When the Macintosh computers on your network don’t have a Macintosh server to control them, the result can be chaotic. Some users wind up with multiple passwords to keep track of while others give up by keeping their account passwords blank. Passwords to Windows resources can expire without warning because users have no PC to reset them with, and machines can be reconfigured with passwords that aren’t even documented.

Most servers sit behind your company firewall, reachable only through NAT and port forwarding or protected from the outside world entirely. If you’ve got a machine that needs full access to both the internet and your local network, however, getting both interfaces up and running can seem like a crapshoot. New servers will usually work fine, while those configured on a second network later on will often fail. XServes and Mac Pros come with two ethernet ports, so you’d figure setting them up on two separate networks wouldn’t be much of a challenge. And it isn’t, if you know the trick.

When you’re at your desk, or have your laptop with you, remote control of other Macintosh computers is easy with Apple Remote Desktop. When you’re running from desk to desk, trying to solve everybody’s problems before their next big deadline, remote support can be a little trickier.

Traditional Unix file permissions (and their resultant issues and repairs) have been perplexing the majority of Macintosh users since OS X first appeared. Windows administrators, on the other hand, have bemoaned the lack of granular control in Apple’s operating systems, with less-detailed permissions available than with Microsoft’s XP and Vista. While Tiger introduced Windows-style ACLs (Access Control Lists) to the Macintosh, Leopard now utilizes them by default, making more complex file-sharing schemes a reality. Whether that’s a gift or a curse depends on your ability to make ACLs work for you.

When most users think about remote access, what they ask for is VPN. For travel, telecommuting, and satellite offices, virtual private networks have been the defacto method of remote access for the better part of this decade. Though an assortment of VPN solutions are available for the Macintosh platform, many require third-party clients that may not keep pace with operating system changes, and while VPN is a complex system requiring a well-provisioned network, none is more easily configured the VPN service built in to Mac OS X Server.

With it’s spacey presentation and it’s promise of effortless data safety, Time Machine is the marquee feature of OS X Leopard, mentioned in every review as worth the price of the upgrade alone. While the ability to minimize data loss on any machine is fantastic, Time Machine presents some unique challenges for the people tasked with maintaining those machines. The minimal configuration options that make Time Machine so easy to use can also make it hard to control. Fortunately, there are more tools available than are exposed in the graphical interface.

Though still a standard practice on most Windows networks, Mac OS X administrators seldom create scripts to run at the beginning or the end of user sessions. The common problems they once solved, like resetting home directories or mounting network shares, can now be accomplished through server functionality or free third-party software. But what if you have an uncommon problem? This feature can be the perfect solution, allowing administrators to address unique issues in their individual environments.

Some jobs are too important to be left to your users. While native services like file and print sharing begin when Macintosh systems first boot, third party applications are often left to start as Login Items, configured out of System Preferences on a single account. For essential services, this method can range from unreliable to disastrous.

It’s the middle of a sleepy summer afternoon, when suddenly that dual-T1 you fought so hard for feels like dial-up. Apple’s released another OS update, and now each and every Macintosh in the company is trying to suck down several hundred megabytes of “improved performance and stability”. To make matters worse, this is brand-new software, untested in your environment and released just minutes before. If it breaks essential workflow or impacts network functionality, there’s no uninstall or roll-back feature built into OS X.

An uninterruptible power supply is the only way to make sure your servers receive clean, sufficient, and consistent power. You’d never set up a rack without one, but protecting a new XServe is often overlooked when it’s added later on. In the past, configuring a UPS for Macintosh required tedious fiddling with dubious third-party software. Now the functionality is built directly into the operating system, and the most challenging part of the process is finding exactly where Apple put the controls.