Setting MCX Group Policy Objects with Workgroup Manager and Active Directory
PowerBroker Identity Services Enterprise Edition lets you set Managed Client Settings for Mac computers with Workgroup Manager, a free server administration tool from Apple for remotely managing user, group, and computer settings on Mac OS X machines. PowerBroker Identity Services Enterprise Edition integrates Workgroup Manager in Active Directory by saving the Managed Client Settings (MCX) as standard Microsoft Active Directory group policy objects, or GPOs.
By integrating Managed Client Settings in Active Directory as GPOs, PowerBroker Identity Services Enterprise Edition preserves the familiar GPO model that makes it easy to review, back up, and copy policies. In short, PowerBroker Identity Services Enterprise Edition lets you apply Managed Client Settings to Macs in the same way that you use GPOs to apply settings to Linux, Unix, and Windows computers.
The PowerBroker Identity Services Enterprise Edition 5.0 group policy features for Mac OS X computers are the most comprehensive available. PowerBroker Identity Services Enterprise Edition includes Unix settings for managing syslogs, crontabs, sudoers files, and many other configuration files on a Mac. PowerBroker Identity Services Enterprise Edition also includes additional Mac-specific policies for setting Mac system preferences and configuring security options such as the built-in firewall.
PowerBroker Identity Services Enterprise Edition 5.0 supports Managed Client Settings for Mac computers running OS X 10.4.11 (Tiger) and 10.5.4 or later (Leopard).
The Mac OS X workstation on which you create and maintain group policies with Workgroup Manager must be an Intel-based Mac. Although you can apply the policies to PowerPC-based Macs, you cannot create or maintain the policies on a PowerPC-based Mac.
To use Workgroup Manager to apply GPOs to Macs, you open the Group Policy Object Editor, define the Workgroup Manager group policy, and then use Workgroup Manager to configure the Managed Client Settings that you want.
