Mac OS X Server 10.14, how to set up a network home folder, aka mobile account, share point

[DJLC]

Probably a separate conversation, but it would interesting to see what the true cost of running an AD environment is, vs. cloud options.

Aboslutely agreed! And I do also like the JumpCloud blog posts in this space, to be clear. I just have to stop reading when they go to "JumpCloud can fix it!"

If we ran a proper AD environment, I'm sure JC would be comparable. What I run, however, is one server w/ 2012 Standard on a crappy metal shelf in a closet w/ the door propped open because there is no ventilation. We've got Carbonite server backups just in case something happens. Is it redundant and perfect? No. Has it worked just fine and been on-budget for years? Yes. Comparing what we have to JumpCloud is like comparing apples to Ferraris.

Pre-emptive replacement of our server would probably run $5k every 5 years. So for us, TCO on a cloud directory service is going to be exponentially higher.

 

[hobowankenobi]

Aboslutely agreed! And I do also like the JumpCloud blog posts in this space, to be clear. I just have to stop reading when they go to "JumpCloud can fix it!"

If we ran a proper AD environment, I'm sure JC would be comparable. What I run, however, is one server w/ 2012 Standard on a crappy metal shelf in a closet w/ the door propped open because there is no ventilation. We've got Carbonite server backups just in case something happens. Is it redundant and perfect? No. Has it worked just fine and been on-budget for years? Yes. Comparing what we have to JumpCloud is like comparing apples to Ferraris.

Pre-emptive replacement of our server would probably run $5k every 5 years. So for us, TCO on a cloud directory service is going to be exponentially higher.

Yep. Been there. Years ago, at a private company, we had a similar setup (pre-cloud days):

1. One AD server to start.
2. Reviewing safety and uptime challenges, we moved to two redundant controllers, each with SCSI raid 6 and redundant power supplies. Maybe $8000 or so for the upgrade.
   
3. We added a room AC unit, as we had about 8 servers running, generating decent heat; too much to circulate the common building air. A hacky fix, but only cost about $1000.
4. During a crazy heat wave, the AC unit died. Murphy's law. The room went to over 100F in a few hours...so no choice to power all servers down. A bunch of offices could not connect and process important transactions for most of a day. That was not acceptable.
5. A dedicated AC unit, water-less fire suppression, and other hardening would have cost more than $30K... A better, safer alternative, with redundant everything (UPS and generator power, cooling, networking, and fire suppression) was all to be had in a data center.
6. To consolidate servers, both increasing redundancy, hot-swapability, and increase performance while reducing both rack space/cost and power/cooling costs, we moved to a high end blade server. $40K plus monthly data center costs (don't recall those exactly), although that was for at least 6 virtualized servers, not just AD boxes.

Throw in the Server licenses, VMWare costs, CALs, and so on....to build a robust AD setup, and next thing you know the up front cost is well north of $20K with $1000+ per month for both data center and hardware depreciation.

And that's what running a nearly bullet-proof AD setup can cost.

 

[DuncanGarp]

I just want to make a comment (minor one) that I also made on another thread. I have never used OS X Server and was planning to install one on a Mojave based host. But then I saw that now it's called "macOS Server" and version 5.8 just came out. Saw I researched the features and found out that since 5.7.1 something, many of the features I was looking for such VPN, AD, File Sharing, etc. was deprecated. So I passed purchasing the app. Thanks.

 

[hobowankenobi]

I just want to make a comment (minor one) that I also made on another thread. I have never used OS X Server and was planning to install one on a Mojave based host. But then I saw that now it's called "macOS Server" and version 5.8 just came out. Saw I researched the features and found out that since 5.7.1 something, many of the features I was looking for such VPN, AD, File Sharing, etc. was deprecated. So I passed purchasing the app. Thanks.

Hope it saved some time and hassle. FWIW, if it were me, I would everything except file sharing on router with a good interface and feature set, like a Synology. Heck, they even do file sharing with attached storage.