A historical perspective, A historical perspective 43 – Apple Mac OS X Server (version 10.2.3 or later) User Manual

Page 43

Directory Services

Processes running on Mac OS X computers can use directory services to save information in
a directory domain. For example, when you set up a user account, the application that you
use to do this has directory services store information about the user in a directory domain.

m On a computer with Mac OS X version 10.2, you use the My Account pane or the

Accounts pane of System Preferences to set up user accounts that are valid only on the
one computer.

m On a computer with Mac OS X Server version 10.2, you use the Accounts module of

Workgroup Manager to set up user accounts that are valid on all Mac OS X computers on
your network. You can specify additional user attributes in a network user account, such
as the location of the user’s home directory.

Whether you use Workgroup Manager or System Preferences to create a user account, the
user information is stored in a directory domain.

When someone attempts to log in to a Mac OS X computer, the login process uses Mac OS X
directory services—Open Directory—to validate the user name and password.

A Historical Perspective

Like Mac OS X, Open Directory has a UNIX heritage. Open Directory provides access to
administrative data that UNIX systems have generally kept in configuration files, which
require much painstaking work to maintain. (Some UNIX systems still rely on configuration
files.) Open Directory consolidates the data and distributes it for ease of access and
maintenance.