Apple Mac OS X Server (Administrator’s Guide) - Manual (Page 423)

Client Management: Mac OS 9 and OS 8 423
For Mac OS 8 clients: Preferences are stored in the Preferences folder in the System
Folder on the client computer’s hard disk.
If a user does not have a home directory, you can store preferences for Mac OS 9 in the
Preferences folder in the Users folder on the client hard disk, but you cannot store them in
the Preferences folder in the System Folder.
Using the MMLocalPrefs Extension
If some applications create excess network activity, storing preferences locally may help
decrease the overall burden on your network. You can install the MMLocalPrefs extension on
Mac OS 9 computers to allow Macintosh Manager to store and access user preferences
locally. Using the MMLocalPrefs extension may increase login and logout times because user
preferences need to be copied to and from the local hard disk.
The MMLocalPrefs extension must be installed manually on individual computers, and
it affects any user who can access those computers. This extension does not work on
Mac OS 8 computers.
Using NetBoot With Macintosh Manager
Although you are not required to use NetBoot with Macintosh Manager, you can use it to
administer each computer’s system setup in labs and classrooms. With NetBoot you can
provide students with identical user environments and easy access to the same resources on
a secure network that is easy to maintain.
Preparation for Using NetBoot
If client computers use system software supplied by a NetBoot server, you can ensure that
each computer has the same version of software and access to the same applications.
Regardless of what users change during a session, the computers return to the same system
configuration after restart. Network computers are easy to maintain because the user
applications need to be installed only on a disk image stored on the server.
You must use the NetBoot Desktop Admin utility to change the Multiple Users control panel
options so that NetBoot client computers retrieve account information from Macintosh
Manager when they start up.
The steps below give a general description of how to prepare your managed network and
clients for use with NetBoot. See Chapter 12, “NetBoot,” for more detailed information.
m Set up the client computers to start up from the Mac OS disk image on the server.
m Use Macintosh Manager to control user environment, preferences, and access to local and
network resources.
Important
Do not install the MMLocalPrefs extension if you need to enable the Check Out
feature for Mac OS 9 clients.