Mac OS® X Snow Leopard™ Server For Dummies®

Chapter 3. Installation and Setup

In This Chapter

• Identifying information you'll need

• Formatting storage

• Installing and configuring locally and remotely

• Setting up an administrator Mac

• Checking DNS and other post-configuration tasks

• Keeping Snow Leopard Server up to date

Snow Leopard Server is the network server for the rest of us. You don't need to be an IT consultant or have multiple certifications in communication technologies. If you do have that expertise under your belt, Mac OS X Server lets you get at the configuration details that you're used to. But you never have to even see these details if you don't need to, and many don't need to.

Before you install, you have to make some choices. Decide whether to do a brand-new installation or upgrade from a previous version of Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server. You also need to decide whether to do the installation right from the Mac or remotely from another Mac. This chapter looks at the options and helps you decide which one is for you.

One more thing: Make sure your server Mac lives up to the hardware requirements and recommendations in Chapter 2 before installing.

A Roadmap to Installation and Setup

Apple has made Snow Leopard Server the easiest professional server to install and configure. But you still have a lot of options to consider before you insert the DVD in the Mac. Which route you take depends on where you want to start from and where you want to go.

Here are the main decision points and tasks for installing and setting up, leaving out ...