Can user folders live on a linux box?

rmaurizi

rmaurizi

Registered
Hey all.. Is it possible to store the OS X Users/ directory on a Linux server? We've got a lab of mostly Win2k machines, but there are also 5 macs that we're ramping up to OS X (probably Jaguar).

Ideally, I think we'd just like to keep a user's uid & pass, as well as pref's on there, but have the actual directories live on the machines (We don't want people trying to make an iMovie on their desktop which actually lives over the network, in the closet!).

Has anyone done this sort of thing? If so, how'd you implement it?

Everything I've seen involves using an OS X Server, which we don't have the fundage to acquire.

Thanks!
-Rob
 
Uh, no easy feat at all.

One though problem you would have to face would be that the Linux server would not easily support the HFS+ metadata (icons, type/creator, etc.).

On the other hand, you could easily use the linux server as a general (FTP-like) file server, with proper permissions and visibility of your usernames/passwords using a combination of LDAP and NFS. You could easily add a tape automated backup, etc.



Dani++
 
You could serve up a "Users" folder from the Linux box via NFS and then mount that Linux's users folder over your /Users folder. The fact that it does not support dual forks etc like HFS+ is not deal-breaking. OS X stores that info in special files instead, just like all those annoying ._ files you see when you connect to a Windows computer.

I haven't set up an NFS server/client myself, but there are a number of threads and tutorials out there that I've stumbled across. Try a Google search, maybe.

-Rob
 
why wouldnt you just use netatalk on the linux box? It works pretty well, and use samba for the windows stuff. You could get tricky and add AFS for better filesystem management on the server side, then theoretically you should be able to auth everyone off an ldap server using an NIS schema.
 
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