Paul Johnson13
Level 1 (72 points)
Servers Enterprise

Q: Cloning a Mac mini with Server app

We bought a condo in Florida and I want to duplicate my server there. I use Mac minis (2 different models) each with 2 external drives (one for Time Machine backups and one for data).

 

What’s the best way to install Apple Server on the Florida-bound Mac mini so I don’t have to install it from scratch?

 

Yesterday I tried (unsuccessfully) to use Migration Assistant to move everything from my Mac mini to the Florida-bound one. Can I use the 3rd party app “Carbon Copy Cloner” instead?

 

Any recommendation on how to set up the 2nd server would be appreciated.

Safari 9.0, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on May 8, 2016 10:23 AM

Close
Paul Johnson13

Q: Cloning a Mac mini with Server app

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Strontium90,Helpful

    Strontium90 Strontium90 May 9, 2016 6:15 AM in response to Paul Johnson13
    Level 5 (4,077 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    May 9, 2016 6:15 AM in response to Paul Johnson13

    Duplicating the server is a relatively trivial process and can be accomplished using Disk Utility.  However, the source drive and the target drive should no be active at the time of cloning.  For example, you have Master Mini and you want it to be replicated on Replica Mini.  The easiest way to do this with included tools is to boot Master Mini from another drive containing a boot OS.  Then start the Replica Mini in target disk mode and connect it to the Master Mini (already booted from another drive).  Use Disk Utility to clone the Master drive to the Replica drive.

     

    Ah, but cloning is the easy part.  The question I have for you is do you really want an exact replica?  The reason I ask is that your current server should have a name and a fully qualified domain name.  Let's say it is server.pauljohnson.com and it has an IP address of 10.0.0.10.  If you clone the device to another Mac it too will have a name of server.pauljohnson.com and it has an IP address of 10.0.0.10.  If both of your networks are setup on the 10.0.0.0/24 subnet then you will not be able to connect them to each other.  Likewise, if you are relying on external access to the devices and must comply with DNS, then you will only be able to point to one of the servers unless you have some form of load balancing setup to distribute load between the two locations.

     

    What services are you running on the servers other than Time Machine server?  Do you plan on having a VPN tunnel between the two facilities?  If you are using Open Directory and DNS, you can setup master and replicas of both services.  Obviously, this should only be done with a VPN tunnel in place as I do not recommend exposing these services to the internet.

     

    Next, are you expecting to replicate data also?

     

    Start with a list of services and a list of expectations on how you want client devices to work when moving from location to location.

     

    Reid

    Apple Consultants Network

    Author - "El Capitan Server – Foundation Services"

    Author - "El Capitan Server – Control & Collaboration"

    Author - "El Capitan Server – Advanced Services"

    :: Exclusively available in Apple's iBooks Store

  • by Paul Johnson13,

    Paul Johnson13 Paul Johnson13 May 8, 2016 9:17 PM in response to Strontium90
    Level 1 (72 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    May 8, 2016 9:17 PM in response to Strontium90

    I used the word ‘clone’ too loosely. I didn't mean an exact copy of my Mac mini server. I only want to avoid the tedious and time-consuming setup of Mac Server on a second Mac mini in Florida, when the two servers are nearly identical.

     

    I use the following Public Services: DNS, Profile Manager, Screen Sharing, VPN, and Websites, with an additional one for a private service.

     

    I use dyndns to provide the equivalent of a static ip address and will be able to access the two servers using fully-qualified domain names. The two servers will be in different local networks but I do have to tweak the ‘clone’ a bit so its fully-qualified domain name is unique. However, that beats having to install and set up all the services in Mac Server.

     

    My data resides on external disks, one on each server. This provides redundancy because I will have two nearly identical disks in two separate physical locations. I will be in one of the locations half the year and in the other location the other half. I can have a 3rd external drive that I move back and forth once a year to “synchronize” the data disks. (I could subscribe to a cloud-based service but I'd rather not have that expense.)

     

    I believe I understand how to clone the Mac mini. Thanks, Reid. I will try that tomorrow.

     

    Your mention of VPN to communicate between the servers is something I need to learn more about. I guess I can solve the data synchronization problem using a VPN. For now, with my limited knowledge, the use of a 3rd data disk will probably be sufficient. I see you have authored some books that may be helpful in this area, and I'll take a look at them. Thanks.

  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis May 9, 2016 12:42 PM in response to Paul Johnson13
    Level 10 (208,000 points)
    Applications
    May 9, 2016 12:42 PM in response to Paul Johnson13

    On the source server:

    sudo serveradmin settings all > outfile

    On the destination server:

    sudo serveradmin settings < outfile

  • by Paul Johnson13,

    Paul Johnson13 Paul Johnson13 May 9, 2016 12:44 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (72 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    May 9, 2016 12:44 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thanks, Linc. Just what I need.

     

    Maybe you've also got a one-liner for keeping the data on my 2 servers synchronized?