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Many Mac users were wowed by Apple’s Mac mini server package when it was announced, but at $1,000, it's still a bit too pricey for even the average person to justify shelling out the cash for a home server. Fear not true believers, we're going to show you how to turn that old Intel Mac you’ve got lying around into a server that can duplicate many of Snow Leopard Server's features without shelling out another penny.
Difficulty Level
Hard
What You Need
> Intel Mac
> OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (We recommend the Snow Leopard Family Pack)
> MAMP (Free)
> OpenFire (Free)
> XCode
> QuickTime Broadcaster (Free)
> Router that supports Port Forwarding (We used the Airport Extreme)
Serving up Web Pages
Mac OS X comes with the Apache web server built in, but if you want to easily have access to MySQL (for databases), PHP (web programming language), or Perl (another programming language), then we suggest you install XAMPP or MAMP, which includes Apache, PHP, Perl, and other tools in a lightweight package that you can install with just one download.
For this tutorial, we’ll install MAMP, but you could choose XAMPP as well. Instructions on how to install each package are available on both sites. Head to the MAMP download page and grab MAMP. We’ll be using the free version of MAMP to set up our web server.
Once the application is downloaded, extract the .dmg file and drag the MAMP folder to your applications folder.
To start the web server navigate to Applications > MAMP and launch the MAMP application.
After you've launched MAMP, click on the Open Start Page button. You’ll then be presented with a page that tells you the MySQL username/password/port number, and gives you access to tools like phpMyAdmin and SQLiteManager. You also have access to a phpInfo page that can tell you more about the version of PHP that is installed. You can then create MySQL databases for CMS installs (i.e. Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, etc.).
Any websites you create need to be stored in the Applications/MAMP/htdocs folder. You can look at the pages stored there by opening your browser of choice and navigating to the URL localhost:8888 (the default address and port for accessing the MAMP web server).
For more about MAMP, you can consult the documentation on their website.
Setup FTP Access to Your Server
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) will allow you to login to your Mac via your local network or across the Internet (see DynDNS below) to transfer files to and from your Mac. Mac OS X comes with a built-in FTP Server.
To start and configure the FTP Server, open System Preferences and click Sharing. Check the box next to File Sharing and then select Options.
A popup window will give you more options. Select the Share files and folders using FTP checkbox. After you check the box, your local IP address will be shown to you.
You can use this address along with your Mac OS X username and password to login via your favorite FTP client (we recommend Transmit). You can login using either your long OS X name (i.e. “Cory Bohon”) or your short name (i.e. “Cory”). Once logged in, you can upload or download any files you wish.
NEXT: Create a Jabber Server and Set Up CalDAV
stevedeleo
March 28, 2011 at 1:06pm
I'm having trouble adding an iCal account to the CalDav server created when using the above guide. I have a feeling it is due to my user error modifying the two XML files; but I'm not sure. I would appreciate any further guidance or series of steps to create an iCal account to connect to the CalDav server as set up per instructions above. Thank you.
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robgibbons
January 12, 2010 at 1:47pm
This is great advise - for those with a spare intel mac lying round....
How would something like this compare as a website server compared to say server hosting from a traditional provider? Could it even be used as that or just as a home network?
richard5
December 26, 2009 at 12:51am
If you like the idea of having your Mac OS X Snow Leopard (or Leopard) client work as a mailserver for free and you want to learn how it all works try reading ll the instructions on http://diymacserver.com It's a repository of free instructions and guidelines on how to install a web and mailserver with the same opensource software Apple uses for the server version on your desktop.
astromac
December 24, 2009 at 8:21am
For those interested in creating a full-blown server from the Snow Leopard client, check out Cutedge Systems.They provide a free LDAP server LDAP Enabler, MailServe - a Dovecot, Procmail, Postfix, and UW/IMAP mail server for $25, DNS ENabler - a $25 DNS server and WebMon - a $25 web server which includes WebDAV and iCal server functions and shares SSL certs with MailServe.
Take the Cutedge programs and combine them with the free Openfire chat server, the free iVPN VPN server, Apple's free Quicktime Broadcaster streaming media server and for $75 you have a very similar approximation of Apple's $499 OS X Server. A bit of Googling and an install of the free MacPorts unix program installer will likely reveal solutions for the remaining server functions such as ACL's and client management. They are certainly already there if you want to use the command-line.
corybohon
December 24, 2009 at 8:24am
Hi astromac,
Thanks for letting me know about Cutedge Systems. I haven't heard about them before, but what they provide sounds very interesting. Could definitely provide even more functionality to what we've already listed for basic server functions.
Thanks for your input!
alpha60r
December 24, 2009 at 6:13am
I'm a new Mac user (less than a year), but I've been working w/computers (PC, Sun, and other proprietary systems) for 20 years. I still found this article interesting and informative. Everyone is not uber experienced w/Mac and insulted by this. As with any content, there are levels of information and writing.If you see an article that is overly simple or far below your expertise, then simply move on and read something else. The information is free, and I fail to see the need to contribute this visceral hate.Happy Holidays!
MrE
December 24, 2009 at 5:48am
I have to seriously wonder what level of research the author did for this article. It seems like he had a deadline and filled it with the biggest turd he could find.
Outlined are 4 functions that you can do with Snow Leopard (or Leopard for that matter) that you can also do with the Server version. Big deal...
Web server
File Sharing
Chat Server
CalendarWhat was not mentioned is the ability to run a DHCP server, DNS server, Mail server, and (*gasp*) central user management. Wow, can't do that with good 'ol Snow Leopard can ya? Have I mentioned central management of file shares and ACL permissions? There are many more things that OS X server can do in excess of the standard OS; far too many to list here.
Either this article was tossed together last minute or the author seriously mis-lead the readers with the title. Either way it is a waste of site space and an insult to the readers.
LearningCurve
October 02, 2010 at 4:14am
Though it is short of a year after MrE's comment. I felt worth it to take the time to comment even now.
Don't sweat it Cory. Some people in the world feel bigger by putting others down. The article gave me exactly what I need to answer my question. It was right to the point and written well enough that I could follow it.
Whatever MrE's issue I hope he had a better day on December 25th. However, if that's his normal method of addressing things ... i.e. destructively. Then I'm sure his life won't be as rewarded as yours is Cory for giving of your knowledge to those of us who don't know these things.
What was a waste of site space and an insult to the readers was MrE's poor manner of commenting on the article.
