Mac OS X Lion Server For Dummies®

Chapter 8

Controlling Access to Files and Folders

In This Chapter

• Working with standard POSIX permissions
• Setting access control list permissions
• Inheriting permissions
• Using the rules of precedence to troubleshoot permissions problems
• Limiting access to services with service access control lists

If you're a strict egalitarian, you may be inclined to give everyone on the network complete access to everything on the server. This approach might work with a small office with a handful of users but can be confusing to users if they have to sift through numerous server folders or if they find that someone accidentally moved a needed file.

Lion Server lets you control access by users to shared folders, files, and applications. You can assign permissions to grant or limit users' ability to perform certain actions, such as opening a folder or editing a file. Lion Server has permissions for files, folders, and applications.

You assign or change these user and group entities and permissions in the Server app. In this chapter, I describe the different types of permission schemes and their options.

One more type of permission lets you control who has access to entire services, such as file sharing, iCal service, and Mail. I end the chapter with a description of how to use this type of permission.