ACLs and POSIX Permissions

Every file and folder has POSIX permissions. Unless an administrator assigns ACL permissions, POSIX permissions continue to define user access. If you assign ACL permissions, they take precedence over standard POSIX permissions.

If a file has ACL permissions, but none apply to the user, the POSIX permissions determine user access. If a file has multiple ACEs that apply to a user, the first applicable ACE takes precedence, and subsequent ACEs are ignored.

For more information about ACL and POSIX permissions, see File Services Administration.

SIDs and Windows Interoperability

Mac OS X computers work seamlessly with Windows computers because Mac OS X assigns a security identifier (SID) to a process or file when it assigns a GUID to the process or file. A SID is a Windows identifier that has similar functionality to a GUID on a Mac OS X computer.

When Windows users access share points using Server Message Block (SMB), they transfer SIDs, not GUIDs. When Mac OS X Server receives SIDs, it retrieves the user accounts with the corresponding GUIDs.

Windows servers use Active Directory as their directory domain. If a user account is moved to a different Active Directory domain, it receives a new SID but not a new GUID. The user still has access permissions assigned to old SIDs because Active Directory keeps track of SID history in user accounts.

Chapter 1 User Management Overview

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Apple 10.5 Leapard manual ACLs and Posix Permissions