Here's the setup:
Several mac machines as client computers.
NFS Solaris server hosting 2.5 TB ZFS array.
OS X Server (10.4) hosting OpenDirectory.
User home directories automounted from NFS server.
Here's the problem:
As of OS X 10.5.4 there is a bug which prevents Dock / Spaces preferences from being retained on logout when your home directory is mounted over NFS. Apple is aware of the issue but has no fix at this time. Additionally, other aspects of the OS don't seem to play nice with network mounted shares (like Spotlight/Mail). All of this is motivating me to not mount my home directories from the NFS server. However, I still need users to be able to move from one machine to another and have their home directories follow them.
Possible Solution:
What I'm thinking of right now is having the NFS server store a sparse disk image of the user's home directory. At login, a script would run that would grab the users home directory, rsync it locally, mount it, and log the user in. On logout, the disk image would be unmounted and rsync'd back to the NFS server.
My Questions:
1) Is this possible
2) Suggestions to jump start the process (example scripts, etc)
3) Is there a better way
Several mac machines as client computers.
NFS Solaris server hosting 2.5 TB ZFS array.
OS X Server (10.4) hosting OpenDirectory.
User home directories automounted from NFS server.
Here's the problem:
As of OS X 10.5.4 there is a bug which prevents Dock / Spaces preferences from being retained on logout when your home directory is mounted over NFS. Apple is aware of the issue but has no fix at this time. Additionally, other aspects of the OS don't seem to play nice with network mounted shares (like Spotlight/Mail). All of this is motivating me to not mount my home directories from the NFS server. However, I still need users to be able to move from one machine to another and have their home directories follow them.
Possible Solution:
What I'm thinking of right now is having the NFS server store a sparse disk image of the user's home directory. At login, a script would run that would grab the users home directory, rsync it locally, mount it, and log the user in. On logout, the disk image would be unmounted and rsync'd back to the NFS server.
My Questions:
1) Is this possible
2) Suggestions to jump start the process (example scripts, etc)
3) Is there a better way