User`s guide

Chapter 4 Initial Server Setup 81
How a Server Searches for Saved Setup Data
A freshly installed server sets itself up using saved setup data it finds while using the
following search sequence. When the server finds any saved setup data that matches
the criteria described, it stops searching and uses the data to set itself up.
1 The server first searches through locally mounted volumes for setup files in /Volumes/
*/Auto Server Setup/, where * is a file system (device) name. It searches through
volumes alphabetically by device name, looking for a file with the extension “.plist”
that’s named using its MAC address, its IP address, its partial DNS name, its built-in
hardware serial number, its fully qualified DNS name, its partial IP address, or
generic.plist, in that order.
2 Next, the server looks in a directory it’s configured to use for a setup record in a path
named “AutoServerSetup”. It searches for records named using its MAC address, its IP
address, its partial DNS name (myserver), its built-in hardware serial number, its fully
qualified DNS name (myserver.example.com), its partial IP address, or “generic,” in that
order.
If the setup data is encrypted, the server needs the correct passphrase before setting
itself up. You can use Server Assistant to supply the passphrase interactively, or you can
supply the passphrase in a text file in /Volumes/*/Auto Server Setup/<pass-phrase-
file>. The target server searches through volumes alphabetically by file system name,
looking for a file with the extension “.pass” that’s named using its MAC address, its IP
address, its partial DNS name, its built-in hardware serial number, its fully qualified DNS
name, its partial IP address, or generic, in that order.
Important: When you perform an upgrade installation, make sure that saved setup
data won’t be inadvertently detected and used by the server you’re upgrading. If saved
setup data is used, existing server settings will be overwritten by the saved settings.