How does Profile Manager work?

Question

I am having a heck of a time getting Profile Manager to be consistant.The way I have gathered is that the data is stored int the postgresql data base and pushed to the client computers.The problem I am seeing is that the data that is pushed is not always the same.  I want the login window to show my family members (network users) and then mount the groups share when logging in.  I also have a small welcome note on the login screen.  I also have parental controls on the kids accounts.  The computer seems to pull or push the date to the Managed Prefrences folder in the Library folder of the client computer and the client will use this data for its settings.  It seems to do it at log in and log out.  I can delete the prefrences and they are rebuilt quickly.My main problem is that the rebuilt prefrences are not always correct and not consistant between pushes.  Is this a certificate error?  I doubt it since I just rebuilt the server.  I am using a self signed certificate and using my appleID to get a push certificate.  Could it be some other error?  What should I be looking for in the logs?  I have tried most of the soultions that I have run accross on the forums but none have solved this inconsistancy.ThanksDavid

David Urban · Answer

I am still having this issue.  I have given up on the parental controls and am using the WGM.  It works for that at least.For the login window I look at the com.apple.loginwindow.plist under Managed Prefrences folder and it looks like this:&lt;?xml version&#x3D;"1.0" encoding&#x3D;"UTF-8"?&gt;&lt;!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"&gt;&lt;plist version&#x3D;"1.0"&gt;&lt;dict&gt;  &lt;key&gt;DisableLoginItemsSuppression&lt;/key&gt;  &lt;false/&gt;&lt;/dict&gt;&lt;/plist&gt;It is supose to look like this:&lt;?xml version&#x3D;"1.0" encoding&#x3D;"UTF-8"?&gt;&lt;!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"&gt;&lt;plist version&#x3D;"1.0"&gt;&lt;dict&gt;          &lt;key&gt;AdminHostInfo&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;string&gt;HostName&lt;/string&gt;          &lt;key&gt;AdminMayDisableMCX&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;true/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;AllowList&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;array/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;DenyList&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;array&gt;                    &lt;string&gt;9F292449-E93A-481B-9C30-58C6D72EFA21&lt;/string&gt;          &lt;/array&gt;          &lt;key&gt;DisableAutoLoginClient&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;true/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;DisableConsoleAccess&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;false/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;EnableExternalAccounts&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;false/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;HideAdminUsers&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;true/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;HideLocalUsers&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;false/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;HideMobileAccounts&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;false/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;IncludeNetworkUser&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;true/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;LoginwindowText&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;string&gt;Welcome to the Urbanfamily Network&lt;/string&gt;          &lt;key&gt;RetriesUntilHint&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;integer&gt;3&lt;/integer&gt;          &lt;key&gt;SHOWFULLNAME&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;false/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;SHOWOTHERUSERS_MANAGED&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;true/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;ShutDownDisabled&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;false/&gt;          &lt;key&gt;UseComputerNameForComputerRecordName&lt;/key&gt;          &lt;false/&gt;&lt;/dict&gt;&lt;/plist&gt;What causes it to change?  what is the string in the deny list.  I do have one user that I dont want showing up on the screen.  could this be the user GUID?  Where is the client computer pulling the information to overwrite the correct file?  Why is it doing this?  Please Help.David