are the other differences? What is the advantage of buying a Mac mini over buying a Mac mini server? (besides, of course, that the server runs OS X Server, and one is faster than the other) Will the server last longer, be able to handle running 24/7, whereas the standard one won't?

Reverse Proxy for Home Assistant with macOS Server 5.3.1 Created a website within Server App for EXTERNALHOSTNAME.TLD Selected SSL Certificate for EXTERNALHOSTNAME.TLD Enabled web app in Advanced Settings This webapp/reverseproxy setup works and Home Assistant is working as expected with no functional issues via macOS Server, **BUT**, the catch is that any request matching “/api/websocket” is reverse proxied through to home assistant, for any other hostnames, which isn’t ideal. I cant figure out how to configure this upstream Service Proxy to apply this reverse proxy for /api/websocket only for the external hostname for home assistant and not reverse proxy it for all other hostnames. Any pointers on how to get the websocket reverse proxy set up correctly just for the relevant hostname? The three files configured for this to work are as follows; **Webapp PLIST file** /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/webapps/EXTERNALHOSTNAME.ha_webapp.plist; includeFiles /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/httpd_ha_webapp.conf name EXTERNALHOSTNAME.ha_webapp displayName ReverseProxy - HomeAssistant installationIndicatorFilePath /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/httpd_ha_webapp.conf sslPolicy 0 **Webapp CONF file** /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/httpd_ha_webapp.conf; ProxyPreserveHost On ProxyRequests off ProxyPass / http://INTERNALHOSTNAME:8123/ ProxyPassReverse / http://INTERNALHOSTNAME:8123/ **MacOS Server Service Proxy CONF file** /Library/Server/Web/Config/Proxy/apache_serviceproxy_customsites_ha.conf ProxyPass /api/websocket ws://INTERNALHOSTNAME:8123/api/websocket ProxyPassReverse /api/websocket ws://INTERNALHOSTNAME:8123/api/websocket

Here's the procedure I have followed: 1. Install a fresh copy of macOS Mojave to an APFS volume 2. Perform initial OS configuration and create 'admin' user at first launch. Assign a static IP from 192.168.168.0/24 private network. Use a DNS server located in private network. Ensure IP resolves to a FQDN ('test.mydomain.com') and vice versa. 3. Download macOS Server application (5.7) from App Store 4. Open macOS Server application 5. Create a new Open Directory domain with default options 6. Create a new user 'testuser' to Local Network Directory 7. Create a new group 'testgroup' to Local Network Directory 8. Assign newly created 'testuser' to 'testgroup' 9. Open System Preferences application 10. Open Sharing preferences 11. Enable File Sharing 12. Create a Shared Folder 'myshare' and assign 'testgroup' and 'admin' Read&Write access to it 13. Select 'myshare' and click Options button to ensure SMB sharing is enabled for it 14. Attempt to connect to the file server from a client computer within the same subnet via smb://test.mydomain.com/myshare or alternatively smb://192.168.168.X/myshare either using 'admin' or 'testuser' credentials In the last step connection fails for both 'admin' and 'testuser' accounts. If I turn Open Directory to Off, I can connect with 'admin' user. Restarts in any phase of the procedure make no difference. **Why can't I access SMB when Open Directory is enabled?** Here are the opendirectoryd log entries from creating the OD master (step 5): https://pastebin.com/uQm8b8NM Here are the opendirectoryd and smbd log entries from login attempt (step 14): https://pastebin.com/U2RS3LYC & https://pastebin.com/7bFNfd8V

My Mac mini has been working just fine with macOS Mojave as a VPN server following the migration method described in the [macOS Server Service Migration Guide](https://developer.apple.com/support/downloads/macOS-Server-Service-Migration-Guide.pdf) , but after upgrading to macOS Catalina there is trouble. The VPN clients connect just fine on the internal network, but not on an external network; which makes the VPN server a bit pointless! I can confirm that all was working well with the server running macOS Mojave, and my iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 clients have been connecting just fine; it is the upgrade to macOS Catalina on the server that has caused this problem. Here are the log entries for a failed connection: 2019-10-12 20:42:38 CDT Incoming call... Address given to client = 10.0.0.224 Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : Directory Services Authentication plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : Directory Services Authorization plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : L2TP incoming call in progress from 'xx.xx.xxx.xxx'... Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : L2TP received SCCRQ Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : L2TP sent SCCRP 2019-10-12 20:42:38 CDT Incoming call... Address given to client = 10.0.0.225 Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : Directory Services Authentication plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : Directory Services Authorization plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : L2TP incoming call in progress from 'xx.xx.xxx.xxx'... Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : L2TP received SCCRQ Sat Oct 12 20:42:38 2019 : L2TP sent SCCRP 2019-10-12 20:42:40 CDT Incoming call... Address given to client = 10.0.0.226 Sat Oct 12 20:42:40 2019 : Directory Services Authentication plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:40 2019 : Directory Services Authorization plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:40 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:40 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:40 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:40 2019 : L2TP incoming call in progress from 'xx.xx.xxx.xxx'... Sat Oct 12 20:42:40 2019 : L2TP received SCCRQ Sat Oct 12 20:42:40 2019 : L2TP sent SCCRP 2019-10-12 20:42:44 CDT Incoming call... Address given to client = 10.0.0.227 Sat Oct 12 20:42:44 2019 : Directory Services Authentication plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:44 2019 : Directory Services Authorization plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:44 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:44 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:44 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:44 2019 : L2TP incoming call in progress from 'xx.xx.xxx.xxx'... Sat Oct 12 20:42:44 2019 : L2TP received SCCRQ Sat Oct 12 20:42:44 2019 : L2TP sent SCCRP 2019-10-12 20:42:48 CDT Incoming call... Address given to client = 10.0.0.228 Sat Oct 12 20:42:48 2019 : Directory Services Authentication plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:48 2019 : Directory Services Authorization plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:48 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:48 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:48 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:48 2019 : L2TP incoming call in progress from 'xx.xx.xxx.xxx'... Sat Oct 12 20:42:48 2019 : L2TP received SCCRQ Sat Oct 12 20:42:48 2019 : L2TP sent SCCRP 2019-10-12 20:42:52 CDT Incoming call... Address given to client = 10.0.0.229 Sat Oct 12 20:42:52 2019 : Directory Services Authentication plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:52 2019 : Directory Services Authorization plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:52 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:52 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:52 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:52 2019 : L2TP incoming call in progress from 'xx.xx.xxx.xxx'... Sat Oct 12 20:42:52 2019 : L2TP received SCCRQ Sat Oct 12 20:42:52 2019 : L2TP sent SCCRP 2019-10-12 20:42:56 CDT Incoming call... Address given to client = 10.0.0.230 Sat Oct 12 20:42:56 2019 : Directory Services Authentication plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:56 2019 : Directory Services Authorization plugin initialized Sat Oct 12 20:42:56 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:56 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:56 2019 : publish_entry SCDSet() failed: Success! Sat Oct 12 20:42:56 2019 : L2TP incoming call in progress from 'xx.xx.xxx.xxx'... Sat Oct 12 20:42:56 2019 : L2TP received SCCRQ Sat Oct 12 20:42:56 2019 : L2TP sent SCCRP 2019-10-12 20:42:58 CDT --> Client with address = 10.0.0.224 has hung-up 2019-10-12 20:42:58 CDT --> Client with address = 10.0.0.225 has hung-up 2019-10-12 20:43:00 CDT --> Client with address = 10.0.0.226 has hung-up 2019-10-12 20:43:04 CDT --> Client with address = 10.0.0.227 has hung-up 2019-10-12 20:43:08 CDT --> Client with address = 10.0.0.228 has hung-up 2019-10-12 20:43:12 CDT --> Client with address = 10.0.0.229 has hung-up 2019-10-12 20:43:16 CDT --> Client with address = 10.0.0.230 has hung-up I’m currently using the built-in VPN on macOS Catalina 10.15.1

I migrate a wiki that had a lot of broken link to a domain that no longer exist. How can I massively update my database, instead of change any single link? My idea is to connect in postgres and update manually the database with update table set field = replace(field, 'cat', 'dog') Someone think it's possible? In which table and field I can found my entries?

My company has a single file sharing Mac Pro computer that every user connects to. Occasionally a user will drop a file in a folder for another user to access, but the the files will be greyed out and are inaccessible to the other user, while a different user can see and access it as normal. Sometimes dropping a file will cause a user to just have spinning ball and will not drop. It has worked well enough for a few months now, but this problems has been becoming more frequent. Everyone, which is about 20 users all with iMac or Mac pros, connects to the file sharing Mac Pro using the same registered username and password. I have everyone connected via SMB. The file sharing Mac Pro has a Drobo via USB that hosts all the files. All the permissions are set to write and read for everyone. Any idea on how to fix this? Do I have this setup correctly?

I have OSX Server running on a mac mini in my home. I've been using it for doing Time Machine backups from my MacBook. This worked fine until I changed the password for my user account on the mac mini. At that point, backups on my laptop started failing, indicating that I needed to update the password that the laptop was storing for the mac mini. However, when I try to do so (at **System Preferences > Time Machine > Select Backup Disk...**), I get the following error: > "You do not have the necessary read, write and append privileges on the > selected network backup disk." The laptop is running OSX 10.9, and the mac mini is running OSX 10.8. Has anyone using OSX Server for backups experienced something similar to this? Does anyone know how to fix it (without losing all of my previous backups)?