Remotely managing a server
From Mac OS X Server FAQ
The most popular ways to remotely manage your server are Apple’s own Server Tools, Apple Remote Desktop and Terminal.
Apple’s Server Tools are pretty easy to grasp. Server Admin will allow you to take control of specific services that are running on your server. Workgroup Manager will allow you to manage users and groups, as well as share points and privileges. If you haven’t gotten this far, you’ll want to use Server Assistant to get your server configured for the first time!
The Terminal will allow you to create a secure connection to your server and perform any task you can pretty much imagine. This is why getting a basic understanding of the CLI is so valuable in Mac OS X, the sky becomes the limit to you as an administrator! You’ll be able to ssh into your server and run CLI commands as if you were sitting at that server, no matter where you are.
For those of us who just love GUIs, and there isn’t much to not like about Apple’s, Remote Desktop will put you directly in the driver’s seat of your server, if you want to be able to physically view the desktop. There is little or nothing in Panther server that can be done in the GUI but not in the CLI; however, the GUI is much easier for those without CLI experience.
There aren't a lot of deep, dark secrets of the GUI tools, but there are PLENTY in the CLI realm. Specifically, OS X Server comes with three command line tools that provide the bulk of the command line administration capabilities. These tools all have man pages, so read them for more detailed information.
- networksetup provides all the functionality of the Network preference pane in the CLI; it's sort of the big brother to ipconfig, which also exists in Mac OS X Client.
- systemsetup provides various bits from the energy saver preference pane, date and time, and some others.
- serveradmin is a real big one; this is the command line counterpart to the GUI Server Admin. It can do everything that Server Admin can do, and more.
References
For more information about SSH, including some basic examples, see this macosxhints.com page
Using systemsetup and networksetup in Mac OS X Client
man systemsetup man networksetup man serveradmin
