Apple Mac OS X Server (version 10.2.3 or later) - Manual (Page 133)

Users and Groups 133
You may want to store home directories for users with last names from A to F on one
computer, G to J on another, and so on. Or you may want to store home directories on a
Mac OS X Server but store user and group accounts on an Active Directory or LDAP
server. Pick a strategy before creating users. You can move home directories, but if you
do, you may need to change a large number of user records.
Determine the access protocol to use for the home directories. Most of the time you will
use AFP, but if you support a large number of UNIX clients with your server, you may want
to use NFS for them.
Once you have decided how many and which computers you want to use for home
directories, plan the domain name or IP address of each computer. Also determine the
names and any share points on computers that will be used for home directories.
m Determine the groups and workgroups you will need.
Users with similar server requirements should be placed in the same group.
Workgroups are useful when you want to set up group preferences. See Chapter 6, “Client
Management: Mac OS X,” and Chapter 10, “Client Management: Mac OS 9 and OS 8,” for
guidelines on using workgroups.
Determine where you want to store group folders.
m Decide who you want to be able to administer users and groups and make sure they have
administrator privileges. “Administration Privileges” on page 121 describes administrator
privileges.
When you use Server Assistant to initially configure your server, you specify a password
for the owner/administrator. The password you specify also becomes the root password
for your server. Use Workgroup Manager to create an administrator user with a password
that is different from the root password. Server administrators do not need root
privileges.
The root password should be used with extreme caution and stored in a secure location.
The root user has full access to the system, including system files. If you need to, you can
use Workgroup Manager to change the root password.
m Decide how you want to configure client computers so that the users you want to support
can effortlessly log in and work with your server. Chapter 2, “Directory Services,” provides
some information about this topic.
LL0395.Book Page 133 Wednesday, November 20, 2002 11:44 AM