AutoMapping network drive per user login

[tylerwardtech]

Hello,

We are using Active Directory to map a unique drive to each user for our windows computers. In essence, if Joe Smith logs in, he automatically gets a drive mapped to him that points to \\file\staff\jsmith. If Jane Doe logs on, she gets one that points to \\file\staff\jdoe.

As I am not to familiar with Macs, my wording may be a little off. We have some Macs that log on to AD but do not get those user specific drives mapped to their account. I know how to map a drive for each user by logging on as them, connecting to the server, then putting that path in the "login items" in the accounts section. Is there a way to edit some startup script that tells the computer to map a certain drive if a certain person logs on?

 

[qft]

Been a couple years but you might want to see if there's a way to manipulate the saved network places (open apple K).

 

[tylerwardtech]

Been a couple years but you might want to see if there's a way to manipulate the saved network places (open apple K).

By the sound of your response it seems that each user would have already had to have logged on to the system before. I would like a "script" or something to run each time anybody logs on, to map their user specific folder.

 

[ViRGE]

Mac OS X does have fstab, which would be the traditional UNIXy way of automounting. That may be worth looking into.

Also, there's an older Apple whitepaper I know of that may be of help: http://images.apple.com/business/docs/Autofs.pdf

 

[postaled]

I know that its possibly to has OS X automatically mount your home folder from active directory. I am not sure what all we had to setup to get that working either.

I probably won't have any time in the next few days but maybe once I do have time I can check it out.

 

[alfa147x]

Well this is how I auto mount network "drives" off of my NAS. System Pref -> User -> Login items. Then navigate to the drive / folder you want to mount then click add.

http://www.ozzu.com/macintosh-forum/mac-osx-auto-mount-user-network-drive-t68618-15.html

 

[lokiju]

Go to settings and then open "Users & Groups" unlock (click lock on bottom left and authenticate). right click (or hold control and left click) on the user and click on "Advanced Options". Change the users home directory to the desired path.

Also you can bind a Mac to Active Directory. That has to be done under the "Directory Utility" app, which is somewhat hidden.

You can find that here. /System/Library/CoreServices/Directory Utility.app

I'm a system admin/engineer and one place I was working last year had a large mix of Windows and Macs and I've done this for the same need/desire to have a network home directory.

 

[Nothinman]

Go to settings and then open "Users & Groups" unlock (click lock on bottom left and authenticate). right click (or hold control and left click) on the user and click on "Advanced Options". Change the users home directory to the desired path.

Also you can bind a Mac to Active Directory. That has to be done under the "Directory Utility" app, which is somewhat hidden.

You can find that here. /System/Library/CoreServices/Directory Utility.app

I'm a system admin/engineer and one place I was working last year had a large mix of Windows and Macs and I've done this for the same need/desire to have a network home directory.

So you really have to touch every single Mac?

 

[lokiju]

So you really have to touch every single Mac?

You can script it but something like Apples Remote Desktop app would possibly make that easier.

Remote Desktop

 

[tylerwardtech]

I know that its possibly to has OS X automatically mount your home folder from active directory. I am not sure what all we had to setup to get that working either.

I probably won't have any time in the next few days but maybe once I do have time I can check it out.

That would be great. It seems all the other solutions were that I had to configure each Mac separately. As you know that would be very time consuming. Also another solution would be to have the users map their own drive. But a lot of our users are young children, which makes it harder. I am not a prorammer by all means, but from what I've read you can create a "login hook" which points to a script which will run at every login. Yes, i would have to put that "hook" or script on every Mac, unless there is a way to push it out. We also have been looking in the Apple Remote Desktop, but we have less then 100 Macs so the price seems a little high for that amount.

Thanks

 

[alfa147x]

That would be great. It seems all the other solutions were that I had to configure each Mac separately. As you know that would be very time consuming. Also another solution would be to have the users map their own drive. But a lot of our users are young children, which makes it harder. I am not a prorammer by all means, but from what I've read you can create a "login hook" which points to a script which will run at every login. Yes, i would have to put that "hook" or script on every Mac, unless there is a way to push it out. We also have been looking in the Apple Remote Desktop, but we have less then 100 Macs so the price seems a little high for that amount.

Thanks

You might be eligible for a edu discount. I would call Apple

 

[tylerwardtech]

I've made a small script that says:

mount volume "smb://file1/shared"
mount volume "smb://file2/students/$USER"

I've entered the command:

sudo defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook /path/to/script

This command is supposed to edit the "login script" for everyone so it executes the script. It is only working for "managed" accounts. It is not working for "managed, mobile" accounts. Anybody have any ideas to make it work?

Also, in windows you can place stuff in the c:\documents and settings\all users\desktop and it will display on any users desktop that logs on. If you place an application in the "\all programs\startup" folder, that app will run at each login. Are there folders like that on Mac OSX?

 

[PCTC2]

To automount SMB home directories, you have to do a few things.

1) Create the attribute or mapping in AD for Mac for user home directories to exist in /home
2) Modify /etc/auto_master so it includes a line:
/home auto_home -nobrowse,hidefromfinder,nosuid
3) Create a file ( or modify ) /etc/auto_home and add the line:
* -fstype=smbfs ://<username>:<password>@<servername>/<share>/&

For example, users on the remote server are stored in a share called "home" and exist as "home/user1", then the end would be <servername>/home/&

4) Run 'sudo automount -cv'

And you're done. As long as your user home directories map to /home/<username>, then when they log in, it will try to mount smb://<server>/<share>/<username> on /home/<username>.

Note: The <username>:<password> part is if you require a username and password for your SMB share. HOWEVER, this would be saving it in a flat txt file, which is bad security practice. If it mounts without a password, then this would be better. Then, just omit "<username>:<password>@"

 

[TheSlamma]

You can script it but something like Apples Remote Desktop app would possibly make that easier.

Remote Desktop

I have been so less than impressed with Remote Desktop. For as much as Apple says "it just works" man Microsoft had this stuff killed by NT 3.51

 

[tylerwardtech]

When you join a Mac to a Windows Domain you have some advanced options to use the Active Directory users home folder and map it the Mac desktop.

Here are the instructions I used http://4sysops.com/archives/how-to-join-a-mac-os-x-computer-to-active-directory/

That fixes the main problem, but I still would like to map a network folder to each user that logs in.