Mac OS X Lion Server For Dummies®

Planning and Deploying Mobile Accounts

Just as you've seen with other services in Mac OS X Server, planning before you decide on deploying mobile accounts and portable home folders saves you from wasting time and energy.

Here's the basic planning and deployment process: First, decide the type of account you'll use to manage mobility settings. Then examine the options for mobile accounts and portable home folders that I describe in the preceding section. Next, configure directory and file-sharing services on your servers. Finalize connections by binding clients to the directory and log in to mobile accounts, creating portable home folders as necessary.

Simplifying mobile management with computer and group accounts

As I discuss in Chapter 16, accounts come in different types: user, group, computer (or machine), and computer groups. Managing mobility options is possible for any of the account types or combinations thereof. But for simplicity, with multiple accounts needing mobility and portability settings, group and computer group accounts are the best choices.

Manage your notebook systems with computer groups. When users of multiple systems always need a particular setting, such as mobility, creating a group of those systems makes your job easier.

When managing desktop systems with mobile accounts and portable homes, unless you're managing only a few user accounts, also use groups ...