Q: Can't sync home folder

Did you type this on your server and that's what it said?

This is all internal LAN network. No DNS pointing or internet involved.

Ok so how is your client going to resolve the hostname of your server??

It has to be pointed to a DNS server that will tell it where the computer with the hostname of your server is located or nothing is going to work properly.

Clients (network computers) were connecting before. The Network Account Server directory light IS RIGHT NOW green and active. I had no problems connecting or logging in before.

In fact, we are all successfully accesing shared folders across our network. We are sharing iCal calendars. No problem.

The only problem was getting the users mobile accounts home folder recognized when the user logged in..as the home folder we need from the server. Not the local computer.

I needed you to answer my question about the result of the changeip command. You said the command wasn't recognized. Did you type that command on your server and it said it's not recognized? Please run it on your server and paste the output here.

Please understand without being very specific about your setup and how you have things configured, it can be almost impossibe for anybody to help you out.

Sorry..I know what I did wrong with the command. Here is the result from the server.

Primary address     = 10.0.1.44

Current HostName    = mcpserver.com

The DNS hostname is not available, please repair DNS and re-run this tool.

dirserv:success = "success"

So you've found your problem. Your DNS is hosed. The reason I wanted you to run this command is I supected this was your problem from the start.

The DNS hostname is not available, please repair DNS and re-run this tool.

Many things on OS X Server (especially things like network accounts and mobile accounts) require that you have perfect DNS records, both forward and reverse. The changeip -checkhostname command checks to make sure that you have correct DNS. It has told you that your DNS is not set up properly.

This will keep your server from working correctly. If you had correct DNS, the result of the command would be something like this:

Primary address     = 192.168.4.3

Current HostName    = athena.hfcnetwork.net

DNS HostName        = athena.hfcnetwork.net

The names match. There is nothing to change.

dirserv:success = "success"

Regarding File Sharing SHARE POINTS...

Do I add the Users folder as a Share Point? What should be the correct priviledges..or does the created user profile handle this.

This is not clear when setting this all up. I get no dialog that says "We are going to create user folders for your users".

So this is probably a problem with newbies setting up mobile accounts. There is no feedback on what the server is going to do along the process.

I had to asssume that if there is a File Sharing access point I would have to add those for each user's space.

If I was told that the App was going to create users folders...I wouldn't have tried to map out network paths etc all over the place.

But FYI..I where I could log into a network account on a network machine..I can no longer log in now after changing the User's home folders to the newly created on via the Mobility Preference pane in the Workgroup Manager.

Server.app will make home folders for you. You should not try to pre-make them.

You need to fix your DNS or it's never going to work correctly. You also need to point your clients to your server for DNS lookups.

So how do i run this tool?

Under SERVER APP

HARDWARE / Network / Host Name: Edit?

Kimbakat,

I think you should do some more research about OS X Server and DNS before you precede any further or you're going to be frustrated.

I'm glad to help you out but I can't walk you thru the entire process of setting up your server from scratch (which I think is the best thing for you to do) on here w/o you having a little understanding about what you're doing.

But we did figure out the cause of your problem, you now know why things aren't working.

I would start here: http://labs.hoffmanlabs.com/node/1436

These mobile accounts can't be done locally on our own network? I don't want to do anything outside to the internet..just on our local ethernet.

It doesn't matter that you don't want it to work on the outside, you still need local DNS running on your LAN.

Ok..so now I'm kind of freaking out because I've consumed so much time to setup this server, users, shared iCals etc.....AND had finally got it so that users could log into other machines..and now it feels like it's all screwed up.

This whole DNS setting up is not mentioned in any other forums as a necessary for a local users to login into local machines....and I was told setting up a Lion server would be easy and straightforward..and it is not.

So...what do I do at this point..because I I'm not sure about this whole DNS thing...is I feel like I need the "six steps and here is EXACTLY what you type in this field" instructions here on fixing this.

The DNS tips site says:

"Mac OS X Server needs DNS running, either locally, or somewhere within its network.  Failure to have functional forward and reverse DNS (rDNS) available will cause various instabilities, and will cause changeip -checkhostname to flag errors."

I would like it Locally. Sooooo in SERVER ADMIN.app / DNS  (zones and settings)  (and does this app have to be constantly running in the background like Snow Leopard Server did?)

To what do I set it to forward or reverse?  Do I make this stuff up as I type or what?

I really need to know exactly what to type. I do not have this information.

If you feel like you need further assistance and you need it now, I would spring for an account at the training website lynda.com. I know they have traning videos on OS X Server as well as videos dedicated to DNS and networking. You might find that helpful.

I'm sorry I can't offer more help, I'm busy at my job today!