Setting Up New OS X Server For Small Business

[jshlosman]

Hello Everyone,

I need a little advice and assistance. I used to administer OS X Servers in ages past for School Districts (Panther and Jaguar), yes I know that dates me.

Anyway, we are installing a Mac Mini (10.8 Server) in our small business and I have some questions about the directory services.

We are setting up three iMacs (one with parallels to run QB Pro) and two laptops. I want to bind the iMacs, and that is a no brainer. However, I have a question about the laptops... How do I set them up to function outside of the network and then update changes when they sign back on to the network.

I would appreciate ideas, thanks.

 

[rlkarren]

Portable Home directories, (PHD's). (Windows calls them Roaming profiles). However they work much better in Mac OS X.

Without getting into too much detail that I really can't remember, just search for PHD's and you'll find many tutorials.

PHD's are set up in Workgroup Manager. They can be setup by User or by Machine.

rlk

 

[guzhogi]

Portable Home directories, (PHD's). (Windows calls them Roaming profiles). However they work much better in Mac OS X.

Without getting into too much detail that I really can't remember, just search for PHD's and you'll find many tutorials.

PHD's are set up in Workgroup Manager. They can be setup by User or by Machine.

rlk

I was going to suggest the same thing. We use PHDs (aka mobile homes) in the school district I work for. One note: when logging in or out at work, it might take a while to sync, especially if they have a lot of multimedia files (i.e. music, pictures, movies and some PowerPoints/Keynote presentations). With having to copy large files or even lots of any size files, it might take a few minutes to sync.

 

[alexrmc92]

I was going to suggest the same thing. We use PHDs (aka mobile homes) in the school district I work for. One note: when logging in or out at work, it might take a while to sync, especially if they have a lot of multimedia files (i.e. music, pictures, movies and some PowerPoints/Keynote presentations). With having to copy large files or even lots of any size files, it might take a few minutes to sync.

you can disable sync on login / logout and restrict it to only while the session is active. This allows instant logins/logouts. Large files can take over a hour to sync in some cases.