Portable Home Directories

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Introduction

Portable Home Directories - by John DeTroye of Apple

With Mac OS X Server, the Workgroup Manager can provide network-based home directories, so users can access their own personalized desktop, applications and files from any computer on the network — or use them to back up their work. With Mac OS X Server v10.4, Apple introduced Portable Home Directories which allows users to synchronized versions of their home directory folders locally and on the network. When a user goes offline, their home directory goes with them, so they can continue to work just as they would back at the office. When they reconnects to the network, Mac OS X automatically syncs up selected content in her local home directory with the one on the server.

This presentation will cover essential account management information with a focus on the mobile account with portable home directory. When and why Apple recommends the various account types - local, network, and mobile - and details on how the mobile account/PHD is designed to work; plus best practices for deploying MA/PHDs as well as possible futures for the MA/PHD as Leopard draws near.

John DeTroye is an Apple veteran working in all aspects of client management. He has been in field engineering at Apple for the past 17 years working with consumer, enterprise, and education customers on a wide range of solutions from the early At Ease days to the current Managed Client for Mac OS X and Apple Remote Desktop.

John will be here "live" on campus presenting and answering questions on portable home directories.