The Mac mini Server

How will Mac mini server benefit from the iPad?

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:11:40 +0000

We anticipate an increased demand of Mac mini servers as the iPad is released. The high resolution screen and fast internal chips will make a great too to work with a remote server.

There are great tools like Jaadu VNC that will let you control the desktop of the Mac mini. So, it’s like a full system right there on the iPad.

Will a Mac mini run Parallels?

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:47:06 +0000

We often have people ask whether they can use a Mac mini, and also run Parallels so they can run a Windows Server. So far, doing this has been no problem for the Mac minis. You can run a version of Windows Server and use those services.

From our experience, the 4GB is more than enough for this. But, if you really want to make sure both OS’s have plenty of RAM, then the 8GB has worked real well.

Can I use a Mac mini as a push notification server?

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:30:23 +0000

A Mac mini and Snow Leopard Server work great as a push notification server. Snow Leopard Server offers mail, iCal, and Address Book push servers that are simple to startup and use.

Can a Mac mini server handle high bandwidth?

admin — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:24:09 +0000

A common misconception is that you need an Xserve if you are going to host a high bandwidth site. (i.e., if you plan to serve up large video files or a photography archive.)

In actuality, just pushing bandwidth requires very little processing power. The most important thing is to have a good connection that can keep up with demand.

In our facility, we have some customers who push three and four terabytes (4000GB) per month. Their machines don’t come anywhere near capacity.

A Mac mini is a very good high bandwidth server.

Will a Mac mini run Snow Leopard Server?

admin — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:42:39 +0000

Yes, any Intel Mac mini with at least 2GB of RAM will run Snow Leopard Server. In fact, if you take a look at Apple’s Servers Made Easy page, you’ll see a Mac mini shown right there at the top. They now sell a mac mini specifically built for Snow Leopard Server. The page reads:

Best of all, you don’t need expensive hardware to run it — you can use an Xserve, of course, but you can also use a Mac Pro, an iMac, or even a Mac mini.

Can I Add A Second Ethernet Port on a Mac mini?

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:36:43 +0000

For some reasons, it’s beneficial to have two ethernet ports on a Mac mini. (As opposed to just adding a second ip address to the same ethernet port.) For instance, Leopard Server DNS works best when having 2
physical ethernet ports for using 1 as the server.domain.com and the
other as mail.server.com (using SSL for mail).

Apple released a USB Ethernet Adapter with the MacBook Air since it comes without an ethernet port at all. Luckily, this adapter will also work on a Mac mini. Just plug it into a USB port and it is instantly recognized.

Can I Use A Mac mini as a Remote Developer Machine?

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:34:10 +0000

We have had quite a few new customers lately who use their Mac minis to program their iPhone apps. Many of them are Windows users that want to take advantage of the lucrative iPhone App Store.

Just set up a mini, download the iPhone SDK, and you can program from any Windows machine out there.

Can I Setup A Mac mini As a VPN Server?

admin — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:34:55 +0000

Mac OS X comes with a nice VPN server built in. If you use Leopard Server, you’ll have a nice GUI to set it up. But, if you use regular Leopard, it is a bit more difficult. Luckily there are some great apps out there that make it easy.

If you don’t have a static ip address on your Mac server, HamachiX makes it possible to still find the VPN server. This uses a third party server to help the two machines to find each other.

Of course, if you are setting up a VPN, you’re probably interested in security and would rather not have a third party server involved. Well, if your Mac server has a static ip address (or at least a nice updated DNS service) then you can use the great iVPN to setup your Virtual Private Network. Just put in the user/password combo, choose an ip address range to use, and then fire up the server. It works great.

Does Installing RAM Void my Mac mini Warranty?

admin — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:36:22 +0000

When running a Mac mini server, many people see quickly that the more RAM the better. To have Apple install the RAM can be quite expensive, but you’ll know it was done right and is covered in the future.

However, if you want to try it yourself, it is much cheaper and not too difficult.

It’s hard to get a hard answer on whether this will avoid your warranty. However, in my experience, Apple will continue to cover your machine but NOT the RAM and NOT anything that may have been damaged while you installed your RAM.

To sum it up, be careful when you install and keep your old RAM in case you need to send your machine to Apple and you need to get back to stock.

Five Steps To A Hosted Mac mini Server

admin — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:13:50 +0000

Sometimes we’ll hear from our customers after they’ve signed up and they’ll write something like, “If we would have know it was this easy to get started, we would have started a long time ago.”

This has got us thinking. Perhaps we should write out what it takes to get a Mac mini in a data center. Here are the steps.

If you decide to go with Macminicolo.net, you can visit our signup page. There you can choose while options you’d like for your machine.
Once you’ve filled in your information and pressed submit, you will receive your network information (e.g. ip address) and the shipping address in an email.
You can then build your Mac mini at home just how you’d like it to run. We also offer a e-book on initial settings for a Mac server. When you’re finished with your setup, lastly change the network settings to the ip address we’ve given you.
Send it to the Macminicolo data center.
We’ll receive the machine, get it installed and powered up and let you know it’s ready. You are then able to control the machine however you’ve set it up. (Usually Screen Sharing or Apple Remote Desktop.

That is pretty much the extent of it.

Or, to make it even easier, you can buy the machine thru Macminicolo. It’ll take about one business day for us to get the machine, set it up in our data center, and then hand over control to you. You can then change any passwords/users that you want to change.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.