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Using Networked Home Directories with Mac OS X?

Posted by Cliff on from the there's-no-place-like-$HOME dept.

trouser asks: "I work in a small office using Macs running Mac OS X and PCs running Linux (Debian). There's no problem sharing files between the machines using Samba, Netatalk, and FTP. However, we want to set the Macs up so that at login they mount home directories from one of the Linux boxes so that we get the same home directory no matter which machine we login on. I've read a little about doing this using NetInfo but I gather with LDAP being included with Jaguar that there might be other options now. Any clues?"

5 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. LDAP Infos/MacOS X by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The MacOS X Server Guide from Apple answers some of you questions...

    http://a320.g.akamai.net/7/320/51/1739d12419ef7c /w ww.apple.com/server/pdfs/Mac_OS_X_Server_v10.2.pdf

    LDAP = Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

  2. Server by Johnny+Mnemonic · · Score: 4, Informative


    While you don't need Mac OS X Server to do this, the same resources will apply. I would recommend the OS X Server mailing list, or the X Server Admin Guide. Both are good sources of info for doing just this kind of thing.

    Also take a look at some non-Apple resources: AFP548.com is consistently the most current, and has a question and answer bulletin board; there's also StepWise, an oldie but goodie.

    Hope that helps, and good luck.

    --

    --
    $tar -xvf .sig.tar
  3. Apple Training by plsuh · · Score: 5, Informative

    Warning: Shameless Plug! :-)

    Apple provides for-fee technical training that covers this and other very useful topics. The courses are generally a week long and involve instructor-led, hands-on training in setting up a network with Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server. IMNSH (and quite biased 'cause I helped write it! :-) O, the training is good stuff, meaty and chock full of technical information. Almost everyone who goes through these courses says something like, "Wow, that's a lot of good, useful information."

    We're working on the revisions for Jaguar right now, and expect to go live with the first course deliveries in a month or so. Go to the Apple Training website for more information.

    --Paul

    Paul Suh
    Curriculum Developer
    Apple Technical Training
    (Help me keep my job! Buy training from Apple! :-)

  4. Lots of stuff depends on HFS+ by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 4, Interesting

    On 10.1, I hacked NetInfo to keep my home directory on a linux NFS share. Lots of stuff broke. Lots of stuff, even good stuff like Mozilla, doesn't work because the filesystem isn't transparent to Carbon on non-HFS+ volumes. Even local UFS doesn't work.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  5. Slightly OT for those having automount issues by alyandon · · Score: 4, Interesting

    For those that were using the following format for fstab: /dev/disk### /Applications hfs rw 1 2

    You may have noticed that automount refuses to mount partitions on your /Application and /Users mount points under Jaguar like it did for before. The correct format for your fstab entries should be:

    LABEL=(partition name as mounted under /Volumes) /Users|/Applications|/Whatever hfs rw 1 2

    Instead of spaces between the items use tabs -- I haven't verified if spaces work yet.

    I'm not a mac user myself but my roommate struggled with this issue for quite a few hours before hitting on the solution. I figured I'd pass it along in case anyone else was struggling with it.