#lion server

There is a key boundary that exists at your router or firewall that acts as a gateway for Internet and network traffic.

Beyond that line and outside your gateway (router or firewall) is the public world, public DNS, public static and dynamic IP addresses, and your public DNS names for your network.

2013-03-05 Update: These scripts have been updated for 10.8.2 / OS X Server 2.2 in this newer post.

Starting with Lion Server, and now with Mountain Lion Server, Apple has started bundling PostgreSQL for the database backends of services such as Contacts, Calendars, Wiki and Profile Manager. Additionally, it’s kind enough to back them all up into one dump file, typically located at:

/Library/Server/PostgreSQL/Backup/dumpall.psql.gz

Now, for migration to a newer OS or for any similar procedure, it’s a lot more convenient to have separate files for each database. Additionally, I like having a few rolling days of backups, so I’ve written a quick script to accomplish both of those goals.

#!/bin/bash backupdir='/Library/Server/PostgreSQL/Backup/'; day=`date +%u`; mkdir -p $backupdir/$day; echo "PostgreSQL Backup for $HOSTNAME"; echo "=================================" echo `date`; for database in `/usr/bin/psql -U _postgres -lt | awk '{print $1}' | grep -vE '\||^$|template0'`; do printf "Exporting $database..."; /usr/bin/pg_dump -U _postgres -c $database | gzip -c > $backupdir/$day/$database.sql.gz; /bin/chmod 600 $backupdir/$day/$database.sql.gz; printf "done\n"; done echo `date`; echo; exit 0;

In earlier flavors of OS X Server, when a local administrator logged into a machine that had managed settings applied, they were asked if they wanted those settings applied to that session, via the following dialog:

If you chose to remember your choice, you could just hold the option key the next time you logged in, and you would be able to choose again.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get that working in Lion. With 10.7.4 Server and clients, no matter what I did, the dialog would not come up, and managed settings were continuously applied.

After digging around, I worked out that by applying the following two keys to com.apple.loginwindow, I regained access to this feature:

AdminMayDisableMCX = TRUE

LocalUsersHaveWorkgroups = TRUE

You can see what that looks like in Workgroup Manager here:

Snow Leopard Server shipped with a postfix policy for greylisting email. It was easy enough to disable if you didn't like it, and Server Admin was typically kind enough to not overwrite your settings. Unfortunately, Lion Server isn't as nice about it.

In addition to occasionally removing the greylisting policy on some servers, I always like to alter the default smtpd_recipient_restrictions directive to include some additional parameters, as well as reorder them to work more efficiently. My directive is typically something like this:

smtpd_recipient_restrictions = reject_non_fqdn_recipient, check_recipient_access hash:/etc/postfix/access, permit_mynetworks, reject_unauth_destination, reject_non_fqdn_sender, check_sender_access hash:/etc/postfix/sender_access, reject_non_fqdn_hostname, reject_invalid_helo_hostname, check_helo_access hash:/etc/postfix/helo_access, reject_rbl_client zen.spamhaus.org, reject_rbl_client bl.spamcop.net, permit

Naturally, this entire directive gets overwritten whenever Lion Server overwrites Postfix main.cf.

So, I've written a script that checks to see if the smtpd_recipient_restrictions directive has been altered, and if so, returns it to the preferred state:

#!/bin/bash restrictions_preferred="reject_non_fqdn_recipient, permit_mynetworks, reject_unauth_destination, reject_non_fqdn_sender, reject_non_fqdn_hostname, reject_invalid_helo_hostname, check_helo_access hash:/etc/postfix/helo_access, reject_rbl_client zen.spamhaus.org, reject_rbl_client bl.spamcop.net, permit"; restrictions_current_full="`postconf smtpd_recipient_restrictions`"; restrictions_current=${restrictions_current_full:31}; if test "$restrictions_preferred" = "$restrictions_current" then echo "Postfix smtpd restrictions are set correctly." exit 0; else echo "Postfix smtpd restrictions are NOT set correctly." serveradmin settings mail:postfix:smtpd_recipient_restrictions = "$restrictions_preferred"; exit 0; fi

So, update the first variable, restrictions_preferred, to have the parameters you want to populate smtpd_recipient_restrictions with. If all you're looking to do is disable greylisting, just remove check_policy_service unix:private/policy from the original directive in /etc/postfix/main.cf.

I've personally saved this script at /usr/local/bin/disable_greylisting.bash and set its permissions to 755. You can name it and put it anywhere you'd like, but note its full path as you'll need it for the launchd job plist to trigger it. That plist is as follows:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>Label</key> <string>com.practiceofcode.disable_greylisting</string> <key>ProgramArguments</key> <array> <string>/usr/local/bin/disable_greylisting.bash</string> </array> <key>RunAtLoad</key> <true/> <key>StartInterval</key> <integer>120</integer> </dict> </plist>

Similarly, I've placed that at /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.practiceofcode.disable_greylisting.plist. This file needs to be owned by root:wheel and be 644. Again, you can name it as you'd like, but the value for Label in the file's contents should match the file name (leaving off the .plist).

If your getting something similar to this error:

-------------------------------------- Summary -------------------------------------- - 0 fatal error(s), 106 error(s), 0 warning(s) ERROR: DW001: Set payload cancelled status ERROR: DW049: Payload {007A2A28-D6A8-4D91-9A2B-568FF8052215} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {0175676F-8C92-49F2-9131-D0D6AD654B41} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {03FB981A-5170-11E0-A90E-3CEDE2AB3DC5} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {08EF22BC-43B2-4B4E-BA12-52B18F418F38} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {0A186736-9C62-48B2-B1DF-8A9C5CF7C997} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {0CCF0458-5171-11E0-BC45-DC59E3AB3DC5} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {0D96CFE6-376D-44B8-808A-16F3BEB73263} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {0DFE8222-EDF8-4D17-8CCE-614D630A32F5} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {11E1188F-E576-47BC-B215-600C02C7EABF} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {128cd5a7-6018-4360-b4c0-b0258b1a5a34} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {1A1E5FF9-D0FD-42A3-8E18-E5E7E95E1AB4} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {22C26C10-5C22-4674-A52C-100112664305} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {270C312D-7EC7-474C-BEB2-79CD398E02A3} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {2EA9B52E-8613-41A0-9EEF-FF54AD4CC810} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {3450d4c5-a82b-4428-a512-842ee1555a14} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {37AB3C65-E02C-4DCF-B0E0-4C2E253D8FA3} has an action "install" but no resultState ERROR: DW049: Payload {3D51982E-45C6-4B4B-9362-B356E1610821} has an action "install" but no resultState

This looks to be caused by not having the necessary JAVA libraries on your system (typically the case with fresh installs of OSX as they come without JAVA by default), to fix this install the JAVA Update for OSX Lion http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1421

Once installed reboot & try installing again, if this time the installer simply hangs or beach balls on "Calculating Size" then it could be down to your user not having full rights to install services as ROOT, even though it asks you for your administrator password.

A simple way to fix this is to add your user to the WHEEL group, which is linked to root and has full permissions.

To do this, open Terminal then type:

sudo dseditgroup -o edit -u yourusername -p -a yourusername -t user wheel

Replacing yourusername with your actual username, found by typing:

id

in terminal, you should see the first line similar to this,

uid=501(johnsmith)

in this case my username is johnsmith

once done you should now see you've been added to the group wheel

Restart your computer and re-run the installer, it should start to install now.

UPDATE: after still more problem we found that installing Adobe Flash Player manually allowed the installer to work and finally install.

Amplify’d from www.apple.com

We’re taking our best thinking from iPad and bringing it all to the Mac with Mac OS X Lion, available in summer 2011. Here’s a preview of some of the top features.

The Mac App Store

The best way to find and download Mac apps.

Just like shopping the App Store on iPad, the Mac App Store offers endless possibilities for browsing and purchasing apps. Newly purchased apps install in one step and appear right in the new Launchpad. The Mac App Store is available now on any Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and will be a part of Mac OS X Lion. Learn more about the Mac App Store

Launchpad

A home for your apps.

Launchpad gives you instant access to your apps — iPad style. Just click the Launchpad icon in your Dock. Your open windows fade away, replaced by an elegant, full-screen display of all the apps on your Mac. It takes just a swipe to see multiple pages of apps, and you can arrange them any way you like by dragging icons to different locations or by grouping apps in folders. And when you download an app from the Mac App Store, it automatically appears in Launchpad. Ready to blast off.

Get a full-screen view of all your apps in Launchpad.

Launchpad

Folders

Full-screen apps

In iPhoto, see all your Events at one time in full-screen view.

iPhoto

Mail

iCal

Preview

The app and nothing but the app.

On iPad, every app is displayed full screen, with no distractions, and there’s one easy way to get back to all your other apps. Mac OS X Lion does the same for your desktop. You can make a window in an app full screen with one click, switch to another app’s full-screen window with a swipe of the trackpad, and swipe back to the desktop to access your other apps — all without ever leaving the full-screen experience. Systemwide support allows third-party developers to take advantage of full-screen technology to make their apps more immersive, too. So you can concentrate on every detail of your work, or play on a grander scale than ever before.*

Mission Control

Mac command central.

Mission Control is a powerful and handy new feature that provides you with a comprehensive look at what’s running on your Mac. It gives you a bird’s-eye view of everything — including Dashboard and full-screen apps — all in one place. With a simple swipe, your desktop zooms out to Mission Control. There you can see your open windows grouped by app, thumbnails of your full-screen apps, and Dashboard, arranged in a unified view. And you can get to anything you see in Mission Control with just one click. Making you the master of all you survey.

Gestures and animations

More handy ways to interact with your Mac.

Multi-Touch gestures make everything you do on iPad easy and intuitive. Now a richer Multi-Touch experience comes to the Mac. Enjoy more fluid and realistic gesture responses, including rubber-band scrolling, page and image zoom, and full-screen swiping. In Mac OS X Lion, every swipe, pinch, and scroll looks and feels more responsive and lifelike.

Auto Save

Past perfect.

Say good-bye to manual saving. Auto Save in Mac OS X Lion automatically saves your work — while you work — so you don’t have to. Lion saves changes in the working document instead of creating additional copies, making the best use of available disk space. The lock feature prevents inadvertent changes from being saved and automatically locks documents after two weeks. And the revert feature returns you to the state the document was in when you last opened it, so you can feel free to experiment with confidence.*

Versions

See every step you take.

Versions records the evolution of a document as you create it. Mac OS X Lion automatically creates a version of the document each time you open it and every hour while you’re working on it. If you need to revert to an older version or retrieve part of a document, Versions shows you the current document next to a cascade of previous versions — in an interface similar to that of Time Machine — so you can see how your work looked at any given time. You can revert with a click, or quickly copy and paste work from a previous version into the current version.*

Resume

Pick up exactly where you left off.

If you’ve ever restarted your Mac, you know what’s involved. First you save your work, then close all your apps, then spend valuable time setting everything up again. With Resume, that time-consuming process is a thing of the past. Resume lets you restart your Mac — after a software update, for example — and return to what you were doing. With all your apps back in the exact places you left them. In fact, whenever you quit and relaunch an app, Resume opens it precisely the way you left it. So you never have to start from scratch again.*

Mail 5

A whole new way to look at email.

Just like Mail on iPad, Mail 5 in Mac OS X Lion features a new layout that takes advantage of the widescreen display on your Mac. You see the messages in your inbox as well as a full-height preview of the selected message. The new Mailbox bar gives you one-click access to your favorite folders. Mail 5 also includes a powerful new way to search that makes finding what you’re looking for quick and easy, even in the largest of inboxes.

Keep the conversation flowing.

Mail 5 also introduces Conversations, a natural new way to read and manage email that automatically groups messages from the same conversation — even if the subject changes along the way. Just click a conversation in your inbox to reveal a streamlined feed of individual messages in chronological order, and easily file or delete an entire conversation.

AirDrop

Send it by air.

With AirDrop in Mac OS X Lion, you can send files to anyone around you —  wirelessly. AirDrop doesn’t require setup or special settings. Just click the AirDrop icon in the Finder sidebar, and your Mac automatically discovers other people nearby who are using AirDrop. You’ll even see contact photos for those who are already in your Address Book. To share a file, simply drag it to someone’s name. Once accepted, the file transfers directly to the person’s Downloads folder. When you’re done with AirDrop, close the Finder and your Mac is no longer visible to others.

All-new FileVault

A new level of security.

Keep all the data on your Mac even more secure with XTS-AES 128 data encryption at the disk level. Initial encryption is fast and unobtrusive — it encrypts everything in the background while you work. FileVault also encrypts for your external drives, and provides the ability to wipe all the data from your Mac instantaneously.

Lion Server

Simply a better server.

Lion Server is now part of Mac OS X Lion. It’s easy to set up your Mac as a server and take advantage of the many services Lion Server has to offer. Here are just a few of the new features that make server deployment faster, easier, and more powerful than ever.

Manage users and groups easily. Even monitor performance with graphs.

Server Setup

Profile Manager

Wiki Server 3

Easy Setup

Lion Server guides you through configuring your Mac as a server. And it provides local and remote administration — for users and groups, push notifications, file sharing, calendaring, mail, contacts, chat, Time Machine, VPN, web, and wiki services — all in one place.

Profile Manager

Profile Manager delivers simple, profile-based setup and management for Mac OS X Lion, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices. It also integrates with your existing directory services and delivers automatic over-the-air profile updates using the Apple Push Notification service.

Wiki Server 3

Wiki Server 3 makes it even easier to collaborate, share, and exchange information. Users can quickly switch between a server’s home page, My Page, Updates, Wikis, People, and Podcasts. File sharing is simpler than ever, and a new Page Editor makes customization a breeze.

File Sharing for iPad

Lion Server delivers wireless file sharing for iPad. Enabling WebDAV in Lion Server gives iPad users the ability to access, copy, and share documents on the server from applications such as Keynote, Numbers, and Pages.

Read more at www.apple.com