*>>**How does Microsoft's Active Directory manage users/computers better than Apple's Open Directory?*
What is the Apple equivalent of Group Policy? *ASB *(My XeeSM Profile) <http://XeeSM.com/AndrewBaker> *Exploiting Technology for Business Advantage...* * * On Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 7:40 PM, Matthew W. Ross <[email protected]>wrote: > That does make it difficult. Then again, so would any dual-booting Linux > user on a PC. If you don't want them to do it, don't allow them too. (We > make them choose one or the other.) > > Users with their own personal VMs in VMWare Player or VirtualBox also make > management frustrating. > > How does Microsoft's Active Directory manage users/computers better than > Apple's Open Directory? > > Our district requires a count of computers at least once a year. We do > physical counts, not some network scan to see what's out there. That, > happily, resolves any "Dual personality" problem. (Not to mention the > teachers squirm a little when I ask there the Projector that was assigned to > them is.) > > Oh, and I do admit that we're not a large school. 1000 computers across 6 > locations isn't all that much compared to some. But it's a lot for 3 people, > and I'm the only Mac/Linux/Network guy. > > <own horn>Toot!</own horn> > > > --Matt Ross > Ephrata School District > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Brian Desmond > [mailto:[email protected]] > To: NT System Admin Issues > [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Tue, 07 Sep 2010 > 15:37:13 -0700 > Subject: RE: Mac and Windows mix > > > > My experience having worked for one of the largest school districts in > the > > US is that the solution you outlined doesn't really scale. I've seen it > work > > well for relatively small environments but once you introduce a large > number > > of Mac machines, things get difficult. When the solution works, you're > still > > looking at some significant management overhead and duplication of > > infrastructure. > > > > The key issue I've seen with Macs recently is their newfound bipolar > > disorder. One day they're a Mac, the next day they're a PC. Good luck > > accounting for that in your asset database. > > > > Thanks, > > Brian Desmond > > [email protected] > > > > c - 312.731.3132 > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Matthew W. Ross [mailto:[email protected]] > > Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2010 11:54 AM > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > Subject: RE: Mac and Windows mix > > > > Macs are not the burden you make them sound to be. > > > > Integrating a Mac into a windows network is never going to be painless; > the > > two systems are inherently different. If what you want is a Windows > > experience from your Mac, install Windows. > > > > Now not everybody likes MacOS X, but the same can be said for Windows. > > Insert the problem of subjective preference here. > > > > Personally, I love working on my iMac, and managing the other Macs in our > > district is very easy if you use the provided Apple tools: Mac OS X > server, > > Open Directory, and Apple Remote Desktop. > > > > Then again, I hate how a Mac _can_ cost 2x as much as a comparable PC. I > do > > like that software upgrades are cheaper for Mac, but I don't like how > apple > > drops support for anything that is not the current generation or the > > previous one. If you're 2 generations back, you're out of luck. > > > > What can a Mac do that a PC Can't? Nothing. But I would argue that > > competition is one of the pillars of innovation. Without Mac OS X > competing > > against Windows, what would Windows look like today? > > > > > > --Matt Ross > > Ephrata School District > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: James Hill > > [mailto:[email protected]] > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > [mailto:[email protected]] > > Sent: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 > > 19:28:49 -0700 > > Subject: RE: Mac and Windows mix > > > > > > > We have pretty much eliminated all of the Mac's here. > > > > > > We didn't have 3rd party products to manage them so they always > > > required so much manual interaction. Any global change we made we > > > could easily automate with PC's thanks to group policy etc but it was > > > always a manual change for the Mac's. > > > > > > They really aren't a corporate product imo. You only have to look to > > > Apple for a corporate grade management solution to realise that it > doesn't > > exist. > > > > > > They do indeed need patching (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222) and > > > there is AV products for them. Symantec has one for example. > > > Personally I think the day is coming when someone will write a decent > > > bit of malware/virus for them and 99% plus will get caught out by it. > > > There is a very misguided opinion amongst the Apple community that > > > they are safe. Apple's false advertising only strengthens this. The > > > facts are that Mac's are more vulnerable than the PC world > > > http://www.crn.com/security/226200083 > > > > > > More importantly, what is the need for the Mac's in the first place? > > > For us they were only sued for Adobe CS, which runs just fine on PC's. > > > In fact these days Adobe is more behind the PC world than the Mac. > > > For example, 64bit Photoshop was first on PC, had to wait for CS5 for > Mac > > to get it. > > > That's without going into the Flash debate :) > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > From: David Lum [mailto:[email protected]] > > > Sent: Saturday, 4 September 2010 6:07 AM > > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > > Subject: Mac and Windows mix > > > > > > I would like to hear from those of you who have a mixed Windows/Mac > > > environments: How do you handle management of the diverse environment? > > > Presumably with Mac's there is no patching or AV. Can you use GPO's on > > > them in any fashion (wondering if there's some add-in to allow > > equivalency). > > > David Lum // SYSTEMS ENGINEER > > > NORTHWEST EVALUATION ASSOCIATION > > > (Desk) 971.222.1025 // (Cell) 503.267.9764 > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
