Mac User Account for Active Directory Logon Questions

[Kelmon]

Hi Guys,

I've been using my PowerBook and MacBook Pro laptops at work for about the last 5-years without issue but now our IT group wants get my laptop linked to the local Active Directory and I'm way out of my depth on this one. I found a useful looking article on the Big Nerd Ranch that seems to address most of the process but I have a couple of questions about how User Accounts on my laptop should be setup:

1. Given that the Active Directory username appears to be in the format Domain\Username (e.g. myDomain\myUserID), do I need a User Account to be created on the Mac with the same shortname (e.g. myDomain\myUserID)?
2. Will I still be able to log onto my computer when not connected to the LAN with the Active Directory using a different User Account (e.g. a Home account) or even the one used with the Active Directory?
3. When I need to change my password (I'm not sure if it is the Active Directory or LDAP server that requires this), will I be able to do this on the Mac (as I can with a Windows PC via the Change Password option displayed after pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete) and will it change the password for both the network and local User Account?

These are probably simple questions but the IT group is turning up on Wednesday next week to do the job, they have little or no knowledge about Macs, and I'd like to avoid trouble. If anyone can answer these questions, or direct me to other resources that can ensure the setup process is as simple as possible then that would be great.

* Apologies - this is a duplicate posting of a post made a few days ago to the "Mac OS X" section but I'm reposting it here since I've not had any responses and I'm sure that someone knows about this *

 

[Quint]

There is a software product called ADmitMac that one of my clients uses to connect their dozen or so macs to their AD. It is made by Thursby software (thursby.com). It adds a plug-in to the Directory Services on the mac and allows you to log in to AD using domain credentials. You or your IT should check it out. It is a little confusing to troubleshoot if there is a problem, but the setup is pretty easy and the tech support at Thursby is very good.

 

[pezza]

Directory Utility in Mac OSX is your friend, Apple ship the plug in required to bind and use an AD environment, it's part of the included software.