Hardware manual

Chapter 2 Inside Mac OS X Server 35
 Preferences can be used to manage what a user can access and control. For example,
you can set up Media Access preferences to prevent students from burning CDs or
DVDs or making changes to a computer’s internal disk. You can also control which
system preferences a user can change.
 Preferences can be used to configure a computer’s network behavior. For example,
you can enable or disable Internet sharing, or configure network proxy settings for a
user’s computer by defining a computer list and setting preferences for the list.
 Preferences can be used to automatically mount network home directories and
group folders or to open applications at login. They can also be used to control the
options visible in a computer’s login window.
The Workgroup Manager application lets you define preferences that affect users,
groups, and computers. A graphical interface offers a quick and easy way to work with
preferences that are predefined.
If you want additional control of preference settings, you can work with preference
manifests using Workgroup Manager’s preference editor. Preference manifests are files
that describe the structure and values of an application’s or utility’s preferences. The
preference editor lets you work with preference manifests for the predefined
preferences or add new preference manifests for applications and utilities of interest.
You can use DHCP Option 95 to identify a server from which a client computer retrieves
directory information at login so that preference settings are automatically
downloaded from the network without the need to configure the client computer
directly.
Mobile Accounts
You can set up mobile accounts to support Mac OS X users who use their computers
both on and off the network.
Mobile accounts let a user log in locally or use the network with the same network
name and password. And they let the user experience similar work environments on
and off the network.
While mobile accounts are especially useful for mobile computer users, they’re
advantageous for any user who needs to access network resources only occasionally.
When most of the computer work can be done locally, using a mobile account reduces
network traffic.
Managed Network Views
You can set up managed network views, which are custom views that users see when
they select the Network icon in the sidebar of a Finder window.