Get to know Admin Tools part 1
The Mac OS X Server admin tools are where you spend a lot of your time tinkering with service settings to get them working just right, maintaining your user list and monitoring performance. For those of you just getting started with Mac OS X this article aims to give you an overview of what you can expect to do with each of the admin applications.
The admin apps can be installed on any Mac OS X computer. Best practice is not use the server to run anything - including the management tools. The installation is as simple as installing any other Mac OS X software.
Workgroup Manager
Workgroup manager (WGM) is the most useful application after configuration is complete. It manages users, groups, shares and client preferences. Expect to spend most of your time in this application.
Users are added, removed and modified via the Accounts button on the toolbar. Creating a new user is as simple as clicking New User - similarly to remove users. The accounts section of WGM allows you to create user groups, assign users to groups and assign and create computer groups.
The Sharing button is used to set up share points for your users to access. Mac OS X Server allows you to share to a variety of platforms from Windows to UNIX and including Mac OS X. This section is where you configure who can access what share point and via what services.
Preferences allows you to specify how your clients user environment looks and behaves. They can be assigned by individual users, groups or computer groups. Most settings can be defined for your users including hard disk drives appearing on the desktop, specify what system preferences can be used to what applications can be accessed.
This has been a brief overview of what one of the Mac OS X Server admin tools offers. Continue to part 2 where we take a look at Server Administrator and Server Monitor .
