Need help setting up Open Directory network home folders

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Need help setting up Open Directory network home folders

This is my scenario:

We have 3 schools that have users that we want to be using Open Directory with network home folders. The students are not 1:1 with the computers, so we want them to be able to go to whatever computer they want in their school and still have access to their network home folder when they log in.

We will have Yosemite with Server 4 installed on the servers.

We will have the Open Directory Master at one school and then Open Directory Replicas at the other 2 schools. The main concern I have is how to set up the network home folders. I would like each building's server to store the home folders for the students that belong to that school.

I can set up a file share on the Master and select the checkbox "Make available for home directories over AFP" This will allow me to select this file share when creating or editing a user and clicking the Home Folder drop down selection box. How then do I set up the file shares on the replica servers in the 2 other buildings so that they show up in this list on the Master? From what I have read, creating or editing users is only done from the OD Master. So, if I were to set up file shares on the replica servers, I don't think the shares would show up in the Home Folder drop down selection on the Master.

Thank you for any help you can provide.

Mac mini, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Jul 30, 2015 2:08 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 23, 2017 11:41 PM in response to RobertWorth

I have done this in a test environment but with one OD. I have set this up on the replica and bound the client to the replica (Tried the Master as well).

I get You are unable to log in to the user "user" account at the time.

When I try with just file sharing I can connect as the user, it's just when I set up as the home folder network home it fails. Any clues? Thanks

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Answer 2

Jul 30, 2015 2:58 PM in response to RobertWorth

Share Points are added with the [+] button under the File Sharing pane. So add a directory that is on the Replica Server in another building. Double-click on the Share Point for an expanded view.

From there you can specify a particular Share Point [√] Make available for Home Directories.

Then that Share Point should show on the Menu when adding a User.

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Answer 3

Jul 31, 2015 2:56 AM in response to RobertWorth

This process does seem to be much messier than it used to be back in the day of Snow Leopard Server and Workgroup Manager. My current experience of multiple network home directory servers is that the following is the way to do it.

Have an Open Directory master
Each network home directory server needs to also be an Open Directory replica server
Then on the network home directory server/OD replica add the share
Then on the network home directory server/OD replica set a specific user to use that share

As you say you would expect to be able to select any registered home directory share in the OD Master and apply it to a user account, my experience is that on the OD Master it merely lists choices of - Custom, Local Only, and None. Only on the relevant home server/OD replica is the correct choice of the new share listed.

Note: Custom is the OD masters only view of the share on the other home/OD replica server, it does not list them properly on the OD master.

Once shares have been setup and assigned to some users they are listed in Workgroup Manager. Yes Apple say it is dead and not for Yosemite but it does still work. Workgroup Manager can be run on any Mac and would be pointed to the OD Master.

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Answer 4

RobertWorth Author

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Jul 31, 2015 10:01 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant,

The problem when I try to do it this way is that although the user's folder gets created on the replica server, it does not have permissions set for the network user it is being created for. The owner of the folder on the replica server becomes my administrator account that is connected on the network file share.

Also, this way seems to be reliant on the Master always being up and having the share between the master and the replica connected. This would seem to make me lose the feature of the master/replica relationship where the replica can continue if the master is down or vice versa.

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Answer 5

Jul 31, 2015 11:09 AM in response to RobertWorth

Then I defer to John Lockwood's experience on this matter.

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Answer 6

RobertWorth Author

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Aug 4, 2015 8:37 AM in response to John Lockwood

John, I will try to continue using Workgroup Manager after I upgrade the server to Yosemite, as you suggested.

Thank you both for your help!

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