Snow Leopard™ Server

Chapter 21. Using Open Directory

In This Chapter

• Introduction to Open Directory

• Planning directory services

• Directory services setup and configuration

• Managing and monitoring directory services

Mac OS X Server uses Open Directory to handle its network directory services, which act as a central store for information about users, groups, computers, and other network resources in an organization.

As an authoritative repository of network information, the directory services records Open Directory makes available are used to:

• Enable users and services to look up available network resources, such as printers, web servers, or file system mounts

• Authenticate users' identities for login to network systems and to access services

• Allow services to obtain authenticated users' identity information, enabling the services to evaluate requested access authorization

• Provide and manage account details for network users, such as their mail service configuration, home folder settings, and quota limitations on print, mail, and home folder shares

• Enforce managed preferences settings to define and restrict the configuration and environment allowed for network users, groups, and computers

In addition to serving as the primary network directory domain for Mac OS X Server, Open Directory also acts as the abstraction layer that sits between processes that need directory information and various sources of that information, which may include:

• Any number of different Open Directory domains on the network

• Third-party LDAP ...