Server Admin 10.4 Help

Setting Up a Server as a Mac OS X Server PDC Domain Member

Using Server Admin, you can set up Mac OS X Server to join a Windows domain hosted by a Mac OS X Server primary domain controller (PDC). A server that joins a Windows domain can provide file, print, and other services to users with accounts on the PDC. The domain member server gets authentication services from the PDC or a backup domain controller (BDC). The server can host user profiles and home directories for users who have user accounts on the PDC. The domain member server does not provide authentication services to other domain member servers.

  1. Open Server Admin and select Windows for a server in the Computers & Services list.
  2. Click Settings (near the bottom of the window), then click General (near the top).
  3. Choose Domain Member from the Role pop-up menu, then enter a description, computer name, and domain.
    • Description:  This description appears in the My Network Places window of Windows XP and 2000 (the Network Neighborhood window of Windows 95, 98, or ME), and it is optional.
    • Computer Name:  Enter the name you want Windows users to see when they connect to the server. This is the server's NetBIOS name. The name should contain no more than 15 characters, no special characters, and no punctuation. If practical, make the server name match its unqualified DNS host name. For example, if your DNS server has an entry for your server as "server.example.com," give your server the name "server."
    • Domain:  Enter the name of the Windows domain that the server will join. The domain must be hosted by a Mac OS X Server PDC. The name cannot exceed 15 characters and cannot be "WORKGROUP."
  4. Click Save.
  5. Enter the name and password of an LDAP directory administrator account, then click OK.

When authenticating, you must use an LDAP directory administrator account. You can't use a local directory administrator account, such as the primary server administrator account (user ID 501), to join a Windows domain.

After setting up a Windows domain member, you may want to change access restrictions, logging detail level, code page, domain browsing, or WINS registration. Then if Windows services aren't already running, you can start them. For instructions, click a topic below:

You can also set a server's role in providing Windows services by using the 'serveradmin' command in Terminal. For more information, see the file services chapter of the command-line administration guide.

Keywords: khelp ksa