Server Security

Abstract

OS X Server is an app that runs on a standard Mac. This app is available on the App store and very straight forward to setup. The Server app contains a faux root of the former OS X Server operating system within the app bundle, which contains a number of binaries that should be secured for those that use an OS X Server. It may look similar, but the Server app brings some very different functionality to an OS X Client,. The differences lie in the fact that Mac OS X Server, like most other servers, should be used exclusively to share data. That data is shared across a variety of protocols, according to the type of data being shared. Therefore, it naturally follows that you will need to take additional precautions to properly secure OS X Server on a per-service basis. In this chapter, we’ll primarily focus on the services that are specific to the Server app and how to secure them, paying attention to where the best practices differ from a standard Mac client.