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NetInfo Planning 35
Although any user who can log in to a particular Mac OS X computer can view the directories
and resources associated with domains in the computer’s login hierarchy, each user’s
NetInfo user record determines several aspects of the login environment:
m The UID in the record determines the files or operations the user has access to.
m The primary group ID associated with the user record also affects a user’s file access
privileges. If the user accesses a file that isn’t owned by the user, the file system checks
the file’s group privileges. If group privileges have been granted to the user’s primary
group, the user inherits those privileges.
m The home directory associated with the user determines system preferences and access
to the user’s personal directories and files. The home directory is visible when you click
Home in a Finder window or in the Finder’s Go menu.
Because the NetInfo user record that is used to authenticate a user plays an important role,
be sure to create user records in NetInfo domains accessible from any Mac OS X computer
you want the user to be able to log in to.
Contrasting Logging In and Connecting
Also plan to create user records in NetInfo domains accessible from any Mac OS X computer
you want the user to be able to connect to after login.
When a user chooses Connect To Server from the Finder’s Go menu, NetInfo looks for a user
record starting in the local domain on the remote server and proceeding through the
NetInfo hierarchy used by the remote server. If a matching user record is found, the server is
mounted on the user’s login computer.
The UID or primary group ID associated with the user record used to authenticate the user
on the remote server determines the user’s access privileges to directories and files on that
server, but has no effect on the user’s login hierarchy or home directory.
Managing Names
This section provides some guidelines to remember when defining the names associated
with any user record.
Avoid Duplicate Names
If separate NetInfo user records have the same name and password, a Mac OS X computer
may authenticate a user different from the one you want it to authenticate, or mask the user
record that should be used for authentication.