Is it possible to use Remote Desktop to control a Mac Lion Server without monitor and keyboard attached?

I never used Remote Desktop for Mac OSX so before buying the software I would like to know if I can fully control my Mac Mini with Lion Server installed without any keyboard or monitor attached.

Basically I would like from my Mac Book Air to use Remote Desktop to see the graphical environment of my Mac Mini server and control it, without a KVM. What I'm concerned, and I didn't find any clue inside Apple website, is the fact that when I'm trying from my MacBook Air to open a Remote Desktop session on my MacMini server some sort of acknowledge is required to the person at the console of that machine, but in my case that machine would be fully unattended and without any keyboard and display.

So I'm asking this question to someone that succeeded in using this software (or other software, any suggestion is welcome!) in this configuration.

Finally, the software admin guide says: "Apple Remote Desktop replaces the need for KVM (keyboard-video-mouse) switches for accessing Xserve computers without a monitor attached.". So it's ok for XServe, but what about MacMini?

thank you

Solution 1:

Mac OS X Server is designed for remote "headless" administration and even initial setup. Server Admin included with the Server Admin Tools provides a GUI interface for server administration tasks as well as the ability to screen share the server desktop remotely.

Apple provides a guide: Lion Server: Setting up a remote server.

Solution 2:

There's two parts to your question, one part is easy to answer: yes, you can get a remote, graphical session on your server without the server having to have a keyboard or mouse attached to it.

This part of your question troubles me:

before buying the software

What software are you buying? Everything you need to remotely control your Lion server is included in OS X. From any OS X machine you can connect to any other OS X machine and get a desktop session on that machine.

To enable desktop access on a machine go to System Preferences -> Sharing and make sure the Screen Sharing setting is checked. You can configure just exactly who has remote access to the machine from this dialog as well:

With your screen shared on your server, from your Macbook you can open a Finder window and connect to the machine from there. First click on the machine name on the left bar in the Finder window and then click on the 'Share Screen' button on the top of the window to connect to the machine's display:

Depending on how you set up screen sharing you may be prompted to enter your user name and password.

The end result is a Apple Screen Sharing view of your remote machine's desktop:

(The computer you see up there is an iMac with no keyboard or mouse connected to it)

I recommend the neat ScreenShareMenulet program if you want quick access to screen shares. It sits in your menu bar and gives you one click access to remote screen shares with machines on your network.

Solution 3:

About the only reason to buy Remote Desktop is if you want to monitor several machines at once - such as a score of servers or employees' workflows. For that it's great, but for straight occasional access, the built in screen sharing is enough.