Apple Mac OS X Server manual Creating a Mobile User Account, To create a mobile account

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Creating a Mobile User Account

Mobile accounts are network accounts that have been set up to be accessible even when the user is not connected to the server where the account resides. The mobile account user is provided with a local home folder on the computer the user is logged in to. This functionality reduces network traffic and improves overall performance.

You can use the MCXCacher tool to create a mobile account from the command line. MCXCacher performs the pre-login checks and refreshes cache if required. This tool will only work if the client is bound to a network directory system containing the target user record.

Important: Creating a mobile user account is a client-only operation. These commands must be either performed on the client computer or while connected through SSH to a client computer.

To create a mobile account:

1Use the MCXCacher to create a mobile account on the current computer.

$ sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/mcxd.app/Contents/Resources/

MCXCacher -U ajohnson

Where ajohnson is the short name of a user in the parent folder and /Users/ajohnson is the Home Folder.

2Run the passwd command to change passwords.

$ passwd ajohnson

Then enter verify passwords. You can also set the password by logging in while connected to the network.

3Create a standard home folder for a user with a mobile account.

$ sudo createhomedir -u ajohnson -c -l

When a mobile account is enabled, it appears in the login window and in the Accounts pane of System Preferences with the label Mobile. You can alsol select the user in Workgroup Manager and click Preferences > Mobility. If “synchronize account for offline use” is checked, the account is mobile.

The MCXCacher tool does not have a man page. This tool, located in the /System/ Library/CoreServices/mcxd.app/Contents/Resources/ folder, performs the pre-login checks and refreshes cache if necessary. The following examples describe other options

for MCXCacher tool.

To create (or overwrites an existing) mobile account on the current machine:

Enter the following, replacing usershortname with the user’s short name and homepath with the location of the user’s Home Folder.

$ sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/mcxd.app/Contents/Resources/

MCXCacher -Uusershortname [-hhomepath]

Chapter 8 Working with Users and Groups