Mac OS X Unleashed

By John Ray and William C. Ray

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • Introduction
  • Part I: Introduction to Mac OS X
  • Chapter 1. Mac OS X Component Architecture
  • Chapter 2. Installing Mac OS X
  • Chapter 3. Mac OS X Basics
  • Chapter 4. The Finder: Working with Files and Applications
  • Chapter 5. Running Classic Mac OS Applications
  • Part II: Inside Mac OS X
  • Chapter 6. Native Utilities and Applications
  • Chapter 7. Internet Communications
  • Chapter 8. Installing Third-Party Applications
  • Part III: User-Level OS X Configuration
  • Chapter 9. Network Setup
  • Chapter 10. Printer and Font Management
  • Chapter 11. Additional System Components
  • Part IV: Introduction to BSD Applications
  • Chapter 12. Introducing the BSD Subsystem
  • Chapter 13. Common Unix Shell Commands: File Operations
  • Part V: Advanced Command-Line Concepts
  • Chapter 14. Advanced Shell Concepts and Commands
  • Chapter 15. Command-Line Applications and Application Suites
  • Chapter 16. Command-Line Software Installation
  • Chapter 17. Troubleshooting Software Installs, and Compiling and Debugging Manually
  • Chapter 18. Advanced Unix Shell Use: Configuration and Programming (Shell Scripting)
  • Part VI: Server/Network Administration
  • Chapter 19. X Window System Applications
  • Chapter 20. Command-Line Configuration and Administration
  • Chapter 21. AppleScript
  • Chapter 22. Perl Scripting and SQL Connectivity
  • Chapter 23. File and Resource Sharing with NetInfo
  • Chapter 24. User Management and Machine Clustering
    • Skeleton User Accounts
    • Multiple Users and Multiple Machines: Creating Clusters
    • Command-Line Administration Tools
    • Summary
  • Chapter 25. FTP Serving
  • Chapter 26. Remote Access and Administration
  • Chapter 27. Web Serving
  • Part VII: Server Health
  • Chapter 28. Web Programming
  • Chapter 29. Creating a Mail Server
  • Chapter 30. Accessing and Serving a Windows Network
  • Chapter 31. Server Security and Advanced Network Configuration
  • Chapter 32. System Maintenance
  • Appendix A. Command-Line Reference
  • Appendix B. Administration Reference

Summary

This chapter covered the techniques used to make your machine into a member of a cooperating cluster of computers, or to make it into a server for such a cluster. It also covered techniques that can be used to automate the creation and customization of user accounts on your machine or in your cluster.

The most important thing to remember is the Unix abstract notion that it doesn't matter where things like user account information are coming from or where drives are coming from. The OS is designed so that it can acquire such information and resources from any compatible system, and so can be combined with any compatible systems to provide a seamless user experience across any number of machines.

Although Mac OS X uses slightly different protocols by default than most Unix systems, the principles are identical to those used by other Unix flavors. If you find that you'd like to construct a system that is more complex than what we've covered here, don't hesitate to consult references for other Unixes—you'll have to use the information here to do a bit of translation, but you should be able to interpret such references readily.

If you're planning on using your machine only as a personal machine, you'll have only minor need for the material covered here. Do keep in mind that you can use these techniques to network multiple computers in your home or office, so that you have less maintenance and less software configuration to do. If you've no interest in doing even this, don't let the seemingly complex processes outlined here intimidate you. You've got no real need to understand them unless you plan on clustering your machine.

Share This