Apple 10.5 Leapard User manual

Mac OS X Server

User Management

For Version 10.5 Leopard

K

Apple Inc.

The owner or authorized user of a valid copy of

Mac OS X Server software may reproduce this

publication for the purpose of learning to use such

software. No part of this publication may be reproduced

or transmitted for commercial purposes, such as selling

copies of this publication or for providing paid-for

support services.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the

information in this manual is accurate. Apple Inc. is not

responsible for printing or clerical errors.

Apple

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www.apple.com

Use of the “keyboard” Apple logo (Option-Shift-K) for

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Apple, the Apple logo, AirPort, AppleShare, Bonjour,

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QuickTime, SuperDrive, Xgrid, Xsan, and Xserve are

trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other

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Finder, iWork, and Safari are trademarks of Apple Inc.

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Incorporated.

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019-0938/2007-09-01

3

1

Contents

Preface 13 About This Guide

13

What’s New in Workgroup Manager

14

What’s in This Guide

15

Using Onscreen Help

16

Mac OS X Server Administration Guides

17

Viewing PDF Guides Onscreen

17

Printing PDF Guides

18

Getting Documentation Updates

18

Getting Additional Information

Chapter 1 19 User Management Overview

19

Tools for User Management

19

Workgroup Manager

20

Server Admin

21

Server Preferences

21

NetBoot

21

NetInstall

22

Command-Line Tools

22

Accounts

23

Administrator Accounts

24

User Accounts

25

Group Accounts

25

Computer Accounts

26

Computer Groups

26

The User Experience

26

Authentication and Identity Validation

27

Information Access Control

Chapter 2 31 Getting Started with User Management

31

Setup Overview

34

Planning Strategies for User Management

34

Analyzing Your Environment

4

Contents

35

Identifying Directory Services Requirements

35

Determining Server and Storage Requirements

36

Choosing a Home Folder Structure

37

Devising a Home Folder Distribution Strategy

38

Identifying Groups

38

Determining Administrator Requirements

Chapter 3 41 Getting Started with Workgroup Manager

41

Configuring the Administrator’s Computer and Account

41

Setting Up an Administrator Computer

42

Creating a Domain Administrator Account

42

Using Workgroup Manager

42

Using Mac OS X Server v10.5 to Administer Earlier Versions of Mac OS X

43

Connecting and Authenticating to Directory Domains in Workgroup Manager

44

Major Workgroup Manager Tasks

45

Modifying Workgroup Manager Preferences

46

Finding and Listing Accounts

46

Working with Account Lists in Workgroup Manager

46

Listing Accounts in the Local Directory Domain

47

Listing Accounts in Search Policy Directory Domains

48

Listing Accounts in Available Directory Domains

48

Refreshing Account Lists

48

Finding Specific Accounts in a List

49

Using Advanced Search

50

Sorting Users and Groups

50

Shortcuts for Working with Accounts

50

Using Presets

51

Editing Multiple Accounts Simultaneously

53

Importing and Exporting Account Information

Chapter 4 55 Setting Up User Accounts

55

About User Accounts

55

Where User Accounts Are Stored

56

Predefined User Accounts

57

Administering User Accounts

57

Creating User Accounts

58

Editing User Account Information

59

Working with Read-Only User Accounts

59

Working with Guest Users

60

Working with Windows User Accounts

60

Deleting a User Account

60

Disabling a User Account

Contents

5

61

Working with Presets

61

Creating a Preset for User Accounts

62

Using Presets to Create Accounts

62

Renaming Presets

62

Editing Presets

63

Deleting a Preset

63

Working with Basic Settings

63

Modifying User Names

64

Modifying Short Names

65

Choosing Stable Short Names

66

Avoiding Duplicate Names

67

Modifying User IDs

68

Assigning a Password to a User

68

Assigning Administrator Privileges for a Server

69

Choosing a User’s Login Picture

70

Working with Privileges

70

Removing Administrative Privileges from a User

70

Giving a User Limited Administrative Capabilities

72

Giving a User Full Administrative Capabilities

72

Working with Advanced Settings

72

Enabling a User’s Calendar

73

Allowing a User to Log In to More Than One Computer At a Time

73

Choosing a Default Shell

74

Choosing a Password Type and Setting Password Options

75

Creating a Master List of Keywords

75

Applying Keywords to User Accounts

76

Editing Comments

77

Working with Group Settings

77

Choosing a User’s Primary Group

78

Reviewing a User’s Group Memberships

78

Adding a User to a Group

79

Removing a User from a Group

79

Working with Home Settings

80

Working with Mail Settings

80

Enabling Mail Service Account Options

81

Disabling a User’s Mail Service

81

Forwarding a User’s Mail

81

Working with Print Quota Settings

82

Enabling a User’s Access to All Available Print Queues

82

Enabling a User’s Access to Specific Print Queues

83

Removing a Print Quota For a Queue

6

Contents

83

Resetting a User’s Print Quota

84

Disabling a User’s Access to Print Queues That Enforce Quotas

84 Working with Info Settings

85 Working with Windows Settings

85 Changing a Windows User’s Profile Location

86 Changing a Windows User’s Login Script Location

87 Changing a Windows User’s Home Folder Drive Letter

87 Changing a Windows User’s Home Folder Location

87 Working with GUIDs

87 Viewing GUIDs

Chapter 5 89 Setting Up Group Accounts

89 About Group Accounts

89 How Group Accounts Track Membership

90 Where Group Accounts Are Stored

90 Predefined Group Accounts

91 Administering Group Accounts

91 Creating Group Accounts

92 Creating a Preset for Group Accounts

92 Editing Group Account Information

93 Creating Hierarchical Groups

94 Upgrading Legacy Groups

94 Working with Read-Only Groups

95 Deleting a Group

95 Working with Basic Settings for Groups

95 Naming a Group

96 Defining a Group ID

97 Choosing a Group’s Login Picture

98 Enabling a Group’s Web Services

99 Working with Member Settings for Groups

99 Adding Users or Groups to a Group

100 Removing Group Members

100 Working with Group Folder Settings

101 Specifying No Group Folder

101 Creating a Group Folder

103 Designating a Group Folder for Use by Multiple Groups

Chapter 6 105 Setting Up Computers and Computer Groups

105 About Computer Accounts

106 Creating Computer Accounts

107 Working with Guest Computers

107 Working with Windows Computers

Contents 7

108 About Computer Groups

108 Differences Between Computer Groups and Computer Lists

108 Administering Computer Groups

108 Creating a Computer Group

109 Creating a Preset for Computer Groups

11 0 Using a Computer Group Preset

111 Adding Computers or Computer Groups to a Computer Group

111 Removing Computers and Computer Groups from a Computer Group

11 2 Deleting a Computer Group

11 2 Upgrading Computer Lists to Computer Groups

Chapter 7 113 Setting Up Home Folders

11 3 About Home Folders

11 4 Hosting Home Folders for Mac OS X Clients

11 4 Hosting Home Folders for Other Clients

11 5 Distributing Home Folders Across Multiple Servers

11 6 Administering Share Points

11 6 Setting Up a Share Point

11 7 Setting Up an Automountable AFP Share Point for Home Folders

11 8 Setting Up an Automountable NFS Share Point for Home Folders

11 9 Setting Up an SMB Share Point

121 Administering Home Folders

121 Specifying No Home Folder

12 2 Creating a Home Folder for a Local User

12 3 Creating a Network Home Folder

12 4 Creating a Custom Location for Home Folders

12 7 Setting Up a Home Folder for a Windows User

12 9 Setting Disk Quotas

13 0 Setting Disk Quotas for Windows Users to Avoid Data Loss

13 0 Using Presets to Choose Default Home Folders

13 0 Moving Home Folders

13 0 Deleting Home Folders

Chapter 8 131 Managing Portable Computers

131 About Mobile Accounts

132 About Portable Home Directories

133 Logging In to Mobile Accounts

13 4 Resolving Sync Conflicts

13 4 About External Accounts

135 Logging In to External Accounts

13 6 Considerations and Strategies for Deploying Mobile Accounts

13 6 Advantages of Using Mobile Accounts

8 Contents

137 Considerations for Using Mobile Accounts

13 9 Strategies for Syncing Content

140 Setting Up Mobile Accounts for Use on Portable Computers

140 Configuring Portable Computers

141 Managing Mobile Clients Without Using Mobile Accounts

141 Unknown Mac OS X Portable Computers

142 Using Mac OS X Portable Computers with One Primary Local User

142 Using Mac OS X Portable Computers with Multiple Users

144 Securing Mobile Clients

144 Optimizing the File Server for Mobile Accounts

Chapter 9 147 Client Management Overview

148 Using Network-Visible Resources

149 Customizing the User Experience

149 The Power of Preferences

150 Designing the Login Experience

151 Choosing a Workgroup

152 Working with Synced Homes

152 Improving Workflow

Chapter 10 155 Managing Preferences

155 Using Workgroup Manager to Manage Preferences

156 Understanding Managed Preference Interactions

159 Understanding Hierarchical Preference Management

159 Setting the Permanence of Management

160 Caching Preferences

160 Preference Management Basics

161 Managing User Preferences

162 Managing Group Preferences

162 Managing Computer Preferences

163 Managing Computer Group Preferences

163 Disabling Management for Specific Preferences

164 Managing Access to Applications

165 Controlling User Access to Specific Applications and Folders

167 Allowing Specific Dashboard Widgets

168 Disabling Front Row

168 Allowing Legacy Users to Open Specific Applications and Folders

169 Managing Classic Preferences

17 0 Selecting Classic Startup Options

171 Choosing a Classic System Folder

171 Allowing Special Actions During Restart

172 Controlling Access to Classic Apple Menu Items

Contents 9

173 Adjusting Classic Sleep Settings

174 Maintaining Consistent User Preferences for Classic

174 Managing Dock Preferences

174 Controlling the User’s Dock

175 Providing Easy Access to Group Folders

176 Adding Items to a User’s Dock

177 Preventing Users from Adding or Deleting Dock Items

177 Managing Energy Saver Preferences

178 Using Sleep and Wake Settings for Desktop Computers

179 Setting Energy Saver Settings for Portable Computers

180 Displaying Battery Status to Users

181 Scheduling Automatic Startup, Shutdown, or Sleep

182 Managing Finder Preferences

182 Setting Up Simple Finder

183 Keeping Disks and Servers from Appearing on the User’s Desktop

183 Controlling the Behavior of Finder Windows

184 Hiding the Alert Message When a User Empties the Trash

184 Making Filename Extensions Visible

185 Controlling User Access to Remote Servers

185 Controlling User Access to an iDisk

185 Preventing Users from Ejecting Discs

186 Hiding the Burn Disc Command in the Finder

186 Controlling User Access to Folders

187 Removing Restart and Shut Down from the Apple Menu

187 Adjusting the Appearance and Arrangement of Desktop Items

188 Adjusting the Appearance of Finder Window Contents

189 Managing Login Preferences

189 Changing the Appearance of the Login Window

191 Configuring Miscellaneous Login Options

192 Choosing Who Can Log In

193 Customizing the Workgroups Displayed at Login

194 Enabling the Use of Login and Logout Scripts

196 Choosing a Login or Logout Script

197 Automatically Opening Items After a User Logs In

198 Providing Access to a User’s Network Home Folder

199 Providing Easy Access to the Group Share Point

200 Managing Media Access Preferences

200 Controlling Access to CDs, DVDs, and Recordable Discs

201 Controlling Access to Hard Drives, Disks, and Disk Images

201 Ejecting Removable Media Automatically When a User Logs Out

202 Managing Mobility Preferences

10 Contents

202 Creating a Mobile Account

203 Preventing the Creation of a Mobile Account

204 Manually Removing Mobile Accounts from Computers

205 Enabling FileVault for Mobile Accounts

207 Selecting the Location of a Mobile Account

208 Creating External Accounts

209 Setting Expiration Periods for Mobile Accounts

210 Choosing Folders to Sync at Login and Logout, or in the Background

211 Stopping Files from Syncing for a Mobile Account

212 Setting the Background Sync Frequency

212 Showing Mobile Account Status in the User’s Menu Bar

213 Managing Network Preferences

213 Configuring Proxy Servers by Port

214 Allowing Users to Bypass Proxy Servers for Specific Domains

215 Enabling Passive FTP Mode

215 Disabling Internet Sharing

216 Disabling AirPort

216 Disabling Bluetooth

217 Managing Parental Controls Preferences

217 Hiding Profanity in Dictionary

217 Preventing Access to Adult Websites

218 Allowing Access Only to Specific Websites

219 Setting Time Limits and Curfews on Computer Usage

220 Managing Printing Preferences

221 Making Printers Available to Users

221 Preventing Users from Modifying the Printer List

222 Restricting Access to Printers Connected to a Computer

222 Setting a Default Printer

223 Restricting Access to Printers

223 Adding a Page Footer to All Printouts

224 Managing Software Update Preferences

224 Managing Access to System Preferences

225 Managing Time Machine Preferences

227 Managing Universal Access Preferences

227 Adjusting the User’s Display Settings

228 Setting a Visual Alert

228 Adjusting Keyboard Accessibility Options

230 Adjusting Mouse and Pointer Responsiveness

230 Enabling Universal Access Shortcuts

231 Allowing Devices for Users with Special Needs

231 Using the Preference Editor with Preference Manifests

Contents 11

232 Adding to the Preference Editor’s List

234 Editing Application Preferences with the Preference Editor

235 Removing an Application’s Managed Preferences in the Preference Editor

236 Using the Preference Editor to Manage Core Services

237 Using the Preference Editor to Manage Safari

Chapter 11 239 Solving Problems

239 Diagnosing Common Network Issues

239 Testing Your Network’s Time and Time Zones

240 Testing Your DNS Service

241 Testing Your DHCP Service

242 Solving Account Problems

242 If You Want to Use Earlier Versions of Workgroup Manager

242 If You Can’t Edit an Account Using Workgroup Manager

242 If Users Can’t See Their Names in the Login Window

242 If You Can’t Unlock an LDAP Directory

243 If You Can’t Modify a User’s Open Directory Password

243 If You Can‘t Change a User’s Password Type to Open Directory

243 If You Can’t Assign Server Administrator Privileges

243 If Users Can’t Log In or Authenticate

244 If Users Relying on a Password Server Can’t Log In

245 If Users Can’t Log In with Accounts in a Shared Directory Domain

245 If Users Can’t Access Their Home Folders

245 If Users Can’t Change Their Passwords

245 If Users Can’t Authenticate Using Single Sign-On or Kerberos

245 Problems with a Primary or Backup Domain Controller

245 If a Windows User Can’t Log in to the Windows Domain

246 If a Windows User Has No Home Folder

246 If a Windows User’s Profile Settings Revert to Defaults

246 If a Windows User Loses the Contents of the My Documents Folder

247 Solving Preference Management Problems

247 Testing Your Managed Client Settings

247 If Users Don’t See a List of Workgroups at Login

247 If Users Can’t Open Files

248 If Users Can’t Add Printers to a Printer List

248 If Login Items Added by a User Don’t Open

249 If Items Placed in the Dock by a User Are Missing

249 If a User’s Dock Has Duplicate Items

249 If Users See a Question Mark in the Dock

250 If Users See a Message About an Unexpected Error

250 If You Can’t Manage Network Views

12 Contents

Appendix 251 Importing and Exporting Account Information

251 Understanding What You Can Import and Export

252 Limitations for Importing and Exporting Passwords

252 Maintaining GUIDs When Importing from Earlier Versions of Mac OS X Server

253 Archiving the Open Directory Master

253 Using Workgroup Manager to Import Accounts

254 Using Workgroup Manager to Export Accounts

255 Using XML Files Created with Mac OS X Server v10.1 or Earlier

256 Using XML Files Created with AppleShare IP 6.3

Glossary 257

Index 267

13

Preface

About This Guide

This guide explains how to use Workgroup Manager to set up

and manage accounts and preferences for clients.

Mac OS X Server includes Workgroup Manager, a user management tool you can use to

create and manage accounts.

When managing accounts, you can define core account settings like name, password,

home folder location, and group membership. You can also manage preferences,

allowing you to customize the user’s experience, granting or restricting access to his or

her own computer’s settings and to network resources.

Workgroup Manager works closely with a directory domain. Directory domains are like

databases but are specifically designed for storing account information and handling

authentication.

What’s New in Workgroup Manager

Â Computer accounts and computer groups. You can create computer accounts for

individual computers. By managing computer accounts individually, you can fully

customize preference management settings for those computers.

You can create computer groups composed of these individual computer accounts,

or of hierarchical groups. Managed preferences for a parent computer group in a

hierarchical group also apply to child computer groups.

The addition of computer accounts and computer groups eases administration and

increases flexibility. For more information, see Chapter 6, “Setting Up Computers and

Computer Groups.”

Â Improved mobile accounts. Mobile accounts are now more secure, efficient, and

portable.

You can protect mobile accounts with FileVault. You can set account expiry options

so that local home folders are deleted after a period of inactivity. You can also create

mobile accounts on an external drive, so users can still access a synced home folder

with cached managed preferences even when they don’t have their computers.

14 Preface About This Guide

You can enable these features by managing Mobility preferences. For more

information, see Chapter 8, “Managing Portable Computers.”

Â New managed preferences. Preferences now let you manage Parental Controls,

Dashboard, Front Row, and Time Machine. Existing preferences have been enhanced,

using embedded and detached signatures to prevent the launching of unapproved

applications, giving you more control over the login window, and letting you create

page footers on printed documents. For more information, see Chapter 10,

“Managing Preferences.”

What’s in This Guide

This guide includes the following chapters:

Â Chapter 1, “User Management Overview,” highlights important concepts, introduces

user management tools, and tells you where to find additional information about

user management and related topics.

Â Chapter 2, “Getting Started with User Management,” provides planning and setup

information to create a user management environment.

Â Chapter 3, “Getting Started with Workgroup Manager,” describes how to set up

Workgroup Manager and use its core features.

Â Chapters 4, 5, and 6 explain how to use Workgroup Manager to set up users, groups,

computers, and computer groups.

Â Chapter 7, “Setting Up Home Folders,” covers creating home folders.

Â Chapter 8, “Managing Portable Computers,” details considerations for managing

portable computers.

Â Chapter 9, “Client Management Overview,” introduces client management tools and

concepts, such as how to customize a user’s work environment and provide user

access to network resources.

Â Chapter 10, “Managing Preferences,” describes how to use Workgroup Manager to

control preference settings for users, groups, computers, and computer groups that

use Mac OS X.

Â Chapter 11, “Solving Problems,” helps you address issues involving account creation,

home folder maintenance, preference management, and client setup, and also helps

you solve problems encountered by managed clients.

In addition, the appendix, “Importing and Exporting Account Information,” provides

information you’ll need when you want to transfer account information to or from an

external file.

Finally, the glossary defines terms you’ll encounter as you read this guide.

Note: Because Apple periodically releases new versions and updates to its software,

images shown in this book may be different from what you see on your screen.

Preface About This Guide 15

Using Onscreen Help

You can get task instructions onscreen in the Help Viewer application while you’re

managing Leopard Server. You can view help on a server or an administrator computer.

(An administrator computer is a Mac OS X computer with Leopard Server

administration software installed on it.)

To get help for an advanced configuration of Leopard Server:

m Open Server Admin or Workgroup Manager and then:

Â Use the Help menu to search for a task you want to perform.

Â Choose Help > Server Admin Help or Help > Workgroup Manager Help to browse

and search the help topics.

The onscreen help contains instructions taken from Server Administration and other

advanced administration guides described in “Mac OS X Server Administration Guides,”

next.

To see the most recent server help topics:

m Make sure the server or administrator computer is connected to the Internet while

you’re getting help.

Help Viewer automatically retrieves and caches the most recent server help topics from

the Internet. When not connected to the Internet, Help Viewer displays cached help

topics.

16 Preface About This Guide

Mac OS X Server Administration Guides

Getting Started covers installation and setup for standard and workgroup configurations

of Mac OS X Server. For advanced configurations, Server Administration covers planning,

installation, setup, and general server administration. A suite of additional guides, listed

below, covers advanced planning, setup, and management of individual services. You

can get these guides in PDF format from the Mac OS X Server documentation website:

www.apple.com/server/documentation

This guide ... tells you how to:

Getting Started and

Installation & Setup Worksheet

Install Mac OS X Server and set it up for the first time.

Command-Line Administration Install, set up, and manage Mac OS X Server using UNIX command-

line tools and configuration files.

File Services Administration Share selected server volumes or folders among server clients

using the AFP, NFS, FTP, and SMB protocols.

iCal Service Administration Set up and manage iCal shared calendar service.

iChat Service Administration Set up and manage iChat instant messaging service.

Mac OS X Security Configuration Make Mac OS X computers (clients) more secure, as required by

enterprise and government customers.

Mac OS X Server Security

Configuration

Make Mac OS X Server and the computer it’s installed on more

secure, as required by enterprise and government customers.

Mail Service Administration Set up and manage IMAP, POP, and SMTP mail services on the

server.

Network Services Administration Set up, configure, and administer DHCP, DNS, VPN, NTP, IP firewall,

NAT, and RADIUS services on the server.

Open Directory Administration Set up and manage directory and authentication services, and

configure clients to access directory services.

Podcast Producer Administration Set up and manage Podcast Producer service to record, process,

and distribute podcasts.

Print Service Administration Host shared printers and manage their associated queues and print

jobs.

QuickTime Streaming and

Broadcasting Administration

Capture and encode QuickTime content. Set up and manage

QuickTime streaming service to deliver media streams live or on

demand.

Server Administration Perform advanced installation and setup of server software, and

manage options that apply to multiple services or to the server as a

whole.

System Imaging and Software

Update Administration

Use NetBoot, NetInstall, and Software Update to automate the

management of operating system and other software used by

client computers.

Upgrading and Migrating Use data and service settings from an earlier version of Mac OS X

Server or Windows NT.

Preface About This Guide 17

Viewing PDF Guides Onscreen

While reading the PDF version of a guide onscreen:

Â Show bookmarks to see the guide’s outline, and click a bookmark to jump to the

corresponding section.

Â Search for a word or phrase to see a list of places where it appears in the document.

Click a listed place to see the page where it occurs.

Â Click a cross-reference to jump to the referenced section. Click a web link to visit the

website in your browser.

Printing PDF Guides

If you want to print a guide, you can take these steps to save paper and ink:

Â Save ink or toner by not printing the cover page.

Â Save color ink on a color printer by looking in the panes of the Print dialog for an

option to print in grays or black and white.

Â Reduce the bulk of the printed document and save paper by printing more than one

page per sheet of paper. In the Print dialog, change Scale to 115% (155% for Getting

Started). Then choose Layout from the untitled pop-up menu. If your printer supports

two-sided (duplex) printing, select one of the Two-Sided options. Otherwise, choose

2 from the Pages per Sheet pop-up menu, and optionally choose Single Hairline from

the Border menu. (If you’re using Mac OS X version 10.4 or earlier, the Scale setting is

in the Page Setup dialog and the Layout settings are in the Print dialog.)

You may want to enlarge the printed pages even if you don’t print double sided,

because the PDF page size is smaller than standard printer paper. In the Print dialog or

Page Setup dialog, try changing Scale to 115% (155% for Getting Started, which has CD-

size pages).

User Management Create and manage user accounts, groups, and computers. Set up

managed preferences for Mac OS X clients.

Web Technologies Administration Set up and manage web technologies, including web, blog,

webmail, wiki, MySQL, PHP, Ruby on Rails, and WebDAV.

Xgrid Administration and High

Performance Computing

Set up and manage computational clusters of Xserve systems and

Mac computers.

Mac OS X Server Glossary Learn about terms used for server and storage products.

This guide ... tells you how to:

18 Preface About This Guide

Getting Documentation Updates

Periodically, Apple posts revised help pages and new editions of guides. Some revised

help pages update the latest editions of the guides.

Â To view new onscreen help topics for a server application, make sure your server or

administrator computer is connected to the Internet and click “Latest help topics” or

“Staying current” in the main help page for the application.

Â To download the latest guides in PDF format, go to the Mac OS X Server

documentation website:

www.apple.com/server/documentation

Getting Additional Information

For more information, consult these resources:

Â Read Me documents—important updates and special information. Look for them on

the server discs.

Â Mac OS X Server website (www.apple.com/server/macosx)—gateway to extensive

product and technology information.

Â Mac OS X Server Support website (www.apple.com/support/macosxserver)—access to

hundreds of articles from Apple’s support organization.

Â Apple Discussions website (discussions.apple.com)—a way to share questions,

knowledge, and advice with other administrators.

Â Apple Mailing Lists website (www.lists.apple.com)—subscribe to mailing lists so you

can communicate with other administrators using email.

1

19

1 User Management Overview

This chapter introduces user management concepts and

describes the applications used to manage accounts and

privileges.

User management encompasses everything from setting up accounts for network

access and creating home folders, to fine-tuning the user experience by managing

preferences and settings for users, groups, computers and computer groups. Mac OS X

Server provides tools for accomplishing these tasks and more.

Tools for User Management

User management tools and technologies in Mac OS X Server include Workgroup

Manager, Server Admin, NetBoot, and NetInstall.

Workgroup Manager

Workgroup Manager is a powerful tool that delivers features for comprehensive

management of Macintosh clients.

You can use Workgroup Manager on a computer with Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server

installed.

Workgroup Manager provides a centralized method of managing Mac OS X computers,

controlling access to software and removable media, and providing a consistent,

personalized experience for users at different levels, whether they’re beginners in a

classroom or advanced users in an office.

You use Workgroup Manager to create user accounts and set up groups to provide

convenient access to resources. You can:

Â Use account settings and managed preferences to achieve the level of administrative

control you need, while making the user experience more efficient

Â Manage Finder, login, media access, and print settings

Â Control access to computers and restrict the applications allowed to run on them

20 Chapter 1 User Management Overview

Using Workgroup Manager with Mac OS X Server services, you can:

Â Customize the work environments of network users by organizing their desktop

resources and personal files

Â Enable services that require user accounts, such as mail, file sharing, iChat service,

and web service

Â Share system resources, such as printers and computers, maximizing their availability

and ensuring that disk space and printer usage remains equitably shared

To get started with Workgroup Manager, see Chapter 3, “Getting Started with

Workgroup Manager.”

Server Admin

The Server Admin application provides access to various tools and services that play a

role in server management.

After installing the Mac OS X Server software, use Server Admin to set up directory

services and establish your network. Then use Workgroup Manager to create and

manage accounts. After that, use Server Admin to set up additional services to provide

mail service, host websites, share printers, and create share points (which allow users to

share folders and files).

For information about how to use the many services managed through Server Admin,

see the service administration guides. The following table lists common server

administration tasks and includes the location of related documentation.

For a complete list of Mac OS X Server documentation, see “Mac OS X Server

Administration Guides” on page 16.

To See this document

Assign permissions to folders and files in a

share point

File Services Administration

Share printers among users Print Service Administration

Set up websites or WebDAV support on the

server

Web Technologies Administration

Provide email service for users Mail Service Administration

Broadcast multimedia from the server in real

time

QuickTime Streaming Server Administration

Provide identical operating system and

applications folders for client computers

System Imaging and Software Update Administration

Install applications across a network System Imaging and Software Update Administration

Share information among multiple Mac OS X

Server systems or Mac OS X computers

Open Directory Administration

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