I've been working with Mac hosting for about thirteen years. I tell people about using a Mac mini as a server and they just love the idea of it. There are a lot of great hosting options out there these days, but it's nice to work with a server where the OS is familiar and you know you control the whole stack of hardware and software. Our base Mac mini subscription starts at just $79/mo (that includes the server) so it's much easier to get started.

Five years ago today, I wrote a post about ways you might use a Mac server. I’ve decided to update that list and add some new ones that have come along in the last little while. It’s a mix of Mac apps, open source projects, and iOS tools. Now when you say to yourself “I’d love to try a Mac server but I just don’t know what I’d do with it” then you can take a look at this list. (Have more suggestions? Add them here.)

Ways to use your Mac Server

For this setup, Morrison used the 2018 Mac Mini to put macOS on a 2018 iPad Pro. The Mac Mini powers the whole experience, and basically uses the iPad Pro as an external display — but all of the. Profile Manager help Enable mobile device management Reset Profile Manager Ports used by Profile Manager in macOS Server Resolve issues with Profile Manager in macOS Server Xsan Use the resources below to learn about setup options, network management, configuration, and more.

macOS server is in the middle of a big transition, but I'm still including it here. You'll want to be sure to read up on the future roadmap. It's a first party way to run a Profile Manager and Open Directory.

There are a number of ways to use your Mac as a build server. It’s easily the most popular use here at MacStadium. You might look at Jenkins, Buildkite, Teamcity, Veertu, or Gitlab.

Xcode now includes Xcode Server. We have a guide for setting up Xcode 9 Server that may be helpful.

Resilio is a file sync server built on bit torrent technology. It's very good for large files. Here is a tutorial to setup a file server with Resilio on a Mac mini.

Selfoss is a web based RSS reader that is open source and free.

Screens will let you use a Mac from your iPad or iPhone.

NuoRDS is a scalable terminal server for Mac. Here are some setup instructions.

Hazel is an automation tool that can keep your Mac server clean. (I use it to offload things from Dropbox, make a copy of full resolution images, etc. Just set it up and let it run. It's especially useful for people who use an iOS device full time but want a Mac to do some heavy lifting in the background without much interaction.)

Sendy is a self hosted service to email your newsletters at a significant discount. Similar to MailChimp.

Guacamole is a client-less remote desktop gateway. You can control your machine without needing a client (and just a browser using HTML5.)

Yourls is a self-hosted URL shortener. It provides stats as well.

Pow lets you create a quick environment to build and test Rails apps.

Use Transmit to access your Mac as a file server. Here’s a short tutorial.

Moodle is a CMS for education.

VirtualHostX lets you setup multiple websites quickly on a Mac. It comes with it's own self-contained Apache web server as well.

Owncloud is a replacement for Dropbox, but also provides calendar, contacts and so much more.

Plex lets you stream all your media to your phone/tablet/Macs/etc.

FileMaker is a powerful database server. Very Powerful. Run it for yourself or as a paid service for others.

Kerio is a powerful Mail server. A very good alternative to Exchange.

Run a Minecraft Server of your own.

uTorrent is a simple torrent client.

ServerPilot makes it simple and fast to create and maintain Wordpress installs. Built for DigitalOcean, but works great on a Mac mini with Ubuntu.

MAMP will help you setup a WordPress blog quickly with PHP and mySQL.

DNS Enabler lets you run your own DNS server.

BBpress is clean forum software from the makers of WordPress.

Discourse is a platform to build a community. It's modern and free for self hosted. We use Discourse for our own community site.

Simon is an application that will monitor all sorts of servers and services and notify you if they're down.

iStat Server will let you keep an eye on your Mac server.

Asterisk is an open source VOIP server.

Deep Freeze will let you really hack on your machine, and bring it back clean with a restart.

Nagios will keep an eye on your infastructure.

VMware ESXi will let you install and run multiple instances of OS X on the same server (and we'll install it for you when you start a Mac mini subscription.)

Pancake is a seller self hosted app for invoicing and billing clients.

GridRepublic or Warrior will let you put your extra server power to good use.

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Tell us how you use your Mac server

Do you have more software suggestions? Feel free to add them as a comment on our community forum. (And don’t be shy about sending your own software. We’re always happy to work with developers.)

On your iOS device, you will need a Remote Desktop App that allows you to access MacinCloud remotely. We recommend a free app called 'Remote Desktop Manager' for iPad users and 'Remote Desktop Mobile' for iPhone users. You can find these apps in the Apple App Store*. You may install them and following the instructions below:

Using the 'Remote Desktop Manager' App - for iPad and iPad Pro Users

The 'Remote Desktop Manager' app provides better resolution compatibility to iPad and iPad Pro. Users with iPhones may also use this app, although the additional buttons presented by the app may occupy part of the already limited iPhone screen space. Here are the steps to use this app with your MacinCloud Mac account:

1. Download and install the free 'Remote Desktop Manager' app from the App Store (The App has a blue frame icon)

2. Open the app, and create a master password for the app when prompted. This step is optional;

3. Open the app and press '+ (Add)' icon at the left lower corner to add a server connection profile;

4. Press 'RDP (Microsoft Remote Desktop)' in the connection protocol list. Notice that you should NOT select the option 'Apple Remote Desktop (ARD)';

5. Press 'General' and then press the empty space right next to the 'Name' label to give the connection a name. You can use the server name you are assigned;

6 Press 'RDP (Microsoft Remote Desktop)' in the left hand 'Settings' list;

a. Press the empty space next to the label 'Host.' (Do NOT press the 'select' button at the right end.) Input 'Host' name with the host/server name in the format of: [server name].macincloud.com

b. Press the empty space next to the label 'Port' and Input port number: 6000

c. Input 'username' of the MacinCloud Mac account

d. Input 'password' of the MacinCloud Mac account

e. Press 'Done' at the top left to complete the setup

7. Now on the 'Local Data Source' list, click the server name we just set up;

8. You will be presented the Mac login interface of the MacinCloud server, type user name and password if needed (previously inputted password should login the account automatically).

Using the 'Microsoft Remote Desktop' App - for iPhone users

Mac Server For Ipad 6th Generation

1. Run the 'Microsoft Remote Desktop' App on your iPad or iPhone. Press the '+' button at the right upper corner to add a new connection.

2. Select 'Add PC' (or in earlier versions of the app, 'Desktop'), and input: PC Name: [Your Server Name].macincloud.com:6000

This 'PC Name' field is used to tell the App which server to connect to. In our case, the server is a Mac server. You will receive your server name together with your server login username and password through email after your purchase. If your server name is 'A101,' then you should input 'A101.macincloud.com:6000' in this field. Notice that there is a ':' right before '6000'.

User Name: [Your User Name]]

These two fields are all we need to input in order to initiate the connection. Press the 'Save' button at the right upper corner, and you will see a new connection icon is created. Simply press the icon to initiate a connection.

3. On the next screen, press the 'Don't ask me for connections to this computer' switch, and press the 'Connect' button at the right upper corner.

Mac Server Ipad Management

4. Now, the 'Credentials' page allows you to review your connection information. Make sure the server information and 'User Name' is correct. Type your password on this page. You could also do it after you see the Mac login screen. We do not recommend you save password on this page, so do not turn on the 'Store user name and password' switch.

5. Now, press 'Done' at the right upper corner to initiate the connection. If you already typed in your password in the previous screen, you are now connected to the Mac. If not, you should see the Mac login screen and you can type your password to log in.

Remember to log off your account by using the Apple Icon > Log Out option when you're finished with a usage session. Be aware that simply disconnecting or closing the app will not log you off your Mac server account.

If you have any questions, please contact our support staff.

Ipad Vs Mac

Mac Ipads For Sale

*MacinCloud is not associated with the developers of these apps. For specific app related support needs, please contact the app developer.

Use Ipad App On Mac