9.1 Administrator Tasks for Macintosh

This section provides several ways to simplify your administration tasks and customize how Macintosh workstations interact with the network.

9.1.1 Configuring a Guest User Account

AFP lets you configure a guest user account through iManager.

  1. In Novell iManager, click the Roles and Tasks button. For more information see, Novell iManager 2.7.4 Administration Guide.

  2. Click Users > Create User.

  3. Specify a username and a last name for the user.

  4. Specify the context for the user.

  5. Click OK to save the changes.

    The guest user is now created.

  6. After creation of the guest user, query for the user by using the User > Modify User task in iManager.

  7. Remove the ability for the user to change the password by clicking Restrictions, then deselect Allow User to Change Password.

  8. Enable the Guest account by adding the full eDirectory context of the Guest object to the context search file as described in Editing the Context Search File.

  9. Reload the AFP server to make the Guest button available on the login screen.

    To reload the AFP server through iManager, see Section 5.1, Selecting a Server to Manage.

9.1.2 Editing the Volume File

Information about volumes is stored in the /etc/opt/novell/afptcpd/afpvols.conf file.

To edit the afpvols.conf file and store volume information:

  1. Use a text editor to open the afpvols.conf file.

  2. On separate lines, enter the current name of the volume and the new name of the volume, separated by a space. For example:

    server1.sys System Volume
    
    server1.img Graphics
    
  3. Unload and reload the AFP server by using the rcnovell-afptcpd reload command, or use iManager to reload the server.

9.1.3 Editing the Context Search File

A context search file allows Macintosh users to log in to the network without specifying their full context. The context search file contains a list of contexts that are searched when no context is provided or the object cannot be found in the provided context. When the Macintosh user enters a username, the server searches through each context in the list until it finds the correct user object.

Macintosh allows only 31 characters for the username. If the full eDirectory context and username are longer than 31 characters, you must use a search list to provide access.

If User objects with the same name exist in different contexts, the first one in the context search list is used.

To edit the context search file:

  1. Using any text editor, edit the afpdirctx.conf file stored in the /etc/opt/novell/afptcpd/ directory of the AFP server.

  2. On separate lines, enter the contexts to search.

    For example, if you had users with full eDirectory distinguished names such as Robert.sales.acme, Maria.graphics.marketing.acme, Sophia.graphics.marketing, and Ivan.marketing.acme, then enter the following contexts in the afpdirctx.conf file:

    ou=sales.o=acme
    ou=graphics.ou=marketing.o=acme
    ou=marketing.o=acme
    
  3. After you have made the changes, save the file.

When a Macintosh user logs in with a username and password, the system finds the context corresponding to the user object in the afpdirctx.conf file.

9.1.4 Editing the Configuration File

The AFP server configuration parameters are stored in the /etc/opt/novell/afptcpd/afptcp.conf file. After you install AFP Server, this configuration file has all the parameters, commented with their default values.

Your configuration file resembles the following example:

# Authentication module to use.
# It is advisable not to use - cleartext - as the option # for this. The possible options currently are: # cleartext, random (random key exchange), two-way (two way random # key exchange),DHX (Diffie-Hellman exchange 2). 
#
# AUTH_UAM <name>
AUTH_UAM DHX
#
# Minimum Number of threads that the daemon must always 
# have waiting for work, notwithstanding the complimentary 
# parameter - Maximum Number of threads (described next)
# This can not be more than MAX_THREADS parameter.
# 
# MIN_THREADS <num>#
MIN_THREADS 3