How To Install Os X Server On Mac Mini
I recently showed you how to utilise a used Mac mini as a media server for your home. Today, I continue the theme of recycling and reusing older Mac minis by turning one into a Linux server.
What's a Linux Server?
For businesses, a server is a computer that provides services for a group of users. The services can include:
- Mail server
- File server (shared and individual directories)
- Directory server
- Domain Proper noun Service server
- Web server
- Wiki server (not widely used anymore)
- Calendar server
And more…
When y'all set upward an electronic mail account on your Apple tree device, you're connecting to a mail service server. Visiting a website? Your computer is connecting to a web server. Yous get the picture…
Many companies notice it is more toll-constructive to use cloud services instead of their own server. For the security of your data, zip beats having a server on-site in a locked server room. Running your own server also provides more flexibility in customizing services.
Linux is a family of open up-source UNIX-like operating systems and is used on many servers.
Why a Linux Server and not macOS Server?
Are yous wondering why I'm talking virtually using the Open up Source Linux operating system and not macOS? Apple tree used to sell and support a Server version of macOS. The Rocket Yard featured a serial of articles on Mastering macOS Server in 2022. By early 2022, Apple removed most of the useful features of macOS Server and rendered information technology substantially useless.
For an Apple-centric shop, ownership into the Microsoft Windows Server world is a costly and counterintuitive motion. All Apple operating systems are UNIX-based, and Linux is a form of UNIX. Linux was estimated to run 67% of all web servers in 2022, and that number has probably grown since that fourth dimension.
Most important for our experiment is that Linux distributions ("distros") easily run on Intel-based Macs. That may alter in the hereafter when Apple Silicon rules the world of Mac, but since Linux runs on ARM processors (the heart of Apple Silicon), it should run on hereafter Macs.
The Hardware for our Linux Server
For this commodity, I'yard using the same 2022 Mac mini that took the starring role in the Plex Media Server article. I affair that's important for this experiment is to accept a Mac that supports EFI — Extensible Firmware Interface. EFI lets users select between multiple operating systems at boot fourth dimension by property down the Option key on the keyboard. EFI came along with the appearance of Intel processors in Macs in 2006, and any Intel-based Mac should support the dual-kick setup we'll employ in this article.
Selecting a Linux Server Distribution
In that location are about as many Linux distros every bit at that place are stars in the sky. OK, I'yard exaggerating, only there are a lot of dissimilar possibilities. Yous can cull openSUSE, CentOS, Debian, RedHat, or ane of the other hundreds of distros. One of the most popular is Ubuntu Linux by Approved, which comes in many different subtypes. I'm nigh interested in a version that runs on "desktop" hardware similar our Mac mini.
I have a choice of Ubuntu Desktop or Ubuntu Server. While you might think I'd bound on the Server version, I want to brand this every bit unproblematic an exercise as possible. I'grand going with the Desktop version considering information technology has a graphical user interface. For Mac users who might non have much experience using a command-line interface (similar the ane available from the macOS Terminal app), a GUI merely makes a lot more sense.
Create a Bootable Clone
It is a very good idea to create a bootable clone of your Mac mini prior to beginning the installation. Should something go wrong during the process, you can always plug in the bootable clone for access to Deejay Utility and other Mac apps yous may need.
Trust me on this point: I needed to completely restore our Mac mini's SSD while writing the postal service. It would have been impossible without having a bootable clone. To create the clone, nosotros used Carbon Re-create Cloner. This is an excellent backup utility for Mac in that it creates exact clones of any drive, and information technology's extremely easy to use.
Note: Mike Bombich, developer of Carbon Copy Cloner, recently expounded on the use of the app with macOS 11 Big Sur. It'due south worth reading if you'll be upgrading your Mac to Big Sur.
Prepare Your Mac
I recommend using an Ubuntu installation DVD to install Ubuntu on the Mac mini. There are other methods available that require an Ethernet connection and a USB wink bulldoze, simply I constitute that the DVD method helped past letting me set up a Wi-Fi connectedness during or just after installation.
I take an Apple SuperDrive connected to this Mac mini, then I created an Ubuntu installation DVD. This page on the Ubuntu website describes the process.
Cleaning Upwards
The test Mac mini has only 120GB of SSD storage and iCloud synchronization had quickly filled that. I constitute it useful to "nuke it from orbit" by booting into Recovery Fashion (hold down Command (⌘) – R during a restart), selecting Disk Utility, selecting the deejay volume that contained "Macintosh HD" and "Macintosh HD Data", and erasing it.
Once that was rapidly completed, I quit Disk Utility, then selected "Reinstall macOS Catalina". Within about 25 minutes my Mac had a fresh installation of macOS. To keep things from getting crowded again, I immediately shut downwards iCloud syncing for Photos and Documents. This opened upward all simply about 20GB of the 120GB SSD.
Create Linux Partitions on the Mac Drive
For dual-booting our Linux server, I need two partitions — one for Linux and the other for swap space. The bandy partition must be the same size as the amount of RAM in the Mac. To find that number, go to > About This Mac.
Our Mac has 4GB of memory, then our Linux server swap partition will likewise be 4GB in size.
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery Mode
Information technology's all-time exercise to resize the startup volume from the macOS Recovery partition. We begin past rebooting the Mac mini while holding the Control (⌘) and R keys, and then releasing the keys when the Apple logo appears.
1 – Select Deejay Utility from the macOS Utilities window that appears, and click Continue.
2 – In the top-left corner of the Deejay Utility window, click the View button and select View > Show All Devices
3 – Select the highest-level drive listed. On the test Mac mini, that drive is called OWC Mercury Farthermost Pro 6G SSD Media. Click the Partitioning button in the Disk Utility toolbar.
4 – Our drive is set up equally an APFS volume. A dialog appears request if you wish to add a volume to the APFS container or partition the device. Click Segmentation.
Create the UBUNTU Partition
5 – A pie chart appears showing the current partitions for the drive. Click the Plus push button below that chart to create a new segmentation. If y'all wish to brand the UBUNTU segmentation a specific size, elevate the "dot" slider on the pie chart to make the sectionalization larger or smaller. Proper name the sectionalisation UBUNTU and set the format to MS-DOS (Fatty).
vi – Click Utilise and a dialog appears. Click Partition to partition the storage. When Deejay Utility displays "Operation successful", click Done.
Not every partitioning try may be successful. In my case, information technology showed that the partitioning failed and it had left the segmentation equally an APFS volume. I then erased the book in Disk Utility every bit MS-DOS (Fatty) and information technology partitioned the book successfully.
Create a SWAP Division
vii – Now repeat step five to create the SWAP division, also formatted equally MS-DOS (Fat). In this instance, you lot'll need to drag the handle in the pie nautical chart so that the Swap partition is exactly 4GB in size (or matches the RAM amount for your Mac mini). Click Use, and and then Done when Disk Utility affirms that the operation was successful.
8 – Select Deejay Utility > Quit Disk Utility. This takes us back to the macOS Utilities.
9 – Remember the Ubuntu DVD nosotros created earlier? Place information technology into the DVD drive attached to your Mac mini. You may see a message that says the deejay is not readable; click the Ignore push button.
ten – Restart the Mac by selecting > Restart. Hold downwardly the Choice key on the keyboard to select a boot bulldoze. You should see three: i that says Macintosh HD, another that says Windows, and one that says EFI Kicking. Select EFI boot with your mouse, and so press Return to begin loading Ubuntu. Alert! From now on, the screenshots you lot meet are from my iPhone every bit it's incommunicable to take screenshots while setting upwardly Ubuntu. Sorry!
Install Ubuntu Linux
The first thing that happens is that yous see a lot of text commands scrolling past on the screen, later on which the installer begins doing a lengthy serial of disk checks. Go ahead and allow it happen, although you may experience like it's never going to terminate! Somewhen information technology finishes and yous'll see this:
Select your language choice on the left, then click Install Ubuntu. On the next screen (Keyboard Layout), select the keyboard layout you're using. We selected English language (US). Click Continue.
Bring together a Wi-Fi network if yous're asked to
At one indicate, you may meet a prompt to select and join a Wi-Fi network. If this appears, go ahead and enter the Wi-Fi network proper name (SSID) and password. This helps forth with the installation by allowing Ubuntu Linux to download updates. If not, you'll take the opportunity to select your Wi-Fi network later once Ubuntu is installed.
On the next screen (see screenshot in a higher place), select "Normal Installation" and Install third-political party software for graphics and Wi-Fi hardware and additional media formats. Click Go on.
Now we get to an Installation Blazon screen. Do NOT just "Erase disk and install Ubuntu", because this erases everything…including your macOS partition. Instead, click "Something else" and then "Install Now".
The side by side screen (below) displays how the deejay is formatted. The Orange (sda2) is macOS, the blue (sda3) is the Swap sectionalization, and the green (sda4) is our Ubuntu sectionalization.
Assign the partitions to Linux
To set upwards the partitions to use Linux, select the Swap partition kickoff (4GB in our case) by clicking on the correct Device (/dev/sda3 fat32 in my example) to highlight it, and so click Change…
A dialog titled "Edit Segmentation" appears (see screenshot higher up). See the "Use equally" drib-down? Select "swap area" from the listing, and then click OK. Annotation that you'll run across a "Write previous changes to disk and proceed?" dialog — click Continue and allow the installer do its affair.
Now it'southward time to allocate the larger partition to be our primary Ubuntu partition. Click on the Ubuntu sectionalisation (/dev/sda4 fat32 in this case) to highlight information technology, then click Alter. The Edit Sectionalisation dialog appears again. In this example, select "Ext4 journaling file arrangement" from the drop-down bill of fare, check the "Format the partition" box, and select / as the mount point. Click OK.
At this point, you should have 2 partitions — a smaller one of type "swap" and a larger 1 that is going to exist formatted equally "Linux ext4". These partitions coexist with the macOS partitions.
Time to Install Ubuntu on our Linux Server
Feeling lucky? Click the Install Now button. Earlier annihilation happens, the Ubuntu installer gives you ane more chance to brand sure you lot've done everything correct.
I'thou feeling lucky, then with a click of the Continue push, we're on our mode to setting up our Linux server.
Y'all're asked to pinpoint your location on a map in order to ready the proper time zone. If Ubuntu has selected the correct time zone, click Continue. If not, click on the map to announce your time zone, then click Continue.
Set up a user account on our Linux server
The side by side screen asks data for setting up your authoritative account. It asks for your name, the proper noun y'all wish to give the computer (we called this MINI-SERVER), a username, and a password. Fill up the blanks and click Continue.
While Ubuntu is installing, it displays a splash screen showing the features of the most recent version equally well as a progress bar. When everything is ready to roll, you'll see an "Installation Consummate" dialog with a Restart Now button. Click that push button.
Y'all'll come across some code on the screen, then a dialog request yous to "Please remove the installation medium, then press ENTER" (that's the Return key on your Mac keyboard). Once the install DVD has been kicked out and you've retrieved it, press Return.
First boot of our Linux server
The Mac boots into Ubuntu Linux, and you lot'll exist asked to log in with the password you ready earlier. Type it in and press Render.
Before you do annihilation else, it's a good idea to set up Wi-Fi. In the extreme upper right corner of your screen, you lot'll come across what appears to exist a "power button". Click it, and yous'll see some settings. It will show Wi-Fi as "Non Connected". Click the downward-pointing disclosure triangle, then cull "Select Network" from the choices available.
Click the proper name of the Wi-Fi network yous wish to connect to, click Connect, and and then enter the password for the network. As soon as you see that the computer is connected to your Wi-Fi network, you can proceed to go about your business.
Livepatch and Ubuntu 1
Yous may see a dialog request yous to set up Livepatch, which is a tool to keep your Linux server car secure by automatically applying patches that normally crave a reboot. You'll demand to re-enter your Ubuntu password to cosign, and then set an Ubuntu One business relationship.
Click the "I want to register for an business relationship now" radio push button before clicking Connect. This launches Firefox (the default web browser for Ubuntu). Fill in your e-mail address, select a username, and a password.
You lot'll need to verify the electronic mail address. Since you haven't fix up e-mail on the Linux server machine yet, cheque your iPhone, iPad, or another Mac for an email from Ubuntu One. Click the confirmation link and follow the instructions.
When in dubiousness, test it out
At this betoken, information technology's not a bad idea to brand certain that we tin actually dual-boot the Mac/Linux hybrid! Become to the upper right corner again, and Power Off.
Now, press the Choice key on the keyboard, and ability up the Mac mini again. Y'all'll come across ii volumes to boot from — EFI Kick (Linux) and Macintosh HD (macOS). Select EFI Boot to head back into Linux, or select Macintosh HD to boot into macOS. I tried both of them just to be certain that everything was working equally desired.
Until Side by side Fourth dimension…
This has been a lot of time-consuming work so far. The Mac mini is now set up up as a dual-boot macOS / Ubuntu Linux server car.
In the adjacent installment of this serial, we'll expect speedily at the bones Ubuntu operating system, so swoop into setting this mini to be a total Linux server.
Related Reading
Source: https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/67497-mac-mini-as-linux-server/
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