help with managing users in 10.5 server

[twoodcc]

ok, so i am learning Mac OS X 10.5 Server, and am planning on getting certified eventually. i have the book (Server Essentials, 2nd edition), and am going thru it a second time.

I am setting up the server on a 2.66 Mac Pro. I also have 3 laptops (macbook, macbook pro, and macbook air)

now, i plan to make my user accounts mobile, since all the client machines are laptops. but what is the best way to do this?

let's say, for example, i log-in one of the machines with user A. i'm still on the network, and leave the computer logged-in, playing itunes. then i go in the other side of the house, and decide to log-in another computer with the same user A. and i decide to play itunes.

now i know i will run into a problem when they both try to sync the itunes file that can only be written to by one of the computers, but not both at the same time.

 

[Peace]

You can make a user admin and allow the admin multiple log-ins. Simultaneously.

Not sure how that would affect iTunes though.

 

[twoodcc]

You can make a user admin and allow the admin multiple log-ins. Simultaneously.

Not sure how that would affect iTunes though.

i know i can do this, but is this a good practice? or should i just lock the user out if he's already logged-in on one machine?

 

[Yoursh]

Multi log-ins would work with network based accounts(home directory located on server) but I wouldn't try with mobile accounts(home directory located on client machine). I also run 10.5 Server on my Xserve running mobile accounts. Teaching myself too. Even though you can sync a user's home directory on multiple machines, everything I've read discourages it.

The main reason is of course sync errors. By default when mobile accounts sync with the copies on the server, it saves the one with the most recent changes. Which usually is the mobile account. If you run the same account on multiple clients, which account would the server assume is the most recent? You may have the server overwriting files you may want to keep. Or the sync may fail. I've never tried it myself because I can see it causing all sorts of issues.

Me personally, I use the new 'external account' option in 10.5. That is where the home directory is saved on an external drive instead of the Mac's hard drive. I have a my main user account on a portable hard drive and just plug it into which ever Mac I'm using at the moment. Even with this one account I still do get the ocasional sync error. Recently it has been with the iPhoto '08 library. From the looks of the Apple discussion page, I'm not the only one with this issue. Otherwise it works fairly well though.

I wouldn't work in your plan though, since you wouldn't be able to stay logged in to the first machine when you wanted to go to the next machine. In that case, just normal network accounts would work much better. You just loose the option to use the accounts off the network. Just have to figure out which would work best for you.

 

[twoodcc]

Multi log-ins would work with network based accounts(home directory located on server) but I wouldn't try with mobile accounts(home directory located on client machine). I also run 10.5 Server on my Xserve running mobile accounts. Teaching myself too. Even though you can sync a user's home directory on multiple machines, everything I've read discourages it.

The main reason is of course sync errors. By default when mobile accounts sync with the copies on the server, it saves the one with the most recent changes. Which usually is the mobile account. If you run the same account on multiple clients, which account would the server assume is the most recent? You may have the server overwriting files you may want to keep. Or the sync may fail. I've never tried it myself because I can see it causing all sorts of issues.

Me personally, I use the new 'external account' option in 10.5. That is where the home directory is saved on an external drive instead of the Mac's hard drive. I have a my main user account on a portable hard drive and just plug it into which ever Mac I'm using at the moment. Even with this one account I still do get the ocasional sync error. Recently it has been with the iPhoto '08 library. From the looks of the Apple discussion page, I'm not the only one with this issue. Otherwise it works fairly well though.

I wouldn't work in your plan though, since you wouldn't be able to stay logged in to the first machine when you wanted to go to the next machine. In that case, just normal network accounts would work much better. You just loose the option to use the accounts off the network. Just have to figure out which would work best for you.

thank you for that reply. i understand what you are saying, and you're right about the sync errors. i am currently testing out the external account now, as well as a normal network account.

i will continue to work with different accounts. i would also love to hear more about what others are doing