Book Image

The macOS User Administration Guide

By : Herta Nava
Book Image

The macOS User Administration Guide

By: Herta Nava

Overview of this book

Apple is pushing the capabilities of its technologies to help users achieve high performance, including improvements in its OS running across all Mac systems, macOS, and new technologies such as M1 Silicon chips. This book walks you through macOS from a system administration and support point of view, exploring its latest features. The book starts by explaining macOS architecture, installation, and startup processes to enable you to get started with the OS. You'll learn how to manage users and discover techniques for user security and privacy. Moving on, you'll get to grips with the macOS file system and learn to manage disks, volumes, and partitions for effective file management. Most of the examples covered in this book are from an administrator's perspective; however, when relevant, a standard user's perspective is also presented. You'll find illustrations for Mac systems running macOS 11 (Big Sur), and when necessary, for macOS 10.15 (macOS Catalina). Finally, you'll explore advanced topics such as networking and using command-line tools for administration tasks. By the end of this macOS book, you'll be well-versed with macOS features, administration tasks, and best practices. You'll also be able to apply the concepts to increase your chances of success in obtaining Apple certifications such as Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP).
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
18
About Packt

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Overview of the macOS System, Architecture, and Features, is an introduction to macOS. It explores how macOS is different from other leading operating systems, reviews its main and most recent features, and explores the basics of its architecture.

Chapter 2, Installing and Configuring macOS, explores the installation of macOS in various scenarios and the system configuration during and after installation. We also learn how to use the recovery system to reinstall macOS or to perform a clean installation.

Chapter 3, The Start Up Process, covers the different stages of the macOS start up process. It describes the audio and visual cues that happen during the process.

Chapter 4, User Accounts Management, describes the types of users available in macOS and how to manage them.

Chapter 5, Managing User Security and Privacy, includes key aspects of managing user security and privacy.

Chapter 6, The macOS File System: Disks, Volumes, and Partitions, describes the macOS filesystem, and this includes managing disks, volumes, and partitions.

Chapter 7, Understanding Ownership and Permissions, explains how ownership and permissions work in macOS and how to manage them.

Chapter 8, System Resources and Shortcuts, explores what system resources are and how macOS uses them to optimize the system.

Chapter 9, Understanding Metadata and Searching, examines the tools macOS provides for the effective use of metadata (such as tags) and searching (with tools such as Spotlight).

Chapter 10, Managing Apps and Documents, shows the resources that macOS provides for managing apps and documents efficiently.

Chapter 11, Backups and Archiving, describes the methods available in macOS for creating backups, more specifically, through the Time Machine app, and archiving.

Chapter 12, Networking in macOS, reviews basic networking concepts for understanding networking configuration in macOS.

Chapter 13, Using macOS Network Services, explains how to take advantage of the network services macOS provides for key services such as mail, as well as features such as Continuity for seamless work across Apple devices.

Chapter 14, Using macOS Sharing Services, explores the sharing services macOS provides for useful tasks, such as file sharing, remote controlling, and screen sharing.

Chapter 15, Managing Security in macOS, covers system, hardware, application, and user security topics. It discusses measures and suggestions to improve security in all these areas.

Chapter 16, Using the Command Line, describes the macOS command-line tool called Terminal and includes several examples of how to use it for advanced administration.

Troubleshooting Tips, provides tips and suggestions for troubleshooting various frequently asked questions.