Question re. setting up

[Confuzzzed]

I am setting up a new mac mini with Lion server this weekend, and notwithstanding some of the issues people have had with pairing the machine during set-up with a bluetooth keyboard. I think I get the fix now so I am ok with this bit. Keep the keyboard and trackpad close to the machine and unpair it from other devices first (it's a brand new BT keyboard so should be fine on the last score)

The question I have is on the use of migration assistant. Is it best to do it via (1) ethernet cable from the time capsule, (2) firewire from my 2007 Macbook pro or (3) USB cable from an external hard drive secondary back-up of said 2007 Macbook Pro?

Anything else I need to think about?

 

[MacForScience]

Here is something to think about, why do you need a server? In your opinion.

Are you just trying to share files, or distribute media? Are you trying to run a VPN? If any or all of those are the case you probably don't need a server.

As far as method of restoring with migration assistant, it doesn't really matter, unless you have a slow ethernet network. You do however need to be aware that you will loose the use of the old backups on that volume once you migrate.

Cheers

 

[Confuzzzed]

Here is something to think about, why do you need a server?

Well, I don't know that I need a server BUT I have an overwhelming - probably illogical - desire to a desk-top solution with the maximum available processing power. My set-up doesn't lend itself to iMac and don't want a big box so the mac mini was my answer. I appreciate the dual core i7 is probably as capable (if not more) in most tasks than the quad-core i7 BUT I do some basic video editing and regular photo editing so wanted to max it out. Probably didn't need to but the attraction of having 2 hard drives and the ability to DIY down the line when SSD becomes cheaper (in my mind it's easier to take one drive out and slot another one in) for the price I got the machine (22% off list price on amazon), I thought it was worth it. The extra hard drive should help with the ever increasing data burden generated from having 4-5 iOS devices in our household all of which is clouded up and dropping photos onto the machines.

Are you just trying to share files, or distribute media? Are you trying to run a VPN?

None of those. Like I said. I am kind of using it as a home server WITH a kick-arse processor. Don't know why I am justifying the purchase to a stranger but that's how I rationalised the purchase. If any of my rationale is wrong, please let me know because I am open to other points of view.

You do however need to be aware that you will loose the use of the old backups on that volume once you migrate.

That's very useful. I didn't know that (and explains why in the past when I set up a new laptop from Time capsule back-up, the next time the old machine backed up, it was starting the back-up from scratch).

 

[paulrbeers]

When I have migrated Mac's to Mac's I either did it A. via ethernet (hooked up both to my wired network) or B. I did it via wifi (in the case of my MBA).

 

[Confuzzzed]

I thought I’d share my experience of setting up a Mac Mini Server which I am using as a normal machine and have had no intention of using as a server. Ever!

As explained earlier on this thread, I simply want to use the machine as a home data dump mainly (with several iOS devices and 3 kids, we generate a lot of data, photos, video & music) but the quad core i7 processor and the double capacity 7200rpm HDD were also significant attractions. I am not a gamer so discrete GPU was not an issue for me.

In the main, setting up is relatively easy BUY there's a couple of tricky steps which I managed to overcome using some of the excellent advice offered on these boards by other users as well as that especially of @cphbite (with thanks).

The first tricky step for those with wireless keyboards and touchpads/mouse, there is no simple way to get the machine to pair up before set up. Catch 22 situation although some people have found unpairing the keyboards (if they had previously been paired with iPads) and several re-boots eventually worked. In the real world (with kids and other calls on your time), I borrowed a USB keyboard and mouse and completed the set up with those.

Another stumbling block for those familiar with good old 'Setup' assistant if you have it before setting up other non-server Macs. Well this doesn’t work on Lion Server, because it searches for other ‘servers’ that you may want migrating first. So you have to set up the machine first (and the option given to you is setting up a new ‘Server’). Don’t let that bother you. Click continue and you can migrate your user data after you set up.

So the final and main tricky bit. You are asked to name the computer (easy) and also give a server host name (well, you do need to know what you are doing here and Apple Care will not immediately give you the right answer on this step because they don’t know themselves. And you probably have to be put through a couple of people until you reach enterprise team). In fact, I was told by the retail team Apple care representative that I probably should have taken the Mac Mini retail instead of server. A momentary weakness there made me think that perhaps I had bitten more than I can chew! But then I remembered another member’s advice setting up and I tried out inputting his suggested root of for example (home-vault.com). It may well be that you have to use www.home-vault.home-vault.com at another place but I didn’t have to use that.

Finally once you are set up you can then pair your wireless keyboard and trackpad in System Preferences (press the Apple sign on the top left).

There was another place where IP address needed to be inputted, I didn’t have to deal with that because the machine populated those inputs. There was a place where I had to push through and get to where you set up connections (so that I could join my wireless network) and then push back in the process to get me to other inputs.

 

[Confuzzzed]

Finally

So overall, I would say it’s certainly not straightforward if you don’t like ‘trial and error’ and winging it a bit during set up. I would say 6/10 for difficulty. In retrospect probably should have bought the 2.7GHz dual core i7 Mac mini. But to get that and boost the Hard drive to 7200rpm, the price would have been more expensive than what I bought and still would be 250GB short of the server version. Or waited until the Ivy bridge processor refresh and buy the max retail version.

If you inadvertently activate Lion Server and want to get rid of it, here's what you have to do...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4827?viewlocale=en_US

 

[boltman519]

When setting up your server did you have profile manager issues? After I create the directory for the life of me I can't access profile manage. All I get are errors that tell me that can find the wiki page. Then I flip on wiki and all I get is the wiki page no matter what.

 

[philipma1957]

the easy way to set up a server is borrow a friends mac mini that he has not used. bring it to your house and clone the hdd to your server mini's empty hdd. you now have two osx's on your mini. leave the server one alone for a day or two and setup with the cloned normal osx.

I own a few mini's a pair of 2011 servers and a 2010 2.4 with snow.

also borrow a usb keyboard for the setup. in fact owning a usb keyboard for backups is not to expensive.

I find it rude on apple's part that as of Jan 2012 more then 5 months since the mini's came out. I can't download lion directly to a new mini and I can't buy the usb stick for the mini as it does not work.

Why oh why does apple f with mini buyers?