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How do I setup CalDav and CardDav servers on my Mac to enable local 'cloud' syncing in Mavericks

I've decided to start off a new thread having initially posted on How to locally sync an iPhone with OS X Mavericks? iCloud is NOT an option.

It is clear to me that it is possible to establish syncing locally without going outside one's own home, and without internet access. I am bugged by the fact that the previous service has gone without any user focussed warning, but I am keen to find a way of solving the problem. If you are just frustrated, I'd be grateful if you can keep your annoyance off this thread.

My guess is that a CalDav and CardDav server hosted on my own Mac can be set upt to sync with my iPhone (3GS) either on a Computer-to-Computer (ad hoc) network or via my own home LAN. The trouble is I am not network/Apache savvy enough to use it.

I am reluctant to fork out an additional amount for the Mavericks server as I don't have any other foreseeable need for it, but Mavericks comes with Apache pre-loaded and there is a very light, simple and free open source CalDav and CardDav server in Baïkal. The trouble is I am not apache/network savvy enough to make use of it, and basically I am stumbling along in the near dark with terminal.

There are some good resources for setting up Apache and for setting up Virtual Hosts which would host my personal 'cloud', and Baïkal also comes with setup guides as well. The trouble is, I don't quite have enough knowledge to marry the two together. Is there anyone contributing to or watching this thread who has the know-how to do a proper step by step guide for running Baïkal on Apache as installed in the Mavericks OS, and setting up a local 'cloud'.

AFAICT the problem with the resources I have found is that the Apache stuff I've found doesn't particularly focus on running Baïkal, and the Baïkal documentation is not specific to Apache on Mavericks. Is there anyone out there who can give me some help with this?

Can anyone help - please? 😐

OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Nov 11, 2013 12:46 PM

135 replies

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,992 points

Dec 30, 2013 1:10 PM in response to veda1

emorig helped with the sudo command.

Unless you are connected directly to the internet, then your router is intercepting anything that would have any ability to get into your Mac. You are not connected to the internet if your IP address on the Mac starts with 10., 172.16, or 192.168, then you are on a private network behind a router.

The web server doesn't do anything unless something tries to talk to it. It is "listening" for those conversations, but I don't think that uses much of anything.

veda1

Level 1

9 points

Dec 30, 2013 3:33 PM in response to Barney-15E

Thank you emorig and Barney.

The tip to enable Administrator privileges in a Standard account is great and will be useful in this case and other situations.

I am no longer concerned with Baïkal using system resources but the security one remains. I often connect to the Internet in public places (ethernet or wi-fi) and don't have control over network administrations. Chances of being hacked may not be very high but I guess disabling the server if it's easy wouldn't hurt.

Automator looks like a great option but I am not familiar with it. It could end up being another learning curve. Would it be possible to automate:

1- Enabling administrator privileges in a Standard account with a prompt for the admin password (wouldn't want to preset the password), followed by:

2- Starting or stopping Apache, followed by:

3- Disabling administrator privileges in the Standard account

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,992 points

Dec 30, 2013 3:46 PM in response to veda1

I found this searching for a solution:

http://clickontyler.com/web-sharing/

I tried it out and it works fine to start and stop the web server (which is hosting the Baïkal server).

When you install it (by double-clicking the download), it will ask if you want to install it for all users. Make sure you choose that option.

When you switch it on or off as an unprivileged user, it presents the standard authentication dialog for you to enter your admin user name and password.

veda1

Level 1

9 points

Dec 31, 2013 8:19 AM in response to Barney-15E

Thanks again Barney. This works like a charm.

This sort of completes my experiment with the Baïkal server sync solution for now. I know that it can be done when starting on a clean slate and when following Barney's instructions carefully. I have yet to implement it on my current system. I messed up my Apache setup and will need to start with a clean install of Mavericks which I am not yet ready to do. I will probable wait for 10.9.2. Who knows, maybe Apple will surprise us with some solution. Otherwise, Baïkal will be the way to go.

Dec 31, 2013 3:37 PM in response to veda1

You can revert to your original apache settings without having to reinstall your OS: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2015272?answerId=9507819022#9507819022

All good wishes for a happy new year

James

veda1

Level 1

9 points

Dec 31, 2013 5:32 PM in response to James Richards

Thanks James for the suggestion. These commands won't help. They return "No such file or directory" as I don't have a "httpd.conf.defaultserver" or a "sites" folder. I had already replaced the config and some extra files in the apache2 folder with originals as recommended in a different thread but I still can't get the server to run. I think I really messed it up with some other experiments. I don't know if it makes a difference but I am currently running Mountain Lion.

I would feel more confident to succeed with the Baïkal installation after cleaning up the system with a Mavericks clean install. Plus, it will allow me to create a missing Recovery Partition. I guess it's time to clean up the house.

I am going on a vacation and won't use my computer for at least a week. Hence the desire to not make any big changes for now.

Best wishes to all for the new year!

appid

Level 1

8 points

Jan 23, 2014 4:39 PM in response to veda1

Today is Friday 24 january. Suddenly my contacts stopped synching via Baikal server. Now my phone contacts is empty. I did a test entry on my phone and on my mac for the calendar and it is still working.

The only thing I did this morning was install the latest version of itunes as prompted. But surely that would not cause this? If it did it is a sinister thing to have done.

Csound1

Level 9

59,985 points

Jan 23, 2014 4:41 PM in response to appid

Restore your backup copy.

appid

Level 1

8 points

Jan 23, 2014 5:51 PM in response to appid

I have discovered that I can no longer connect to the baikal server - http://localhost:8080 ???

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,992 points

Jan 23, 2014 8:05 PM in response to appid

Is apache running?

Try

sudo apachectl start

If it is already running it will tell you. Otherwise, it will start up.

You might also consider the Preference Pane I posted earlier.

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,992 points

Jan 23, 2014 8:07 PM in response to appid

The only thing I did this morning was install the latest version of itunes as prompted. But surely that would not cause this? If it did it is a sinister thing to have done.

It didn't stop anything on my Mac, nor did it affect my Baïkal server.

Jan 24, 2014 3:41 AM in response to appid

If you used Barney-15E's User Tip, then your Baïkal server is on either http://localhost:8443or https://localhost:8443

If your contacts on your computer are currently OK, then do save a backup of them now!

I had a problem recently when a local network chaged my computer's name 'automatically'. This disrupted my syncing since I was using the name MyMacBookPro.local to access my computer rather than a fixed IP address. Once I had reset the name it was fine again - but that didn't make my contacts disappear.

The two things I have done which made my contacts disappear were (a) within the Contacts app, when I went to 'Groups' from the 'All Contacts' view (button at top left of screen) and accidentally either hid all contacts, or deselected the group(s) in which my contacts appeared, or (b) in Settings>Mail, Contacts, Calendars finding that the Account used for syncing my Contacts had been switched off somehow and was showing as 'Inactive'.

Hope some of this might help.

James

Jan 27, 2014 11:06 PM in response to James Richards

Looks like the ownCloud folks have solved their OS X problem so ownCloud looks like a good option now and may be easier to setup than the Baïkal solution I eventually went for detailed how-to in Michael Gracie's blog here: http://michaelgracie.com/2013/11/13/getting-ios-7-calendar-and-contacts-syncing- directly-with-os-x-10-9-mavericks/#comment-348446

Feb 17, 2014 5:51 AM in response to James Richards

I tried to install Baikal Server today. I followed the instructions by Barney-15E at https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6311 and got as far as the end of the "Create Self-signed SSL Certificates". I was unable to find and (quote) "delete the files created in your home folder (server.crt, server.key, server.key.org, server.csr)".

When I tried to run the command "apachectl configtest" at the beginning of the "Start the Web Server (and your new CardDAV and CalDAV servers)". I ran into a lot of trouble. Syntax was not OK.

Does anyone know where I can get advice? I am concerned that all the changes I've made may cause problems if I don't get this set up. I'm assuning there is no way of asking Barney-15E about this.

Using: MacBook Pro Retina 15" running 10.9.1

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,992 points

Feb 18, 2014 2:57 PM in response to Skakagrall

Post the response to the configtest.

I think some of those key files listed were an error. Did you find any of them?

To restore the original config:

All of the orginal config files are in the /etc/apache2/original folder.

Copy (don't move) them from the original folder to where they are in the apache2 folder.

How do I setup CalDav and CardDav servers on my Mac to enable local 'cloud' syncing in Mavericks