OS X Mountain Lion Server For Dummies

Command-Line Administration

The Server app is really just a front end to a set of server software that lies below the service. Much to the chagrin of some Mac administrators, Apple has been simplifying the graphics front-end management tools of OS X Server to make OS X “the server for everyone.”

But most of the less frequently used, more technical features and settings of previous versions are still in OS X Server. The only way to reach them, however, is through the Unix command line. If you’re experienced in the Unix shell and networking, you can administer the entire OS X Server without ever having to launch the Server app.

Unix commands are accessible in the Terminal application, which comes with every version of Mac OS X. You can use one of the Unix shells that come with Terminal: bash (the default), sh, csh, tsh, and zsh. If you’re managing one or more servers over a network, use ssh, or Secure Shell. Many of OS X Server’s features can be managed with the serveradmin command-line tool.

But even if you aren’t a Unix geek, you may come across a tip that can work around a problem by typing a couple lines of text. You occasionally find such tips throughout this book.

You can find more information about OS X Server’s command-line tools at www.apple.com/osx/server/specs/ and www.apple.com/server/docs/Command_Line.pdf.