Subscription Workflow

After I sign up for a single dedicated Mac, what happens next?

After you create an account and select your Mac server subscription, then:

You are immediately provided:

• Full access to your customer dashboard
• Specific subscription information including your IP addresses

Then, a new provisioning support ticket will be created to track the release of your server. A new server will be provisioned for you according to your selection during checkout. You will receive instructions via email and the ticketing system in your customer dashboard with instructions for accessing the server.

Due to the potential for delays, we recommend that all new users first subscribe to a Mac mini with instant availability to test network connectivity, latency, and the speed of the hosted Mac. If you selected a server with instant availability (e.g. a Mac mini running macOS 10.12), you will receive an email after subscribing containing the access instructions.

For custom orders (hardware, networking, or operating system), our technicians will begin configuring your server upon checkout. This can take up to 24 hours or longer in some cases of limited parts availability.

How do I connect to my Mac for the first time?

All Mac mini subscriptions are pre-configured to allow you to connect using the following methods:

macOS Screen Sharing: Open Safari and type vnc://192.168.1.186 (replacing the IP address with one provided in your install ticket)

VNC: Download your favorite free VNC viewer/client such as Apple’s Remote Desktop app, RealVNC, TightVNC or others

SSH Terminal: Use your OS’s built in terminal, or download a SSH solution for Windows like PuTTY to gain console access

Once you have connected to your Mac for the first time, you can install other common remote access solutions such as SplashTop, TeamViewer, or LogMeIn.

Can you assist with the configuration of my Mac?

Our remote hands service covers basic hardware and OS setup to ensure that you can gain access to your Mac via remote SSH, VNC, or screen sharing. We are a fully-staffed service organization with technicians and engineers available around the clock - many of whom are highly trained on solutions which involve Apple hardware.

If you need further, more-specific help setting up more detailed aspects of the OS or included software, we will try to help if we can provide guidance. But, MacStadium is an infrastructure services provider, and not an IT support organization. For this reason, we often refer more advanced support issues dealing with custom configuration of your OS or software to one of our partners who specialize in IT configuration and management.

How do the different Mac computers compare?

Can I change the OS on my server from macOS to Linux?

One of the benefits of the hypervisor is the ability to install multiple operating systems on one system. If your subscription is a Mac mini with quad core i7 CPU, you can run multiple virtual machines with various operating systems on the server.

In the past we installed the VMware ESXi hypervisor and created a Linux virtual machine by request. Due to the complex nature of installing Linux and the many variations available, we now offer the base VMware ESXi installation with no virtual machines included. Customers may install virtual machines on their own.

We don’t do any initial operating system customization. When you initially order a server with macOS on it, it's macOS on the bare metal Mac just as if you’d bought it at a store.

Can I use a remote Mac for iOS development?

Yes, our service is popular among individual developers and large teams developing apps for iOS.

Certain forms of application development require that a physical iOS device is connected to emulate and test the application. This can be done over the wire (across the internet) using a USB over IP solution. One common solution that other customers have recommended is Eltima's USB over Network for Mac software.

Can a hosted Mac server offer a virtual desktop at 4k resolution?

After some minor upgrades, a hosted Mac can make a great virtual desktop interface. By connecting a GPU enabler to the unused HDMI port, we can make the Mac believe it's connected to a display. This simple addition causes the Mac server to then enable GPU acceleration by emulating a display. New, high-definition display resolutions are then available for users connecting via screen sharing, VNC, or remote desktop.

By default, we include a fit-Headless GPU enabler on every new dedicated server. The GPU enabler we provide offers up to 1080p resolution. We have small and large customers who either send in or request that we custom order GPU enablers that can support up to 4k resolution or 4k plus high refresh rates. fit-Headless offers HDMI GPU enablers for this purpose.

Do I have root and admin access to subscription-based Mac servers?

For every subscription to a hosted Mac running macOS, we provide an administrator account and the ability to modify system-level files. Login as administrator to a Mac running macOS and you have complete control over the system.

SSH and VNC access are enabled by default on dedicated servers so you can access them from any device. It's no different than if the server were on your local network.

We do require that you follow the guidelines set in our Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy which you must agree to during checkout.

Do I need a VNC server installed on my Mac?

One of the more popular free VNC tools used by our clients, RealVNC, now offers their server product under the name VNC Connect. Customers often ask us whether they need VNC Connect on their Mac running macOS.

Apple’s macOS also includes a built-in default VNC server. We enable this for every hosted Mac running any version of macOS before releasing the server to a customer.

To connect to one of our Mac servers running macOS, you need a VNC client like the one RealVNC offers, VNC Viewer. VNC Connect is not required.

Is there macOS software to replace the popular web hosting software offered by Linux VPS providers?

Below are some tools that allow users to exploit the power and reliability of the Apple macOS platform, and still have the familiar *NIX-type experience.

macOS Server by Apple is available in the App Store for $19.99 and installs as an app and service within macOS. It includes a web server among other utilities.

MAMP / MAMP Pro is similar to Linux LAMP. “MAMP” stands for Macintosh, Apache, MySQL and PHP. MAMP can be installed on macOS 10.10 or greater and includes a friendly user interface.
MACPorts is a more advanced method that provides a command-line method of installing software packages under BSD to access thousands of ports and greatly simplifies compiling and installing open-source software on your Mac.

HomeBrew is the latest BSD/*NIX package manager for macOS, and is a great alternative to MACPorts.

The Mac is a powerful Intel-based hardware platform that can run any OS – not just macOS. MacStadium offers VMware ESXi as a means to install all variants of Linux as virtual machines on a hosted Mac. This includes generic distributions like Debian, Ubuntu, and CentOS, as well as packaged distributions that include software like cPanel and Plesk.

What is instant provisioning and how long does it take?

Instant provisioning is MacStadium developed technology that allows us to deliver ready-to-go dedicated servers to customers 24x7x365 within seconds of checkout.

When you complete checkout, an installation ticket is opened. If the requested server is available for instant provisioning, the ticket will be automatically closed by our systems and an email sent to you which includes your server's IP address and user login credentials (username and password).

We typically have 50-100 servers ready to go for instant provisioning. We strive to keep our most popular subscription models available for instant provisioning for both Pro (100Mbps) and Elite (1000Mbps) Hosting packages.

If you are requesting a server that has an OS other than macOS, you should be prepared to wait a couple of hours for the server to be custom provisioned for your request.

Why are coreaudiod and launchd using a high amount of resources?

Disclaimer: We are an infrastructure provider and can only offer a minimal amount of help for software issues. We can not guarantee this fix works for all users or offer support for it. Please contact the software developer (Apple, in this case) for further help. We can also provide a list of vendors that we work with to support you.

We found a confirmed solution with the help of a customer:

"I figured out what the problem was in case you all are seeing this in other places. The bluetooth daemon had crashed. I'm not sure why that made coreaudiod and launchd go crazy, but the fix is this:

$ sudo launchctl unload -w /system/library/launchdaemons/com.apple.blued.plist 

If the daemon crashes you may see a message like this: /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.blued.plist: Could not find specified service. Next, run this:

$ sudo launchctl load -w /system/library/launchdaemons/com.apple.blued.plist 

Once blued is running properly, coreaudiod and launchd both "settle down."

Does MacStadium offer a hosted iMac Pro?

We have deployed iMac Pro for certain customers and our sales engineers would be happy to discuss your use case to determine the best fit for your needs. We find that in most cases, the 2018 mac Mini is a better fit from a cost/performance standpoint.

How do I order multiple servers at one time?

If you are registering and have an immediate need for five or more machines, you will first need to verify your billing information before you can order them.

After your registration is complete, you can either complete a single subscription or head into your customer dashboard to add additional machines to your account. If you would rather get five or more machines at once and you can provide the technical specifications for each Mac (or you need something not shown in the configuration wizard), open up a support ticket with the Other type and submit your request to our support team.

For customers who add new subscriptions once a week or more slowly, the regular configuration tool is the best approach to spinning up individual machines as it gives our system the ability to instantly provision minis already staged.

Customers wanting a new machine or machines with the exact same software image as an existing subscription can have the source machine cloned to any number of other machines by opening a support ticket.

What are MacStadium’s proprietary Mac Pro upgrades?

Dual power, dual 10G ethernet, fibre channel (which allows you to access SAN in a cloud environment).

What’s the OLA on rebooting a dedicated Mac host?

Our operational-level (OLA) standard on a reboot of a dedicated Mac is two hours, though in most cases it is completed in less time.

I accidentally turned off VNC on my hosted Mac. What do I do?

If you inadvertently turn off VNC / ARD on your hosted Mac, you can re-enable it through a console connection via SSH (which MacStadium turns on by default on all subscription based Mac servers) with these instructions:

🚧

Note:

If your Mac mini is running macOS 10.14 or higher DO NOT run the following commands in the terminal. They will put the OS in view-only mode.

If you are accessing the hosted Mac from a local computer running OS X, you can click on Spotlight, and type ‘terminal’. Once in terminal, execute the command: ssh 192.168.1.200, where the number sequence is the IP of your hosted Mac.

If you are on a Windows based PC or other local workstation, download a Telnet/SSH client such as PuTTY, and connect to the IP of your hosted Mac.

When prompted, enter your administrator-privileged username and password (the account you use to access the remote Mac).

Once logged in, you can execute the following command at the prompt to re-enable VNC (where it says mypasswd, insert your desired VNC Password):

sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Resources/kickstart -activate -configure -access -on -clientopts -setvnclegacy -vnclegacy yes -clientopts -setvncpw -vncpw mypasswd -restart -agent -privs -all

You can now close your terminal/SSH window, and attempt to re-connect via your VNC / ARD client as normal.

I need my servers to have pre-installed software. What do I do?

You can send us a drive image that we can deploy on Macs you spin up at MacStadium.