24
Before installing and setting up Mac OS X Server do a little
planning and become familiar with your options.
The major goals of the planning phase are to make sure that:
Server user and administrator needs are addressed by the servers you deploy Â
Server and service prerequisites that aect installation and initial setup are Â
identied
Installation planning is especially important if you’re integrating Mac OS X Server into
an existing network, migrating from earlier versions of Mac OS X Server, or preparing
to set up multiple servers. But even single-server environments can benet from a
brief assessment of the needs you want a server to address.
Use this chapter to stimulate your thinking. It doesn’t present a rigorous planning
guide, nor does it provide the details you need to determine whether to implement a
particular service and assess its resource requirements. Instead, view this chapter as an
opportunity to think about how to maximize the benets of Mac OS X Server in your
environment.
Planning, like design, isn’t necessarily a linear process. The sections in this chapter don’t
require you to follow a mandatory sequence. Dierent sections in this chapter present
suggestions that could be implemented simultaneously or iteratively.
Determining Your Server Needs
During the planning stage, determine how you want to use Mac OS X Server and
identify whether there’s anything you need to accomplish before setting it up.
For example, you might want to convert an existing server to v10.6 and continue
hosting directory, le, and mail services for clients on your network.
Before you install server software, you might need to prepare data to migrate to your
new server, and perhaps consider whether it’s a good time to implement a dierent
directory services solution.
2
Planning Server Usage
