Fortunately, one of the employees on-site had a monitor that was quickly pressed into service, and after plugging in the keyboard, mouse and power, the server quickly booted up.Īpple is marketing the Mac mini Server as "Easy to set up. There was a bit of a holdup when I discovered that the server came with a mini-DVI to DVI adapter, while I had brought my old VGA display with me.
While I didn't check for the usual Apple stickers, I did find the server software serial number cards that are essential during the setup process.
Unboxing the server (sorry, no unboxing movies this time.) unveiled a plastic-wrapped mini Server and the traditional power brick, along with a small box containing Mac OS X 10.6 Server and assorted manuals. Usually after setting up these servers, I rarely, if ever, need to go back and fix anything. I've set up Mac minis with Mac OS X Server for architectural firms, PR companies, design firms, non-profits, and a number of other companies that needed centralized control of digital assets, but didn't want to spend a lot of money to do so. I had two servers of my own at for quite some time, and Brian Stucki, the owner of that Mac mini colocation firm, noted in a discussion a few years ago that the failure rate on the mini hardware is phenomenally low. Since the introduction of the Mac mini in early 2005, I've been using "regular" Mac minis as servers, and they've worked flawlessly. Last week was no exception, and when I received a call from a new client who wanted assistance with a Mac mini Server, I jumped at the chance. It's always nice when, as a Mac consultant, I can play with the latest hardware and software and get paid to do it.