Mac OS X Lion Server For Dummies®

How This Book Is Organized

Mac OS X Lion Server For Dummies is organized in six parts, each with several related chapters inside. The parts are arranged in order of how you might go about using the server. But you don't have to read the book sequentially, as each part can stand alone as a sort of minibook on a topic. You don't even have to read all the sections in any particular chapter. You can use the table of contents and the index to find the information you need and quickly get your answer.

I do recommend taking a glance, at least, at Part I. You'll find some information about installing Lion Server that you won't find in Apple's documentation.

Part I: Getting Lion Server Up and Running

I start this part with a description of Lion Server — what it comes with, what you can do with it, and what you need to get it running. If you need advice on which Mac model to use as your server and what should be in it, look in this part. I also describe some hardware needs in the server and on the network. If you haven't already installed Lion Server, you can find step-by-step directions in Part I.

This part of the book ends with a description of server virtualization. I take you through the hows and whys of setting up a server in a virtual machine, which most people will find useful for one reason or another. If you don't know what a virtual machine is, go to Chapter 4 right now.

Part II: Creating and Maintaining User Accounts and Directories

For networks with more than a handful of users, ...