Some basic questions..

ACaton

Registered
Ok, I'm not only a rather novice mac user, I'm a networking novice as well, so, please, don't hurt me as I ask-

My school's art lab just got a powermac G5 server, came with OSX server already installed. We're having some problems, or, rather, are trying to do some things that we don't know how to do. (My teacher isn't the most computer literate person, so I'm helping)

Anyway.. basically what we're trying to do is make it so that my teacher can manage preferences and make users that will all be global for the lab.
I'm not sure if remote desktop is required for that, but we have that as well, just not installed yet..

Also, we'd like to be able to have the other computers be able to access an external harddrive connected to the server. I'm unable to see it in the sharing section of the workgroup manager.


Maybe helpful info:
The network in the lab is part of a subnet for our entire school, I beleive.
The computers in the lab are all 1st gen iMacs (or they look like it), and G3 towers. There's also the g5 which I've mentioned.

Thank you in advance for any and all help!
 
Firstly.. sorry for the double-post.

I've done some more reading, which I admittedly should have done from the start, and this is how I understand it:

I can set up the accounts and whatnot on the server, and then all I have to do is set the client machine's search path to include the directory on the server where the user's home directories are stored. That right?

How do I configure the search path? Also, will that allow the teacher to manage which apps the student has access to via the server, or is that something remote desktop has to be installed to do? or is it even possible?
 
So you have a couple things you are trying to accomplish:

1. You want to create an Open Directory Master on your Mac OS X Server. That's an LDAP database, which will store you users and groups. You'll want to be sure you have proper DNS and static DHCP reservations set up, or you can severely hinder your Open Directory.

2. Create all of your user accounts, passwords and managed client settings in the LDAP node in Workgroup Manager.

3. Set up your client machines, in Directory Access, to use the LDAPv3 plugin, pointed to the Open Directory server you just created. If this is Tiger, you do NOT want to use authenticated binding...I've seen a few glitches with that so far, though it may work perfectly fine for you. Be sure that the LDAP node is set in the Authentication tab and you can add it to the Contacts tab as well.

4. Attempt to login at the Login Window with the login information of one of the users you created in your Open Directory. Login Window will pass the info to the Directory Service to provide your server based authentication.

5. You mentioned creating a share on a firewire drive. You do this in Workgroup Manager, under the Sharing icon. Take a look under all of the available devices, instead of just under share points. You should be able to see the drive at that point. You can see the drive on the desktop, or in the Finder, correct? Create your share point from there.

Hope this helps.

Michael
 
Go3iverson said:
So you have a couple things you are trying to accomplish:

1. You want to create an Open Directory Master on your Mac OS X Server. That's an LDAP database, which will store you users and groups. You'll want to be sure you have proper DNS and static DHCP reservations set up, or you can severely hinder your Open Directory.

2. Create all of your user accounts, passwords and managed client settings in the LDAP node in Workgroup Manager.

3. Set up your client machines, in Directory Access, to use the LDAPv3 plugin, pointed to the Open Directory server you just created. If this is Tiger, you do NOT want to use authenticated binding...I've seen a few glitches with that so far, though it may work perfectly fine for you. Be sure that the LDAP node is set in the Authentication tab and you can add it to the Contacts tab as well.

4. Attempt to login at the Login Window with the login information of one of the users you created in your Open Directory. Login Window will pass the info to the Directory Service to provide your server based authentication.

5. You mentioned creating a share on a firewire drive. You do this in Workgroup Manager, under the Sharing icon. Take a look under all of the available devices, instead of just under share points. You should be able to see the drive at that point. You can see the drive on the desktop, or in the Finder, correct? Create your share point from there.

Hope this helps.

Michael

Helps a lot, in fact..

Some clarification, though-

In server admin, when I specify a spot for the database, I just supply a directory, correct? I don't have to create a database in something else or something? (Like I said, I'm a novice.. sorry)
Also, I'm not sure exactly what I must to do start the open directory master. Could you walk me through that in a bit more detail?

Thanks
 
No problem.

Server Admin will start and create the Open Directory (LDAP) database. Provided you have a static IP and you have tested to be sure that DNS is functioning, click on the Open Directory service in Server Admin and under Settings, change the role to Open Directory Master. That'll get you started. Then you can use Workgroup Manager to create your user accounts. :)
 
Alrighty..

The subnet is evidently the entire school, or district, so there are both DHCP and DNS servers .. would it be alright to use those instead of my own DNS server?

Also, I keep failing to "kerberize" the server.. In fact, the button isn't even there anymore.

Have already been able to make accounts, however.. that was the easy part.
 
Whoa...slow down!

You need to have static DNS and DHCP reservations created *before* you start building your OD! :)

The Kerberize button is for joining third party Kerberos services. Look at the overview of your Open Directory in Server Admin and see if the Kerberos KDC is running.

Michael
 
Then, is it alright to use another dns and dhcp server existing on the subnet?

Also, it tells me to test the DNS settings in network util by doing a lookup and reverse lookup.. How do I do that? (I know how to get to network util, and the lookup tab, but dunno after that)
 
Yes, you can use third party DNS and DHCP.

Try using the host command in the Terminal. Do a host followed by the IP address and then host followed by the FQDN. Make sure both resolve properly.
 
ok.. the host name resolves, but not the reverse lookup of the IP.. what does this mean?

also, one of the help files says I'm supposed to make sure the server (the G5 that I'm trying to set this up on) resolves the name and the reverse lookup of it's IP. The reverse lookup of the IP doesn't resolve, and I'm unsure on what it's name is, I'll check with the admin of the DNS server for that.. but what does it mean that the reverse lookup of the IP doesn't resolve?

Thanks, again, for all your help. I'd not be able to do this without it.
 
It means that your DNS server either isn't set up to create reverse DNS pointers automatically or at all. You should talk to your DNS administrator to have him create a reverse pointer for your Xserve on the DNS server. Apple uses DNS lookup for many functions in Directory Services and authentication. You'll want to have this resolved, set your Open Directory back to standalone and recreate it.

Always happy to help.

Michael
 
A related but non mac-related question for anyone who knows..

the admin of the DNS server is having trouble geting reverse lookups to work.. (DNS server running redhat 9 I beleive)
his manual says to add the following entry to the zone:
reverseOfIP.in-addr.arpa. 14000 IN PTR g5server.name.domain. with (reverseOfIP replaced with the reverse of the ip in question, and g5server.name.domain. replaced with the FQDN of the g5 server)

Anyway.. the above has been added to the zone but reverse lookups aren't working..
 
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