AirPort authenticating to Active Directory

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Level 1

9 points

AirPort authenticating to Active Directory

I have an iMac G5 with Mac OS X Tiger. I have set up the iMac, so that users can log in to a campus network that uses Active Directory to authenticate them. I can connect to that network when the iMac is hooked up with an Ethernet cable. However, when I try to connect wirelessly with AirPort, I cannot log in.

Is there any way I can set up AirPort to communicate with Active Directory over a wireless access point, so that users can log on in the same way they would if the iMac was wired into the network?

Posted on Oct 14, 2005 8:15 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 17, 2005 1:17 AM in response to Andy West

Should be no matter if you want to connect via wireless or Ethernet. Is your access point connected to the same network as your Ethernet cable?

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Answer 2

Andy West Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 17, 2005 8:04 AM in response to Nael Bishtawi

Yes, the access point is on the same network as the Ethernet cable.

Let me fill in some details on this problem. I turn on the iMac; it powers up to the login screen with two accounts: Administrator and Other....

* When the iMac is plugged into an Ethernet cable, I can press Other... to bring up the login box, enter a user name and password, and that lets me into the network.

* When, however, the iMac is linked to the network via AirPort, I enter the user name and password and get the login box rejection shimmy.

Somewhere in the network or directory setups, perhaps hidden in plain sight, are settings where which let users log in through Ethernet but not through AirPort. Perhaps AirPort does not do pre-login identification for Active Directory/LDAP. It's a mystery that I would like solved.

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Answer 3

Jan 7, 2006 9:02 AM in response to Andy West

I have been having this same problem with some iBook G4s.
They are connected to an airport network. After they go to sleep the login window just shakes. This also happens on startup some times.
The only way to get around this issue is to login as a local admin user and then login as the AD networked user. This is not an expectable solution because the users can't be given the Admin names and passwords.
Thanks.

-Alex

iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

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Answer 4

Jan 7, 2006 10:51 AM in response to Alex Unger

You need to enable the cached account option in the Active Directory plugin. This will allow you to use cached credentials.

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Answer 5

Jan 7, 2006 11:02 AM in response to Trevor Seward

How would one go about doing this?
I don't have much experience with AD, so these questions may seem very eliminatory. What is Cached Credentials and how does it work? Why would this only effect connections over Airport and not ethernet?
Thank you for your help.

-Alex

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Answer 6

Jan 7, 2006 8:48 PM in response to Alex Unger

You need to go into Directory Access -> Active Directory

Select Create mobile account at login.

This will allow you to use the computer when it cannot contact the Domain Controller.
Your wireless connection may require authentication (via user authentication) to be used.

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Answer 7

Jan 8, 2006 5:51 AM in response to Trevor Seward

Thanks for the help. I will give this a try.

-Alex

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