System information

34 Chapter 2 Getting Ready for Mac OS X Server
Conditions that aect DNS setup
If your server will provide mail or web services
If your server will provide mail service or web services, you can provide easier access to
them by requesting DNS entries for names like mail.example.com and www.example.com.
If your server will provide mail service, request an MX (mail exchanger) entry for your server.
An MX entry (or record) allows users to have an email address like [e-mail].
Without an MX entry, email addresses must include your server’s full DNS name (for example,
[e-mail]).
If mobile users will access some services from the Internet
Your server’s DNS name needs to be the same on your local network and on the Internet if you
want to allow mobile users to access some services without using VPN. You need to obtain a
registered Internet DNS name for your server as described above.
 If you don’t have a DNS server for your network, Mac OS X Server will provide a minimal DNS
service for your local network. This DNS service is set up automatically for the DNS name you
enter and the private IP address you specify during server setup.
 If your organization has a DNS server for your local network, ask your IT department or DNS server
administrator to add an entry that resolves your server’s DNS name to your server’s IP address
on the local network, and also ask for a reverse lookup entry that resolves the IP address to the
DNS name.
Private IP addresses begin with 192.168., 10., or 172.16. through 172.31.254. For example, 192.168.1.12,
10.0.1.12, and 172.16.1.12 are private IP addresses.