Apple Mac OS X Server (Administrator’s Guide) - Manual (Page 136)

136 Chapter 3
Note: If all the domains have not been finalized when you are ready to start adding
accounts, simply add them to any domain that already exists on your server. ( You can use the
local directory domain—it’s always available.) You can move users and groups to another
directory domain later by using your server’s export and import capabilities, described in
“Importing and Exporting User and Group Information” on page 178.
m Determine which password verification policy or policies you will use. See
“Understanding Password Validation” on page 189 for information about the options.
m Determine which users you want to make managed users. See Chapter 6, “Client
Management: Mac OS X,” and Chapter 10, “Client Management: Mac OS 9 and OS 8,” for
planning guidelines.
m Devise a home directory strategy.
Determine which users need home directories and identify the computers on which you
want user home directories to reside. For performance reasons, avoid using network
home directories over network connections slower than 100 Mbps. A user’s network
home directory does not need to be stored on the same server as the directory domain
containing the user’s account. In fact, distributing directory domains and home
directories among various servers can help you balance your network workload.
“Distributing Home Directories Across Multiple Servers” on page 156 and “Setting Up
Home Directories for Users Defined in Existing Directory Servers” on page 157 describe
several such scenarios.
You may want to store home directories for users with last names from A to F on one
computer, G to J on another, and so on. Or you may want to store home directories on a
Mac OS X Server but store user and group accounts on an Active Directory or LDAP
server. Pick a strategy before creating users. You can move home directories, but if you
do, you may need to change a large number of user and share point (mount) records.
Determine the access protocol to use for the home directories. Most of the time you will
use AFP, but if you support a large number of UNIX clients with your server, you may want
to use NFS for them. “Choosing a Protocol for Home Directories” on page 160 provides
some information on this topic.
Once you have decided how many and which computers you want to use for home
directories, plan the domain name or IP address of each computer. Also determine the
names and any share points on computers that will be used for home directories.
m Determine the groups and workgroups you will need.
Users with similar server requirements should be placed in the same group.
Workgroups are useful when you want to set up group preferences. See Chapter 6, “Client
Management: Mac OS X,” and Chapter 10, “Client Management: Mac OS 9 and OS 8,” for
guidelines on using workgroups.
Determine where you want to store group directories.