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we decided to install an server here.. but few people in Brazil know to build an Mac Network, and when they know about it its very expesinve.

so we did an Windows Network.. We are having some problems like: FTP is not working when it gets to the firewall LAN USERS stays on server, which means that i cannot access files I'm using when I'm home. FINDER is not working very well all devices when connected to wifi need to have an proxy config in order to connect to internet which means that every time that i got a new mobile.. ill need to config it again.. and worst than that.. everytime that i want to user another wifi different from this one... i'll need to deactivate the proxy settings..

anyone ever did this? any suggestion? should I buy an Mac Mini Server and set it up by my self?

we need an server to trade files inside our network and to backup the files..

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What you're describing has nothing to do with the operating system on your end devices - it sounds like your network was badly designed/configured. You need to straighten out your firewall and proxy to solve most of the problems you're describing. I will say that if you are an Apple shop (all your computers are Macs/OS X and your mobiles are iDevices) you are probably better off with a Mac running OS X Server than trying to bring a Windows system into the equation. Heterogeneous environments are nothing but pain and misery in my experience. – voretaq7♦ Dec 6 '12 at 21:19

closed as not constructive by HopelessN00b, Adrian, voretaq7♦ Dec 6 '12 at 21:19

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1 Answer

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There's no such thing as a "Mac network." What you need to do is basically figure out how to get the Macs working with the existing network (or tell the Mac users to get real computers).

It's not that difficult, but the real pain is the lack of a client configuration and management tool for Macs (like AD for Windows). I'd recommend learning to script in bash, or again, telling the Mac users that Macs are nice toys, but poor corporate computers.

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as we run an Advertise Agency there is no way that we choose corporate computers instead "nice toys" =/ acctually i need some real help like: do this , or that so you can unlock the FTP problem.. or some instructions like that.. but tks anyway – Luis Eduardo Isoldi Dec 6 '12 at 15:01
@LuisEduardoIsoldi Yeah, I get that, but there's not nearly enough information to say why some Mac somewhere is having a problem with FTP somewhere else. Or why someone's Finder is having trouble on some corporate network. Figuring that out is called troubleshooting. As to having to configure Macs manually, yeah. That's why you'll want to learn a scripting language you can use on the Macs so you can copy and paste a few lines rather than doing it manually for every Mac you get. – HopelessN00b Dec 6 '12 at 15:06
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@LuisEduardoIsoldi Without the details, its not a great question I'm afraid. You could use tools like puppet or Apple Remote Desktop to manage your client macs, though. The problems described aren't magically going to get better because you plugged a mac mini in and installed the server component of Mountain Lion. You need to figure out the problems with the system and work on those explicitly. – RobM Dec 6 '12 at 15:12
There are many tools built into OS X Server that give you management capabilities similar to AD and Group Policy for Windows. In a heterogeneous environment with a mix of Macs and Windows systems however, administration becomes very complex... – voretaq7♦ Dec 6 '12 at 21:17

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