You will be asked to specify a domain administrator account - this is the first account in the domain that will be given full administrative access to manage the domain and to create additional user accounts. Choose 'Open Directory Master' from the 'Roles' dropdown menu. Then click the 'Settings' button at the lower right of the window to display the 'Settings' pane.

Launch Server Admin, connect to the appropriate server and select 'Open Directory' in the 'Computers and Services' list (see Figure 1). To create an Open Directory domain and to configure domainwide settings, you will use Mac OS X Server's Server Admin utility. You will also need to ensure that your DNS infrastructure is configured properly and successfully supports forward and reverse lookups. Ideally, for optimum performance and security, an Open Directory Master should not be used to provide other network services. Any Mac OS X Server installation can serve as an Open Directory Master, though you will want to use a machine that is sufficiently powered to handle directory service requests. It hosts the shared LDAP domain that stores network account information, a Kerberos realm and Open Directory password server for securely authenticating users. While this article isn't a comprehensive manual for designing an Open Directory infrastructure, it is a guide to the basic configuration process.Īn Open Directory Master is an organization's primary Open Directory server. (For more details about the technologies that constitute Open Directory, see my earlier article: 'Understanding Mac OS X Open Directory - An Introduction to Directory Services in the Mac Environment.')ĭespite the complex technologies that make up Open Directory, Apple has made an incredible effort to make the platform easy to set up and manage.

It provides single-sign on to services within a network, supplies powerful home directory options and sports an extremely comprehensive client management architecture. Open Directory leverages several powerful technologies, including OpenLDAP and Kerberos, to provide a secure and scalable environment.

With shared directory domains, administrators can create network accounts that can be used to log into computers and to access server-based resources throughout an organization's network. Open Directory, Mac OS X's native directory service, allows users to both manage local accounts and to create shared directory domains hosted by Mac OS X Server.

Check your mac os architecture