Um, sure, I guess I can support 30 macs...

October 16, 2007 7:55 AM

Help me become a Mac Boffin.

So, two weeks into a new job, it looks like the focus of my work has shifted a little. Instead of just working on the database conversion I planned on handling, I'm also responsible for the care and feeding of 30 Macs, and making some system-wide decisions.

I'm a comfortable Mac user, but most of my deeper technical experience has been with Windows. And some areas, like Mac networking, are pretty foreign. I'd really appreciate any resources or tips that would help me assault the learning curve, both with OS X and with bigger-picture IT decision-making.

posted by COBRA! to computers & internet (7 comments total)

ADC
posted by Thorzdad at 8:07 AM on October 16, 2007

Get this book. It will explain everything you need to know about how a Mac is built from the bolts up.
posted by TeatimeGrommit at 9:18 AM on October 16, 2007

Thanks, guys.
posted by COBRA! at 11:15 AM on October 16, 2007

Are there particular areas that you are curious about? Will you be working primarily with desktop support (helpdesk role), or network services and policies like file sharing, centralized authentication, etc (sysadmin role)?
posted by chundo at 2:31 PM on October 16, 2007

Get a copy of Apple Remote Desktop. It's invaluable for support, especially if/when you need to install apps or upgrades. Beats the hell out of going it one Mac at a time.

And like chuno said, it'd be helpful to know more about what your role is and what you want to do.
posted by edjusted at 4:27 PM on October 16, 2007

Are there particular areas that you are curious about? Will you be working primarily with desktop support (helpdesk role), or network services and policies like file sharing, centralized authentication, etc (sysadmin role)?

Some of everything. Essentially, this is a mid-size on-campus art museum that has never had a staff member whose main focus was technology. I was hired to help set up their collections management database, something I have experience in, and to be the general go-to guy for computing trouble (if things are beyond my abilities to fix, we have contractors and vendors for hardware repair and high-level system trouble). As I've settled in, my role's expanded a little so that I'm making decisions about who needs what kind of computers, what sort of central file server we should have (everyone's been saving everything to their local hard drives?!?), setting up some sort of system-wide backup routine, etc. I basically have to be ready to either fix any given situation or have a reasonable idea of where to delegate it.

it's a pretty wide scope, but so far I'm enjoying the challenge. I just want to have a wider array of resources to work with.
posted by COBRA! at 7:37 PM on October 16, 2007

My first suggestion is to use a Mac at work (if you aren't already). It's the fastest way to become familiar with how it works, even if it won't tell you much about the guts of it. The links others have provided above will give you some more in-depth information about the operating system and available tools.

For broader network infrastructure considerations, one important thing to keep in mind is that OS X is just Unix underneath. That means that almost all of the widely used network software used Linux and other Unix systems is available for Mac too (Samba, OpenLDAP, etc). So when searching for solutions to an issue that you run into (like configuring Samba file sharing), you might be able to find the solution in a Linux-oriented site rather than one specific to OS X - keep your search parameters wide.
posted by chundo at 7:00 AM on October 17, 2007