Local copy of Network User files

With the latest OS X Server, I see how you can use a Network User account to log onto the server or any "bound" client machine on the home network.  However, when leaving home with a "client" machine (e.g. MacAir with Mountain Lion), is their someway to have a local copy of the Network User files on the client?  Hopefully you can see the objective of this question: while at home, use any machine to work with the files, but when you leave the network, how can you have a synchronized copy of the files on a Mac laptop?  If needed I can dedicate a client machine for each user, so maybe there's a way to designate the files of a Network User on another, non-server, client machine like a Mac laptop?

I have the same question, cause I do not have more space on iCloud for more backups, and I really want to save an older backup from my iPhone, that speceific backup was the last one before my iPhone was stoled. if anyone know if it is posible to locate that file on "iCloud" and save it, I use iCloud instead of iTunes, and I do not know where to look for it...
thanks

Similar Messages

  • Transferring network user files from Windows Server 2003 to Mac OSX 10.5.8

    I'm wondering if any network admins out there have a suggested method of transferring network user files from a Windows Server 2003 to an XServe running 10.5.8?
    When we did the file transfer, clicking and dragging, there were a myriad permissions issues that subsequently arose. Surely there is a way to strip permissions off files PRIOR to the transfer?? Maybe not, but I'm wondering how you folks have done it.
    We have had nothing but persistent permissions issues since the transfer (i.e. folks who should have access to files, being denied access, including the local server admin!!). This also translates to synch errors for network mobile accounts.
    Thanks,
    John Orban
    System Administrator
    The Country School

    http://www.laurentnomine.com/2009/09/invalid-file-handle-when-copying-files-from -os-x-leopard-10-5-to-vista7/

  • Network users file permissions won't allow documents to be moved or deleted

    Sorry for the confusing title.
    It's late, and if I've missed any details, please feel free to ask for them.
    I've migrated a couple of desktop users to a network user based environment.
    Data files were copied off workstations to an external drive, which were then placed on the file server.
    Local computers seem to connect fine.
    All show the network user list.
    Network users can login (Do not want to sync mobile account)
    Logged in user can create files just fine, save files etc. These files can seem to be moved around the users home just fine.
    however if said user needs to move an existing file in their own home/documents folder or desktop or wants to delete a file, they get a prompt for the local admin of the computer their working on. Even if this account is entered, it doesn't seem to allow the requested change to take place.
    If i attempt to open, then save over an existing file, it makes no difference.
    if i do a save as to a new file (ie. different name), then it behaves properly.
    doing a permissions comparison of a new file vs an old file, they have matching permissions but the existing files have an extra set of "everyone" permissions.
    I can't seem to modify this from the user or even from the server, ie. remove the extra everyone to make them similar.
    It would seem to be a permissions issue, but it just doesn't make any sense.
    Does anyone have any suggestions for permissions or a settings to check?
    I've gone to the point of propagating full read/write access to the home directory for all users, inherit to child files and folders, but it just doesn't seem to make a difference
    I'm looking for a global fix, as clearly adjusting all these individual files is unacceptable.
    Thanks in advance,
    James

    Get Info not available.
    Nothing happens

  • Problems to avoiding local copy in the user's machine

    Hi All,
    I implemented the BadI DOCUMENT_FILES01~AFTER_START_APPL according to the wiki http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/PLM/Avoidinglocalcopyoforiginal for avoid local copy of original in the user's machine.
    This implementation only works for originals open through the ECL Viewer or MS Office Integration, avoiding local copy of originals in this cases.
    But the problem is that PDF files still being copy to temporary folder in the user's machine when I use ECL Viewer 6.0 with patch 5 implemented according to SAP note 1380587.
    If I implement the patch 5 for ECL Viewer 6.0 without the manually customizing in "Enviroment Variables" indicating in the solution section of the SAP note, then the PDF files are not copy to temporary folder in the user's machine.
    In test with ECL Viewer 5.1.2 and 5.1.3, this problem with PDF Files doesn't happen too.
    My system and customizing information:
    SAP GUI 710 PATCH 18
    ECL 6.0 with all patches installed 1 to 7 according to the SAP notes
    Data carrier
           - Define mount points/logical drive => Data Carrier: PC; Data Carrier Type: PC; Prefix for access path: PC
           - Define data carrier type "server, front end" => Data Carrier Type: PC; Description: local PC; path: c:\temp\
    Has anyone experienced this?
    Best Regards,
    Daniel

    Hi Daniel,
    regarding the display or handling of PDF files I have to say that here the local copy is required by the Adobe Reader and therefore the system has to made a local copy to display the PDF files correctly. This happens also if you display PDF files with the ECL Viewer because also the viewer requires an instance of the Adobe Reader which again needs a local copy. So for displaying PDF files a local copy is mandatory.
    Best regards,
    Christoph

  • Moving my user files to FW drive containing Snow Leopard.

    I installed SL on an external Firewire drive and planned to use Migration Assistant to copy my apps, user files, etc., onto the new installation. Migration Assistant copied only one account (I have two accounts on my 10.5.8 installation which is on my internal drive) to the SL . How can I copy the second account, the most important one, to my SL drive without disturbing the system files? Time Machine? Superduper 2.6?

    I gave up on trying to massage my SL installation and I cleaned off another 300 GB external FW drive, installed SL on it and used Migration Assistant to move my stuff from my internal drive (running 10.5.8). MA worked O.K. It did restart itself once and began at the beginning but after that it moved everything. Apple should take a look at MA to make sure it's working properly. Had that hiccup happened further along in the data transfer it might have caused a "not enough room" error.
    My Canon iP4600 printer and my old Lexmark 4019 laser printer (using a CUPS driver and a parallel to USB adapter) are working normally. I tried my Canon 8400f scanner using the Canoscan Toolbox and Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 and they seem to work, at least this one time.

  • Copy local user settings to network user account

    I have a local user on my computer here, and I want to transfer all settings to a network account - things such as dock icons, mouse settings, everything so when I log on to the network account everything looks and acts the same. Can I do this. or do I need to start from scratch?

    Hi Brent,
    The following has worked for me.
    1. Login to local machine as a local admin
    2. Delete user's account BUT choose the option to create a dmg of the user data.
    3. After completion, move the dmg to Users/Shared
    4. Log out
    5. Log in as your target OD network user (having created the server account, bound the client, etc)
    7. Open the dmg from /Users/Shared and copy the items from within each of Documents, Library, etc. Do NOT just copy Documents. Library, etc.... make sure you copy the contents
    Everything should be in place at the next login. Have the user change password via System Prefs > Accounts asap and this will fix any keychain issues.
    hth,
    b.

  • Can I have a network user with the same name as a local user?!

    I have just set up Mac OS X 10.8 SErver with Open Directory.  I have about 20 machines that I will be setting up, some which have mainly been used localy and just used to tap into Shared Files, [historically], but am wanting to use network users for better backup and support.
    However some of the legacy accounts were not used on off the server...  What I have is the following :-
    a)    [Person A]  - They are a network user with Password [Password A]
    b)    The computer is [Person A], they have a Password [Password Old] (so it is different)
    I have Network Account Users turned on, with a green dot! (have domain all set up)
    However How do I connect using either a or b.  depending on what i feel like that day!
    ? Help any ideas.
    Ultimately I will have set up all my client machines with a client admin user and standard password... but I am not there yet!

    Moving from local (legacy) users to network users takes a one-time hassle of moving the contents of their local home folder contents up to the server. Using a finder copy never worked for me. What I finally found worked reliably was using rsync to copy the entire users local folder up to the server. Once on the server, move the files into place (if you didn't rsync them there directly. Finally, Chown all the files (on the server) to associate them with the correct userID on the server. If everything looks right on the server, you can test by trying to login as this user from another local Mac (but now as a network account), and hopefully their home folder looks like they expected.
    Note you will need admin access in the local machine and the server to rsync their home folder. You don't want to be logged into their account while trying to copy their files up to the server.
    If rsync is not your bag, a portable hard disk and/or disk image of their home folder is another way to move their stuff.
    Once you've verified that their network account got to the server ok, then REMOVE the local account.

  • Migrating local users to network users

    Hi - I have seen answers for past versions of the server, but none seem to work.
    I have 5 macs, 4 users.  I want them to be able to log in from any mac and have their home screen/files appear as if it was on their (former) local machine. Also want to set up group folders that can be accessed as well.  The latter part is no problem setting up, but how can i migrate the local home folders to the network easily.
    I have set up user accounts, bound local machines to the server, tried mobility settings but can't get it to work.
    I read somewhere that if the shortname is the same on the local machine as the server that may cause problems.
    Also - is there any advantage to setting up machines vs users in workgroup manager?
    Thanks

    Hello,
    if you want your users to be able to login from any machine on the network, then your users must exist in the OD on the server and the client machines must be bound to to the server. Client machines must be set to use network accounts.
    If the client machines are not portable (MB, MBP, Air etc), set you users as _plain_ network users, otherwise use Mobile accounts. The difference is that in case of mobile account are user credentials cached on the client, so they are able to login even when they are on another network (so the server is not available to authenticate).
    Next you need to set up network home for network your users. Start up Server Admin, select a sharepoint and enable automount as User home folder.
    Next, in the workgroup manager select your users, and assign them new home folder paths. As a last step copy contents of local homes to the new network location.

  • How can I allow network users to use File Sharing on 10.8 Server?

    I am in the process of setting up a new OS X 10.8 Server. I have exported/imported the network users from my previous OS X 10.6.8 Server using Workspace Manager. I have re-entered the passwords of the users. I have existing clients running (stil logged in).
    I have set up the File Sharing service in Server.app. I have several mount points. I have made the Users mount point available for home directories over AFP.
    Now, the system administrator can connect to the server and get access to the file shares. So the basic file sharing system works.
    Also: the users on a client can get there password verified (e.g. when unlocking screen protection) by the server. It is just AFP they can't get access to, while the system administrator account (OD /Local on the server) can be used. So, the password in the server is OK too. It seems to be a matter of privileges.
    But no network user (OD user in directory /LDAPv3/127.0.0.1 on the server) can get access. Where can I give network users privileges for File Sharing on the server?
    I did try to add either the "Open Directory Users" group or a specific user that was imported into com.apple.access_afp. If I do that, there is partial success. I can connect to the server from the client with a user account other than system administrator from the server (but connecting is slow). But Mobile Home Sync does not work:
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:10.379] Scheduling next sync of "HomeSync_Mirror" at 2013-04-05 14:11:20 +0000
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.782] ==========================================================
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.782] Starting automatic sync of "HomeSync_Mirror".
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.786] Peer "network" reports changes since last sync.
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.786] [0x7fd5a9224760/<SStore_FS:0x105db3420>] +[SStore_FS newStore_FSForPeer:alias:]: isRemote = NO
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.786] [0x7fd5a9224760/<SStore_FS:0x105db3420>] +[SStore_FS newStore_FSForPeer:rootPath:rootAlias:rootRef:storePath:optionalStoreID:]: peer = <SPeer_FS:0x7fd5a5009520> = local, optionalStoreID = (null), peer.storeIDString = *
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.786] [0x7fd5a9224760/<SStore_FS:0x105db3420>] +[SStore_FS newStore_FSForPeer:rootPath:rootAlias:rootRef:storePath:optionalStoreID:]: rootPath        = /Users/gerben
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.786] [0x7fd5a9224760/<SStore_FS:0x105db3420>] +[SStore_FS newStore_FSForPeer:rootPath:rootAlias:rootRef:storePath:optionalStoreID:]: storePath       = /Users/gerben/.FileSync/store.filesyncstatetree
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.787] [0x7fd5a9224760/<SStore_FS:0x105db3420>] +[SStore_FS newStore_FSForPeer:rootPath:rootAlias:rootRef:storePath:optionalStoreID:]: rootAlias       = {path='/Users/gerben', targetName='gerben', volumeName='Macintosh HD', type=DIR, volumeCreateDate=2010-08-10-12:58:16, targetCreateDate=2011-08-28-18:39:13, parentDirID=37638, nodeID=3003598, filesystemID=0000 ('0000'), signature=0x482b ('H+'), isBootVolume=YES, isAutomounted=NO, isEjectable=NO, hasPersistentFileIDs=YES, mounted=YES, url='file://localhost/'}
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.789] -[SPeer_FS _mountServerCallbackShares:status:]: received error 64
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] EXCEPTION: _mountServerCallbackShares:status: (Host is down) <-[SPeer_FS mountPeerVolumeWithURLString:] (Peer-FS.m:446): "'(-1)' error 64">
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] USERINFO: {
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790]     NSLocalizedDescription = "Host is down";
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] }
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] BACKTRACE: {
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] ? | 0x105cb79b7  
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] ? | 0x105cbf0e5  
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] ? | 0x105c2c866  
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] ? | 0x105c2babd  
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] ? | 0x105c2acb4  
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] ? | 0x7fff858bb72a
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] ? | 0x7fff858bb6a2
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] ? | 0x7fff874cf8bf
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] ? | 0x7fff874d2b75
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] }
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] Peer "network" is unable to sync. (-[SPeer_FS mountPeerVolumeWithURLString:] (Peer-FS.m:446): "'(-1)' error 64")
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] Peer "network" is unable to sync. Not enough peers will be available to continue syncing.
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] Aborting sync of "HomeSync_Mirror".
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.790] -[SPeer abortSync] "local"
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.797] -[SStore_FS setupWithAlias:andRef:] (Store-FS.m:447): unlink('/Users/gerben/.FileSync/.fstemp.QW1Gh-bhvgEhVwmG3.noindex')
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] EXCEPTION: !IF <-[SPeer(protected) doPrepareForSyncWithResolvedConflicts:] (Peer.m:1149): "'(([self checkAbort]))'">
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] BACKTRACE: {
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] ? | 0x105c2bb66  
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] ? | 0x105c2acb4  
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] ? | 0x7fff858bb72a
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] ? | 0x7fff858bb6a2
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] ? | 0x7fff874cf8bf
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] ? | 0x7fff874d2b75
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] }
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] -[SStore_FS deleteStateTreeTurdFile] (Store-FS.m:476): unlink('/Users/gerben/.FileSync/store.filesyncstatetree.statetree_dirty')
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] Peer "local" is unable to sync. (-[SPeer(protected) doPrepareForSyncWithResolvedConflicts:] (Peer.m:1149): "'(([self checkAbort]))'")
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] Peer "local" is unable to sync. Not enough peers will be available to continue syncing.
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] EXCEPTION: SFAbortedException <-[SSyncEngine _waitForPeers:] (SyncEngine.m:1922): "'(_abort)'">
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:20.798] -[SSyncEngine threadMain_SyncEngine_sync:]: sync failed with exception "-[SSyncEngine _waitForPeers:] (SyncEngine.m:1922): "'(_abort)'"".
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:21.066] Sync of "HomeSync_Mirror" encountered errors. (_mountServerCallbackShares:status: (Host is down))
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:21.067] Last successful sync completed at 2013-04-04 20:17:15 +0000.
    0:: [13/04/05 16:11:21.067] Finished sync of "HomeSync_Mirror".
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:21.067] Scheduling next sync of "HomeSync_Mirror" at 2013-04-05 14:31:21 +0000
    1:: [13/04/05 16:11:21.284] 1-pass sync of "HomeSync_Mirror" took 0.02 seconds

    Hi Gerben,
    Try creating a brand new user, that's not imported and see if that works. Every user/group has a little gear in the Server.app/Users or Groups which allows specific access to specific services, perhaps filesharing is off in that section?
    Is your DNS setup properly? Can you verify that clients can see the FQDN of your server?
    After setting up the Users folder for mobilehomes, did you check whether the group and the separate users have access to filesharing? I am able to select the correct homefolder /Users and restrict the homefolder size.
    Goodluck!
    Jeffrey

  • Local vs Network Users

    We have a small shop with all laptop users and a Mac Mini SLS. Once in a while I'd like to be able to sit down at the Mini and login as my network user with access to any files I have stored, etc. Like it's a local user. Is this possible?

    For remote... In shortest terms, get yourself a firewall with VPN capabilities and ask your ISP for a business-class static IP and a domain, and place that box between your LAN and whatever box your provider has set up for you, and off you go. You can use your Mac as a VPN end-point, but I've found it easier to use an outboard firewall between your LAN and your DSL or cable modem, or however you're getting your connectivity. Your remote client box will look like it's on the local network, and (when it's all plugged in right) you can connect and use disk services or remote desktop stuff, or Server Admin or otherwise. Run a few searches around the forum.
    For local... Install the Server Admin tools, and use Screen Sharing or such. You can get at Screen Sharing via Server Admin or via Finder's Connect to Server sharing-screen stuff. And yes, you can generally use Screen Sharing over a VPN...

  • How to backup/restore files stored in the local copy of my iDisk using time

    I have a MobileMe account and thus I am using the iDisk. I configured it to have a local copy. Thus I imagine that Time Machine is making an hourly backup of it.
    However, when I enter Time Machine to restore a file, I cannot open my iDisk (it goes to the current version, not the historical ones).
    This is particularly worrying for me, as all my important files (except images, movies and music)are stored on my iDisk such that I can access them from my multiple computers.

    From this PCWorld article:
    [Back up IDisk With Time Machine|http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/190738/backup_idisk_with_timemachine.html]
    This local copy is stored as a sparse image bundle, which you can find on your Snow Leopard Mac by moving to your user folder and then following this path: Library/FileSync/incomprehensibly-named-folder where incomprehensibly-named-folder bears a name made up of letters and numbers. Inside this folder is the file you're after--yourmobilemename_iDisk.sparsebundle.
    Unless you've configured Time Machine to exclude your user folder and its contents, this is where you'll point Time Machine to look for a backup. Note that when you travel back in time and restore this file, you'll be warned that there already exists a file with that name and offered a choice to keep the original, keep both, or replace the original. I'd suggest keeping both. Here's why.
    I'm going to assume that people would want access to their old iDisk because they've lost something from it between then and now. If you keep the original, you can't get to your old stuff. If you replace the current sparse image bundle with the old one, your iDisk and Mac are now out of sync and you won't have the files you added since the restore point until they're synced again. If you keep both, you have everything you need.
    Move the restored file to your Desktop, double-click it to mount it, and grab the content you want. Leave the original where it was, remove the (original) that now appears in its name, and your Mac and iDisk can go back to syncing where they last left off.
    ------------------------------

  • Thumbnail view of local network .pdf files on iPad?

    Problem: I have about 250+ Lego Building Instructions saved on my MacPro.  My kids like to rebuild the sets and I'm looking for a way to view these form our iPads WITHOUT me having to sync them. 
    Is there any app that offers a visual/thumbnail view of local network pdf files?
    I'm aware that I could upload them all to Dropbox, but even then I was not able to find a visual view in the Dropbox app.  And, since there is no need to go up to a cloud I'd like to avoid that step.
    I would rather not have them even kept on the iPads but rather just have the iPads view the copy from my hard drive and then trash it on close off said magical app.
    Any suggestions?

    no one?  nothing?  anyone?  anything?

  • Can't create Local Network Users in Yosemite

    I can't create Local Network Users (or change passwords)
    Logged on to /LDAPv3/127.0.0.1 as directory administrator
    When I try to create a new user (press the [+], fill in the form), it brings up the message:
    existing connection is not authenticated or secure: password change denied
    I suspect this is emblematic of other issues. I can authenticate for Mail and SMB, but not for AFP or Xcode

    So I had this problem last night as well when I upgraded my 10.9.5 OD master to 10.10.
    Two obvious problems after that upgrade:
    1)  Could not add a new Local Network User
    2)  Existing users could not connect via AFP (but could via SMB)
    Through a series of trial and error (and with two Apple Support people...), we found that the following actions seemed to help fix some (but not all) of the problems.:
    Problem #2 seemed to initially be fixed by archiving the OD Master, destroying the OD Master and then reimporting from the archive.  I archived from the upgraded 10.10, but should probably have tried restoring my 10.9.5 archive (which may end up being why I still have some problems...)
    Problem #1 seemed to be solved when I used WorkGroup Manager to reset the password on the Directory Administrator account I use  (I also blew out all references to that account from the Keychain, so everything reprompted me to add that password
    However, we think the root cause of this might have been that in /var/db/openldap/migration, the following "dot" files were still present after the upgrade
    fs:migration root# ls -la
    total 6308816
    drwx------  10 root  wheel         340 Oct 30 18:59 .
    drwxr-xr-x   6 root  wheel         204 Oct 30 18:57 ..
    -rw-------   1 root  wheel           0 Oct 30 18:59 .autossl
    -rw-------   1 root  wheel           0 Oct 30 18:59 .enableODProxyd
    -rw-------   1 root  wheel           0 Oct 30 18:59 .rekerberize
    -rw-------   1 root  wheel           0 Oct 30 18:59 .updateLocales
    -rw-r--r--   1 root  wheel      333436 Oct 30 18:57 authbackup.ldif
    -rw-r--r--@  1 root  wheel      617453 Oct 30 18:57 backup.ldif
    -rw-r--r--   1 root  wheel      617453 Oct 30 18:57 backup.ldif.backup
    -rw-r--r--   1 root  wheel  3228537344 Oct 30 18:59 oldsystem.tar
    Those 4 .dot files were *not* present in that directory on the two other test OD Master servers that I upgraded without issue.
    So we removed them and after having done all the above as well -- I can now add users to the server.   The OD engineer I talked to thought that the presence of those .dot files may have been triggering something to rerun every time PasswordService launched.
    When all was said and done, I was then able to "kinit <mydiradminaccount>" correctly and get a "klist" without issue.
    ALL THAT SAID:  As of this morning, *some* (most?  I don't know yet) of my existing OD user accounts are able to successfully log into the server.   A couple of them (so far) are reporting that their account is "disabled" (which is different from the "shaking"/can't-log-in behavior) -- but they can still log in via SMB -- so I think there was still a problem migrating OD accounts in the upgrade process.
    AND -- I noticed that -- in Server 4.0 -- "change password" is greyed out, so I have to use WorkGroup Manager to change server account passwords. 
    Whee...

  • Created help file either won't open or opens blank when emailed or copied for another user to see it.

    Created help file either won't open or opens blank when emailed or copied for another user to see it.
    Our HR person made a help file she wants to email to someone or copy to a network share.
    -If she emails it the other person cannot open it.
    -If she copies it even from her desktop where she saved it to the folder with all the other files, it opens blank.
    Any help would be appreciated.

    I think they must be swapping out .html for .chm in DW or something. What the OP describes sure sounds like what happens when you do that.
    @dfiore27101
    DW doesn't support .chm file types. Adding the extension doesn't compress the images into the file to create a true .chm.
    Adding .chm will make a perfectly good .html file stop displaying in DW though.
    An easier way to send someone .html help files would be to archive their folder as a .zip then email the .zip. The recipient would then need to extract the archive to view the files in their browser.
    I don't know of any way to create real .chm files in DW.

  • Migrating local user accounts/home directories to network user accounts

    Hi,
    I am planning on moving the user accounts from several Mac OS X client machines to a new Mac OS X Server machine (Quad core Xeon MacPro). I am very familiar with OS X client in a support environment, but do not have extensive experience with Server.
    I read over the instructions in this article
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=ServerAdmin/10.4/en/c6um3.html
    and it appears to be fairly straight forward, although I do have some questions regarding the existing data (home folders) and how to set the clients to log in to the network account.
    Previously, in the event that I have needed to move a person's home directory to a new computer or recover from a corrupt OS (and Archive&install was not an option), in OS X client I would:
    1) Back up the home directory.
    2) Erase/reinstall OS X client.
    3) Log in as Root.
    4) Go into "Accounts" pref pane and create user with same short name as original/backed-up home directory.
    5) Replace the newly created home directory with the backed-up home directory.
    6) Go into Terminal and chown/chgrp the home directory to username/staff, respectively.
    This would result in a perfectly migrated user account. All settings and files working just as they did on the previous system/install of OS X.
    First Question: Could I employee a similar method to retain the content and settings from the local user accounts on the server as I migrate them to network users? Moving the user accounts to the server as described, then running terminal to set proper ownership...
    Second Question: What do I do on each client system to tell it to recognize the networked home directory for each user? Do I just change the user's home folder path in Netinfo Manager to the automount location?
    Thanks in advance for any help you can offer,
    -David
    MacPro 2.66 Quad Core (MA356LL/A)     Mac OS X Server 10.4.8

    A network account is really existing only on the server but if you use "portable homefolders" (Tiger client and server) you could "migrate" the local account to a "server" one by:
    Login locally as another user with administrative rights.
    Change the name of the old account folder in /Users.
    Remove the "old" account locally (woun't remove the "old" folder as you changed the name) only Netinfo data.
    Login using the serveraccount login/password thus creating a homefolder on the server.
    Logout and back in, enable portable homefolder.
    Logout and then in as a local admin and remove the new user folder.
    Change the name on the old userfolder to what the new one had.
    I'm not a 100% sure Netinfo has the server account UID now (added by logging in and creating the portable account?) but if it does:
    (http://forums.macosxhints.com/archive/index.php/t-12077.html)
    "Finding and changing UIDs across the filesystem is a one-liner command:
    sudo find / -user UID -exec chown userName {} \;
    (replace UID with the old UID number and userName with the new user name to associate file ownership.)"
    (A portable account must have got some "kind" of UID?)
    Let the machine "sync" with the server account.
    If you want an "on network only" account I don't know what you need to remove locally afterwards.
    HTH

Maybe you are looking for