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A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can be used for security and convenience. Sometimes it can be difficult to get a VPN working but we’ve found a great free tool called HamachiX to make set up quite simple. And it’s ability to go thru firewalls and routers is amazing.

I apologize if I used any VPN terms wrong. I’m new to the use of VPN’s, but this video is complete in the set up and should have your new VPN up and running in no time.

Movie Link: Setting Up A VPN On A Mac with HamachiX

Shownotes:

- HamachiX - a free tool to set up a VPN on a Mac
- Macminicolo.net - Mac mini colocation service
- More on Virtual Private Networks - Wikipedia entry on VPN’s

In this video tutorial, I was you thru how to enable and use ssh on your colocated mac server. It’s an easy process, and this is a short tutorial, but it really opens the door for controlling your Mac in a very powerful way.

If you are new to using Terminal, or Unix in general, you might consider keeping an eye on FreeMacUnix.com. Richard has started from the very beginning in his explanations on how to use Unix on your Mac.

Shownotes:

• Setting Up VNC On Your Server- an earlier tutorial that is referenced in this video.
• Chicken Of The VNC- VNC Client for controlling your Mac server
• Mac mini colocation

Video Link: Enable SSH On Your Mac Server

In this Mac Server Series screencast I explain how to host multiple web sites (domains) on a single Mac. In Apache parlance this is called setting up “virtual hosts”. Just as FreeMacBlog.com, FreeMacWare.com, FreeMacUnix.com, etc. all run on a single Mac at Macminicolo.net, with these instructions you can do the same.

Watch it here: How to Host Multiple Web Sites on a Single Mac

Show Notes:

• Smultron text editor
• Apache Virtual Host documentation
• Mac Mini Colocation
• How To Set Up Just One Site on a Mac
• RSS feed for this Mac Server Video Series

This week on Mac Server Series I explain how to install PHP and MySQL on your Mac. PHP is one of the most popular programming languages for web development, and MySQL is a popular open source database application. FreeMacBlog.com and all the FreeMac* sites are powered by PHP and MySQL running on a Mac mini.

Learning PHP and MySQL is a great way to learn web application development, and installing them is easy.

Watch here: How to setup PHP and MySQL on your Mac

Show Notes:

• Download PHP from Entropy.ch.
• Download MySQL from MySQL.com.
• If you just want to try them out, download MAMP (for testing and development only, not production.)
• Learn PHP with the PHP.net tutorial

This week we are going to take a look at FTP (file transfer protocol) servers. This is an incredibly useful way to share large files and to update your website.

If you haven’t watched the other videos in the Server Series, you’ll want to be sure and look at those first. This tutorial on FTP assumes that you already have a static ip set up on your machine. We mentioned this in the Web Server Video.

Shownotes:

• Macminicolo.net If you’d like to put these tutorials to use, you may consider colocating your mini. Colocation means that your mini will be stored in a secure data center with a super high speed connection. It’s inexpensive and simple.
• Wikipedia: FTP- More information on FTP and how it works
• Transmit- This is my favorite FTP client. It costs $17.95, but has great features.
• Cyberduck- If you’re looking for a free FTP client, look no further. Cyberduck is the best option.

You can watch the video here.

Errata:

• The “initial path” in Transmit (or Cyberduck) should be written with slashes not backslashes. For example, “/www” or “/Users/george/Sites”.
• When using Secure FTP, the port number is typically 22.

In this episode, we see how to set up VNC on your Mac Server.

VNC stands for Virtual Network Computing. It allows you to “take over” the screen of your server and work as if you were sitting in front of your server. This is useful in maintaining your server, and also helping out your family or friends on their computer issues.

This tutorial will show how to set up the VNC server and the VNC client.

Shownotes:

Wikipedia: VNC- More on how VNC works
OSXVnc- A free VNC server. This is only necessary for those running Pre-Tiger OS X and those who want to set up more than one machine on the same network.
Chicken Of The VNC The free VNC client used in the tutorial
IP Widget- A very useful widget to find the ip address of your machine. Works equally well on your parent’s machine.

You can watch this tutorial here