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KB-2522: Scenarios which require Mobile Account creation.

Centrify Identity Service, Mac Edition ,  

12 April,16 at 11:19 AM

Applies to: All versions of Centrify DirectControl on Mac OS X

Question:

Under what conditions is it necessary to create a Mobile Account for Mac users?


Answer:

There are three scenarios in which a Mobile Account is necessary on Mac machines:
  1. If the hard drive has been encrypted with FileVault; only users with local profiles are allowed to unlock FileVault systems (Mobile Accounts exist as both local and network accounts).

    For more information, see:
    KB-2148: How to set up FileVault 2 on Mac OS X
     
  2. If the user has a network home directory configured and wishes to keep backups of their home folder synced between a network file server and the local Mac.
     
  3. If the user has a network home directory configured and needs to use their AD credentials to login to the Mac while off the network.

Note 1: 
  • If the user is configured with a local home directory (e.g. /Users/username/ ), then Mobile Accounts are NOT required for offline logins.
  • The Centrify Agent employs its own cache to allow for AD users to login offline.

Note 2: 
  • A Mobile Account user with a local home directory will see their Mobile Account Settings disabled in the Users & Groups Preferences panel. This is normal since there is no network directory specified and therefore nothing to sync with.

Note 3:

Further Reference:

Please see the following KBs for details on how to set up Mobile Accounts on Mac systems in different environments:

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