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 Macintosh OSX FirstClass Server Tuning Recommendations
Please review the following to ensure that your FirstClass server running on a Mac OSX machine is optimally configured.
System requirements and recommendations
• Mac OS X server or client version. Specific versions that are fully supported are as follows:
For FirstClass 7.1, 10.2.3 to 10.2.8
For FirstClass 8, 10.2.8 and 10.3.4
For FirstClass 8 SP5, 10.3.9 through 10.4.2
For FirstClass 8.1 and 8.2, 10.4.1 through 10.4.5.
For FirstClass 8.3, 10.4.1 through 10.4.8.
For FirstClass 9.0, 10.4.1 through 10.4.8.For FirstClass 9.0, 10.4.1 through 10.4.8.
Upgrading to later OS versions or using older OS versions is not recommended for stability reasons. If your hardware restricts rolling back to the fully supported operating systems, we will continue to support you with the understanding that you may run into issues that have not been revealed or resolved through FirstClass testing.
EXCEPTION: Running any pre-SP5 version of FirstClass 8 Server or pre-SP4 version of FirstClass 8 Internet Services on 10.4.x is not supported.
• HFS+ Mac OS Extended partition is recommended for the executables and the FirstClass post office.
WARNING: Case-sensitive volume options are NOT supported.
• Separate direct or network-attached volume large enough to hold the mirrored FirstClass post office is recommended to facilitate online backup procedures
• Fast disk storage system is required for servers with a concurrency of more than 300 users, recommended for all servers.
• Priorities for both the FirstClass server and Internet
be set to medium on OSX
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Using the Server version of the OSX operating system
If you are using the Server version of OS X, you may encounter an issue where the installer reports that you are not logged in as the fcadmin user. You need to create a home folder for the fcadmin user in order to continue via the Workgroup Manager on your OS X operating system. See image below. It is a good idea to always create a home folder for the fcadmin account. Also ensure that you are logged in as 'fcadmin' when running
installers/u
 nage:1102005_24031_1.png]
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Adjusting the MTU Value
Adjusting the MTU value is only necessary for "same node" FirstClass server installations on OS X; where both the FirstClass Server and FirstClass Internet Services are running on the same computer.
Development has identified many OS X FirstClass Internet Services (IS) crash issues to be caused by poor connectivity between IS and the FirstClass Server, due to the default loopback adapter (lo0) MTU mis-configuration on Mac OS X. Reconfiguring it with the same MTU value as the ethernet card (en0) completely resolves the issue. This can be done by typing the following command in the terminal window:
sudo ifconfig lo0 mtu 1500
The OS X default for lo0 is actually 16384 (16K).
Note: The above change will not survive a machine restart and would need to be reapplied.
The following process can be used to have the loopback adapter (lo0) MTU value configured on start up.
'MTU_Adjust.zip' is an archive containing a folder which can be placed in your OS X StartupItems folder to adjust the MTU value to 1500 during the computer startup.
Instructions for use :
Installation:
- Log in to your OS X FirstClass Server computer as fcadmMTU_Adjust.zipp the attached file [Image:MTU_Adjust.zip] on to your FirstClass server computer.
- It will unzip to a folder named 'MTU_Adjust'. Note: On pre 10.3 OS X computers it will unzip to a folder named 'MTU_Adjust Folder'. You will find th
 ide this folder.[Image:72804_52613_0.png]
- Move the 'MTU_Adjust' folder to the following location: /Library/StartupItems/
- Install complete
Confirming the install was successful:
- Upon restarting the computer, open a terminal window and type:
ifconfig lo0 {PRESS ENTER}
The reply should indicate mtu 1500, as shown below:
lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128
inet6 fe80::1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000
Contents of 'MTU_Adjust' folder:
'MTU_Adjust' - Script which adjusts the local loopback (lo0) MTU value to 1500.
StartupParameters.plist - Associated Properties List file.
Should using the MTU_Adjust fail for some reason, you can try this alternate procedure:
1. Open Terminal.app, located in your Applications/Utilities folder.
2. Type the following command followed by 'Enter'.
cd "/Library/StartupItems/FirstClass Server"
3. To edit the 'FirstClass Server' startup file in the text editor "pico", type the following command followed by 'Enter'.
pico "FirstClass Server"
4. Then use the arrow keys to move to the first line in the "StartService" section, and add the line "ifconfig lo0 mtu 1500" as shown below:
StartService ()
{
ifconfig lo0 mtu 1500
if [ "${FCSERVER:=-YES-}" = "-YES-" ]; then
echo "`date "+%G/%m/%d %H:%M:%S"`: Starting FirstClass Server..." >"$BOOTLOG"
if [ -f "$BOOTCMD" ] ; then
source "$BOOTCMD" "start" >>"$BOOTLOG"
fi
if [ -f "$CTLCMD" ] ; then
"$CTLCMD" start >> "$BOOTLOG"
ERROR=$?
else
echo "$CTLCMD is not installed." >>"$BOOTLOG"
ERROR=1
fi
fi
}
5. Save the hostconfig file by pressing (Control + O) followed by 'Enter'
co using (Control + X)
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Setting system preferences
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences to access the system preferences forms.
Energy Saver form
Select Energy Saver in the Hardware section of the forms to access this form, and comple
 elow.Sleep tab
[Image:81502_95721_1.png]
• set the computer sleep time when inactive to Never
• select Use separate time to put the display to sleep
• set the d
 Options tab
[Image:20030203_105044_0.png]
• select Wake for network administrator access
• select Restart automatically if the computer "freezes"
Note
This option is not available on OS X workstation computers
• select Restart automatically after a power failure
Network form
Select Network in the Internet & Network section of the forms to access this form, and complete the form as detailed below.
Network Port Configurations
Choose Show Network Port Configuration
 gurations form.[Image:81602_103542_5.png]
Select only the static ports.
Built-in Ethernet
Choose Show Built-in-Ethernet f
 Ethernet form.[Image:81602_103623_6.png]
Select or clear Make AppleTalk Active as required.
Note
AppleTalk is not supported by the FirstClass server. However, OS X Server platforms may enable AppleTalk for other tasks, such as file sharing. Enabling file sharing will impact the peak concurrency and may result in periods of non-response from the server while using the FirstClass client connected to this computer.
You must configure a static (Manual) IP configuration for FirstClass. A second NIC may also be assigned a static IP number for co-location of FirstClass Internet Services. Installing FirstClass Internet Services on the same computer will impact the peak concurrency and may result in periods of non response from the server while using the FirstClass client or the web client connected to this computer.
QuickTime form
Select QuickTime in the Internet & Network section of the forms to access this form, and complet
 ow.Update tab
[Image:81602_102719_0.png]
Clear Check for updates automatically
Sharing form
Select Sharing in the Internet & Network section of the forms to access this form, and complete
 Services tab[Image:20020912_102644_0.png]
• clear all sharing options
• select Remote Login
Note
Remote Login using SSH can be very useful for remote access from another terminal shell.
Firewall tab
We don't recommend or require any Firewall settings. The SSH port will be automatically enabled on the firewall if "Remote Login" is selected. If you choose to enable the extra level of security then all ports associated with Firstclass products must be "Allowed".
Internet tab
Ensure Internet Sharing is off.
Date & Time form
Select Date & Time in the System section of the forms to access this form, and complete t
 .Time Zone tab
[Image:81502_95918_3.png]
Choose the appr
 Date & Time tab[Image:81502_100206_4.png]
Choose today's date and the appropri
 etwork Time tab[Image:81602_100314_5.png]
• select Use a network time server
• choose the NTP Server
• click Set Time Now to sync your server
Note
This may not work the first time. The time server is often too busy to sync, but will eventually succeed.
Software Update form
Select Software Update in the System section of the forms to access this form, and complete the for
 te Software tab[Image:81602_103037_2.png]
Clear Automatically check for updates when you have a network connection.
Speech form
Select Speech in the System section of the forms to access this form, and complete the form a
 Recognition tab[Image:81602_103234_3.png]
On/Off tab
Select Off for the Apple Speakables items.
Startup Disk form
Select Startup Disk in the System section of the forms to access this fo
 detailed below.[Image:81602_103407_4.png]
Ensure Startup Disk is set to OS X, 10.2.x.
Setting hard drive details
1. Highlight the Hard Drive icon on your OS X Desktop.
2. Choose File > Get Info to open the hard drive details form.
3. Check or set the
 iled below.[Image:20030203_112918_4.png]
General section
Ensure Format is set to Mac OS Extended.
Content index section
Ensure Status is set to Not indexed.
Ownership & Permissions
This step only applies to FirstClass server running on extended volumes.
If FirstClass server is running on
 volume, ignore this step.[Image:perm.jpg]
If Ignore ownership on this volume is checked, clear it.
If you do not see this option, then you are on the root/system volume.
Setting directory access
1. Choose Go > Applications on your OS X Desktop.
2. Select Utilities.
3. Select Directory Access to open the Directory Acces
 as follows:[Image:20021203_125621_0.png]
• clear all LDAP options
• clear or select AppleTalk depending on your needs
Note
AppleTalk is not supported by FirstClass, but may be enabled for other services under light computer concurrency load.
• clear Netinfo
Note
Netinfo must be disabled to avoid frequent pauses.
Setting crash logging options (OS 10.2.x)
Note: If you are using OS 10.3.x+, ignore this section. Crash logging is enabled by default on OS 10.3.x.
1. Choose Go > Applications on your OS X Desktop.
2. Select Utilities.
3. Select Console to start the Console application.
4. When Console appears on your OS X Desktop menu,
Choose Console > Preferences to open the Console Preferences form and complete
 w.Crashes tab
[Image:81602_110944_2.png]
• select Enable crash reporting
• select Automatically display crash logs
Optional
If your OS X machine is a server rather than a workstation,
Review each service and consider the impact on FirstClass concurrency and conflict wit
 vices ports.[Image:20030203_113943_5.png]
Gateway Message Body Size
Sometimes a malformed message containing an abnormally large message body can tie up a mail server. To combat this, it is recommended that you set the maximum body size of messages to 1024K for all your gateways (located in the Gateways folder on the admin FirstClass desktop). This does not affect attachment sizes, only the text within the body. Examples showing where this is configured are displayed below for the Internet gateway and a generic FirstClass gatew
  04_75356_0.png][Image:5132004_75612_0.png]Internet Services Logging
Ensure that Internet Services console logging is enabled on the machine running Internet Services. In the path Library/FirstClass Server, locate a file called INETSVCS.CF. Open it in TextEdit. In the Config section, locate the lines that begin with CONSOLE = and LOGGING =. Ensure that the number after them is 1. If they are 0 or -1, change them to 1. For example, the lines should look like this:
[Config]
Console = 1
Logging = 1
Save the changes. Stop Internet Services and start it. Check the status to ensure that it is started. The Internet Services console will now be saved in the file FCSD.LOG in Library/FirstClass Server.
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