Mac OS X Lion Server For Dummies®

Keeping Control of Lion Server updates

The Mac's Software Update application automatically checks for updates that Apple recommends you run after you install Lion Server. Checking for updates is reasonable, and security updates are important. But I don't recommend installing any update on your brand-new Lion Server installation without doing some homework. Apple creates updates to fix problems or make improvements, but despite Apple's best intentions, system updates can also break functionality or cause conflicts with third-party software. You may want to skip an update if it's known to cause problems that would affect what you do with the server. You also need to wait for third-party software developers to catch up and release an update that is compatible with Apple's latest update.

So instead of blindly installing Apple updates, here's your homework assignment:

• Research what others are seeing.
• Configure Software Update properly.
• Download and test the update on another Mac or in a virtual machine (as described in Chapter 4).

Researching the update

Check up on what other people are experiencing with the update. Then, if you decide to go for the update, test it first.

You can check websites that cover Apple software updates to see what other users are experiencing with the most recent update. If a lot of people are reporting the same problems with third-party networking or server ...