Macintosh-Admin

ClamAV noted back in October that they were going to end-of-life ClamAV 0.94.x on April 15th, 2010, forcing it to be disabled during updates — yesterday, for those not paying attention. Of course, Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Server includes ClamAV 0.88.5 through 0.94, so one is required to either disable the Mail Service’s virus scanning functionality or update it manually (I’d highly suggest Topicdesk’s instructions for 10.4.7-10.4.11).

While there have been recent reminders regarding Tiger Server, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Server and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard should be fine, right? Actually, prior to Security Update 2009-005, Leopard Server was running Clam AV 0.94, so you’ll need to make sure it’s fully updated — I managed to find one Leopard Server mail server that had not been updated yet. Snow Leopard Server is good to go, though.

So, make sure you check your ClamAV version on both your Tiger & Leopard Server mail servers.

Apple released Apple Server Diagnostics 3X106 yesterday to support for Snow Leopard Server and the Mac mini. If you’ve still got 3X104, you’ll need to grab the new version if you’re running Snow Leopard Server.

The tests it performs include:

• Boot ROM
• Ethernet controller
• Fan
• Hard drive
• Memory
• Power supply
• Processor
• Sensor
• USB ports
• Video controller

[Via TUAW]

Apple released the following updates to Mac OS X Server last night:

Mac OS X Server 10.6.1

Improvements include:

• Resolves an issue that could cause Server Admin or Server Assistant to report a duplicate serial number in use on a server with multiple network interfaces. (Originally fixed by Network Registration Update 1.0.)
• Improves reliability of services that use Grand Central Dispatch.
• Security improvements consisting of an updated version of the Flash Player plug-in.

Further information can be found in Knowledge Base article HT3811 and the Updater is available for download.

Security Update 2009-005

Security Update for Mac OS X Server 10.4.x and 10.5.8 improves security in the following areas:

• Alias Manager
• CarbonCore
• ClamAV
• ColorSync
• CoreGraphics
• CUPS
• Flash Player Plug-in
• ImageIO
• Launch Services
• MySQL
• PHP
• SMB
• Wiki Server

Further details can be found in Knowledge Base article HT3865 and the Tiger Server & Leopard Server updaters are available for download.

As always, let us know if either of these updates fix issues or break something.

When I installed Snow Leopard on my MacBook the first thing I noticed was that my Server Admin Tools were missing (I keep them as a Stack in my Dock). I quickly searched the Apple site for a download to the new 10.6 Tools but was unable to find the proper download. I keep getting links to the 10.5 Tools which don’t work on Snow Leopard or with Snow Leopard Server.

Fortunately today Morgan was able to dig up the correct link. With Server Admin Tools 10.6 you can administer both OS X Leopard Server 10.5 and OS X Snow Leopard Server 10.6!

Server Preferences and Server Status widget
The Server Preferences application and Server Status widget are for remote administration and monitoring of your server and key services including file sharing, address books, calendaring, instant messaging, mail, web, and virtual private networking.

Server Admin
The Server Admin application is for remote administration of one or more servers. It can be used to install and setup Mac OS X Server on a remote computer, manage file share points, configure service settings, monitor server activity, and provide detailed logging information for each of the running services.

Server Monitor
Server Monitor is for the remote monitoring and management of one or more Xserve systems.

Workgroup Manager
Use Workgroup Manager to remotely manage users, groups, and computer accounts in advanced server deployments. Workgroup Manager is also used to set and manage preferences for Mac OS X users.

Podcast Composer
Podcast Composer provides a visual step-by-step approach to easily build powerful workflows for Podcast Producer.

System Image Utility
The System Image Utility application is for the creation and customization of NetBoot, NetInstall, and NetRestore images.

Xgrid Admin
The Xgrid Admin application allows administrators to remotely manage clusters and monitor the activity of controllers, agents, and the status of jobs on the grid.

QuickTime Broadcaster
Use QuickTime Broadcaster along with QuickTime Streaming Server to produce professional-quality live events. The QuickTime Broadcaster application can be used to capture live audio and video streams and transmit them to QuickTime Streaming Server for redistribution.

Download Server Admin Tools 10.6.

There were reports of Server Admin complaining of invalid serial numbers after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.5.8 Server, most of which were from servers with multiple different physical ethernet ports with IP addresses on the same subnet. A few people were reporting that this was happening to them with ports on different subnets and even when using Link Aggregation, but it sounded like heeding Apple’s note that multiple physical network interfaces on the same subnet may cause routing issues solved the issue for most.

Well, Apple has since released Mac OS X Leopard Server 10.5.8 v1.1 and Network Registration Update 1.0 (for Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server 10.6) which resolve the issue, so there was definitely a bug there. I’ll put together a separate post regarding multiple physical network interfaces on the same subnet.

[Via AFP548]

Shirt Pocket has released version 2.6 of SuperDuper!, probably the most robust and simplest Mac application for creating bootable backups, bringing full Snow Leopard support to the table. Additional new features include:

• Backup on connect
• Eject after copy
• Sparse bundle support

I’ve personally been waiting for “backup on connect” & “eject after copy” for a while. If you’re going to try Snow Leopard Server anytime soon, I highly suggest using SuperDuper! to create a fully bootable backup of your Leopard Server installation before doing so.

[Via Dan Benjamin]

I’m surprised that Mac OS X 10.3 Panther support lasted this long in Topicdesk.com‘s mailbfr (Mail Backup/Fix/Restore) utility, but version 1.0.6 is now out and will be the last to support it. Changes include:

• Minor bug fix and clean up
• This is the last release supporting Mac OS X Server 10.3 Panther

Also of interest: version 1.1 will be the first to support Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, so keep your eyes open for that.

[Via Topicdesk Newsletters]

I missed that Apple Remote Desktop had been updated to admin version 3.3 and client version 3.3.1 last Thursday, August 20^th. Changes for this version include:

• Improves support for accessing client computers and task servers behind NAT (Network Address Translation) routers.
• Includes Task Server and Directory Server scanners, for finding client computers known by your task server and clients in computer groups on a directory server.
• New “Reporting” tab in client computer Info window, to set a single reporting policy for the client computer, shared by all Remote Desktop administrator computers.
• New “Administrators” tab in client computer Info window, to display and control which admin computers and task servers are associated with each client computer.
• Client settings configurable by Managed Preferences in Workgroup Manager.
• Support for finding and adding client computers via wide-area Bonjour.
• Resolves an issue using Lock Screen or Curtain mode on a client computer that’s at the login window.
• Improves stability when running Remote Desktop Admin on a Task Server.
• Resolves an issue that could cause build_hd_index files to become very large.
• Improves compatibility with the Application Firewall.
• Change Client Settings task now works when the Remote Desktop administrator has an Active Directory account.
• Improves client stability when Sharing Screen.
• Scheduled UNIX Commands stay scheduled.
• When controlling a remote client, function keys and key combinations for actions such as Force Quit, Log Out, and the Application Switcher are now all sent to the remote computer.
• Improves screen sharing performance with RealVNC.
• Improves performance of encrypted file copies.
• Improves performance of encrypted screen sharing connections

I’ll be rolling the update out shortly and am looking forward to the compatibility improvements with regard to the firewall as I’m constantly plagued by issues in that area. Let us know how the update has worked out for you.

Apple released Security Update 2009-004 yesterday to fix an issue with the DNS Service:

By sending a maliciously crafted update message to the BIND DNS server, a remote attacker may be able to interrupt the BIND service. The issue affects servers which are masters for one or more zones, regardless of whether they accept updates[...] This update addresses the issue by properly rejecting messages with a record of type ‘ANY’ where an assertion would previously have been raised.

BIND is disabled by default in Mac OS X & Server, but if you’ve got the DNS Service enabled you’ll want to apply this update. Grab it for Leopard or Tiger Server (Universal) or pick it up via Software Update. It’s also available for Mac OS X client.

[Via Topicdesk]

Another small fix to Topicdesk.com‘s excellent mailbfr (Mail Backup/Fix/Restore) utility:

Bug fix to correct start/stop behaviour in 10.3.

I don’t see this one as necessary unless you’re still running Panther Server.

[Via Twitter]