The macOS User Administration Guide: A practical manual on implementing, administering, and optimizing the macOS Big Sur features and tools

Explore the capabilities of macOS tools and architecture for support tasks and system administration to optimize your macOS environment

Key Features

• Delve into macOS Big Sur, from installation to managing apps and optimizing your environment
• Get to grips with system administration, along with monitoring, maintaining, and securing your systems
• Discover ways to secure your data, backup infrastructure, and explore hidden files and folders

Book Description

This book is a practical guide for developers looking to understand the features and tools in macOS that make it a professional tool for system administration.

You will understand the basics of system administration and later get up and running with monitoring, maintaining, and securing your systems. With practical examples and best practices, you will be able to build a backup infrastructure and virtual private network for your network. As you progress, you will understand how to secure your data and networks effectively by implementing various security strategies.

By the end of this book, you’ll not only be well-versed with macOS features, administration tasks, and best practices but also be able to apply the concepts you learn to achieve professional Apple certifications such as Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP).

What you will learn

• Understand the fundamentals of the macOS system and architecture
• Install, update, and configure your local macOS system and identify the stages of the startup process
• Create and manage a local user account and set up your customized macOS environment
• Manage your file systems, storage, and permissions
• Explore practices and techniques to work with apps, networks, and security for your Mac system
• Delve into administration tasks such as managing service resources and peripherals

Who This Book Is For

If you are a system administrator, support and help desk technician or engineer, power user, or Mac user looking to develop your knowledge of macOS, then this system administration book is for you. The book assumes a general understanding of the macOS environment. Some knowledge of system administration tasks will be beneficial, but not mandatory.

Table of Contents

1. Overview of the macOS system, architecture, and features
2. Installing and configuring macOS
3. The Startup Process
4. User Accounts Management
5. Managing User Security and Privacy
6. The macOS File System: Disks, Volumes, and Partitions
7. Understanding Ownership and Permissions
8. System Resources and Shortcuts
9. Understanding Metadata and Searching
10. Managing Apps and Documents
11. Backups and Archiving
12. Networking in macOS
13. Using the Command Line
14. Using macOS Sharing Services
15. Managing Security in macOS
16. Using the Command-Line
17. APPENDIX A: Troubleshooting Tips