Chapter 13. Client Management

Many system administrators view a centrally controlled user environment as the ultimate management solution. The concept is simple: Instead of configuring user accounts individually at each computer, this management information is centralized on your servers. Thus an administrator can configure preferences for every account from one central location. For instance, you can prevent a specific user account from launching nonessential applications, or restrict printing on an expensive color printer to only a certain group of users, or set a preference that automatically shuts down every idle computer at the end of the workday. These are but a few examples of controlling Mac OS X clients by using the managed preference settings from your Mac OS X Server.

With such an extensive variety of managed preference options available, this simple concept can become complicated. Fortunately, the engineers at Apple have created a preference system that permits you to micromanage accounts while still working at the macro level. In other words, you can apply a specific setting to a broad range of accounts in a few steps. For starters, you can select multiple accounts and simultaneously apply managed preference settings for all of them in one step. Further, Mac OS X Server lets you define presets so newly created or imported accounts are automatically configured with your managed account settings. Most significantly, you can apply managed preference settings to workgroups or computer lists in addition to individual user accounts.

Prior to implementing managed preferences, you should consider all the options available and create a plan that will accomplish your administration requirements with the least amount of configuration.

(You may find that an organizational tool such as a group outline or flowchart software like OmniGraffle (http://www.omnigroup.com) can help you plan the best implementation for your needs.)