OS X Mountain Lion Server For Dummies

Determining Whether You’re Running a Local or Network Directory

Before you decide on anything about Open Directory, you need to determine what Mountain Lion Server is using to store user accounts. Depending on the choices you made when you installed Mountain Lion Server, you may not be using a network directory at all. Even if you’ve been adding user accounts, you still may not have a network directory configured: The Server app lets you add dozens of user accounts, keeping you blissfully unaware that you’re creating local accounts that are not shared on the network. If that occurs, it means a lot of retyping after you do create a shared Open Directory master.

Here are a few ways to find out if your directory is local and you’re not running Open Directory:

The Server App will tell you. Expand Next Steps at the bottom of the Server app and click the Manage Users button. Next Steps lets you know whether your user accounts are local.

Look in System Preferences in the Dock. Click the Users & Groups icon. If the user accounts you’ve added are all listed here, you’ve created local accounts on the Mac, not in a shared network directory.

If you upgraded to Mountain Lion Server from Snow Leopard Server or Lion Server running as an Open Directory master (or replica), your updated server is ...