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Related Topic Pre-installation tips The following guidelines will help you prepare the server and have needed information available for the installation. [Advanced] Before you install: Select a machine that meets minimum system requirements: CPU type, memory, system software. For best results, do not use a machine that will double as a user's workstation. Consider security for the server: the software provides password security for the files over the network, but only keeping the server in a safe place will prevent unauthorized access to the physical machine. If a safe place is not convenient, consider using a screen saver with password protection, or running the server without a display attached ('headless'). A video terminator and remote administration may be required for headless operation. If needed, install additional hardware on the server, such as hard drives, either externally or internally, to support expected needs and future growth, and additional memory. If not using a new computer for the server, consider reformatting the hard drive and starting with a fresh Mac OS installation. Consider using HFS+ format for all shared drives, which will allow more efficient use of disk space. If using RAID software, such as Conley SoftRAID (shipped with some desktop and server configurations), create your RAID volumes. One suggestion is to keep a standard HFS+ volume for your system files, and to place shared user files on either a striped or mirrored volume (depending on whether your first priority is performance or redundancy). Remember that the first volume created on an array is going to be the fastest. Set up your physical network connections (Ethernet, Localtalk), and configure the AppleTalk and TCP/IP control panel. (See Related Topics on connecting to the Internet, and guidelines for setting up Private TCP/IP networks, as needed). If you don't already have a DNS server available to you, and plan to use MacDNS at your site, you may want to set that up first. You'll be prompted for the following information during the install: Macintosh name of server; this is the name user's will see in their Chooser when they attempt to log in. Make it something meangingfull that will indicate the type of information stored on the server. Administrator's name and password. Keep this confidential; share with only your deputy administrator(s). DNS name for the server (host.domain.com). This is the name that will be used for user's to connect for Web, FTP, and mail services. For Users & Groups: Decide how users will access the server. Can you allow everyone "guest" access, which is the simplest, but has the least security? Does everyone need their own individual login, or can you have groups login with a common password, for example, all teachers login as "Teacher". Decide how information will be shared and what groups you may want to create. When setting up privileges for folders on the server, you grant privileges by either user name or group name. If all the 6th grade teachers need to access the same files, you might create a group called "Grade 6 Teachers", and give that group access to the folder containing all the 6th graders' information. The names of your users, whether the names represent individuals ("Bob Smith") or a generic type of user ("Student"). They'll need a login for AppleTalk services, and--if allowing them to connect via TCP/IP or have mail services-- an Internet alias (a name that doesn't include blank spaces or special characters invalid for Internet). A common convention is to make the AppleTalk name <firstname lastname>, such as "Ruth Brown", and the internet alias either initials ("RAB") or firstinitial&lastname ("rbrown"). Names are not case sensitive, but do not use spaces or special characters, like brackets, slashes, or quotes, in Internet aliases. A password for each user. For simplicity, you can make this their first name, and then require them to change it to something unique on their first login. Passwords are case sensitive. Set up Date & Time, including Time Zone and Daylight Savings Time. Your AppleShare IP serial number. This is located on the CD jacket on an adhesive that can be stuck on to the manual cover for safe keeping. If upgrading from an earlier version of Appleshare IP 5.x or AppleShare 4.x, you use the same serial number that came with that product.