Sorry Newb Server question

In a typical scenario, the administrator sets up users on the server so they can access services from their own client Macs. In other words, it is not normally expected that users log on to the server itself. This isn't to say you can't do it.

If there is user configuration on the server and on the client machines it is normal that the userids and passwords all match to make accessing server resources transparent.

In a corporate setting, it is possible (and likely) that there is no user configuration on the client machines at all. The administrator sets up the user information on the server, the client machine is bound to the server and gets all the authentication information from the server. In this situation, users in an office can sit down at any available machine and login with their personalized desktop environment and data.

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This is very interesting. I attempted a Snow Leopard Server installation using Portable Home Folders and other features. That turned out to be a mistake.

What I understand from your comment is that as long as I align the user identifiers on the client computers with the accounts on the server the file sharing and other interoperating facets should work just fine.

I am looking forward to starting fresh with Lion Server in a couple of weeks.

 

For varying definitions of 'fine', yes.

A real-world example: I manage a Snow Leopard Server at work, and a number of work machines are bound to it. There are also a number of userids (mine among them) configured as mobile accounts (see 'Mobility' in Workgroup Manager/Preferences. I can sit down at any of the machines at work and login to my account - all my files and desktop preferences are there. Moreover, I can connect via the VPN from home and login remotely (not for the meek!) and sync up in five minutes and have the exact same environment on my home machine - right down the the last edit I made in a file before I logged out in the office.

It's not perfect - syncing up from home can be slow. You don't want to keep lots of little files/apps/etc in your home directory. And the synchronization manager always seems to have something to complain about. But in reality, it works great and I love being able to work from home with the exact same environment that I have in the office.

Last but not least, all of my home directories at the office (and at home) are encrypted with Filevault, so I don't have to worry about anyone else who might be using those machines poking at my files.

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nb: There was no user configuration on the office machines other than they are just bound to the server. My userid and password when used on the office machines generates a prompt about would I like to create a local account - I say 'yes' and an account and Filevault volume is created on the fly. -- a.

 

Interesting that you mention the synchronization manager complaining every now and then.

I tried to use the portable home directory feature and spent many hours trying to get it to work smoothly. For one account, it never worked correctly and always failed to sync. For another account, it did work but the occasional complaint from the sync manager really bothered my users enough I had to abandon PHDs.

OS X Server is still very valuable to us without PHD. What I am unclear about is how to associate an account on an OS X portable computer with accounts defined in the Server.

My question is this then - is it sufficient to have the user identifiers match on the portable computer(s) and the server to gain the benefits of all other features of the Server (e.g. email, wiki, calendar, etc.)?

 

If you're not using server-based filesystems they don't even have to match, you can just add whatever accounts/passwords you want in the various applications. It's easier to keep things organized if they do match.

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