Workgroup manager

[wickit]

Hi

Im just wondering if its possible to run workgroup manager without running OD ?

 

sorry for the potato question!

[AntonioRocco]

Simple answer is yes.

 

OS X is essentially a fairly simple localised LDAP database. WorkGroup Manager can read that database as well as interacting with it amongst other things. It's also a good way of creating xml-based property lists but there are other ways of manipulating the local directory. Using dscl, defaults and plutil (amongst others) in the command line is one way, accessing Directory Editor in the Directory Utility app is another.

 

Bear in mind WGM is deprecated in Mavericks (it has been since 10.7) and won't necessarily be anywhere as effective as it used to be in 10.6 and earlier.

 

If your mac estate is small (say 10 or less) you can use WGM - installed locally on each workstation - to manage the user experience on those workstations by applying policies at a local level without the need for OS X Server at all.

 

Antonio Rocco (ACN)