Bind each client iMac to your new Active Directory domain. Set up Active Directory with an account for each student + define a path to their network home. Unfortunately, Apple's insistence on deprecating these features means increased hardware costs for schools and other organizations that are used to Macs with reliable network-based home folders - that's just not a workable solution anymore, despite its obvious and significant benefits in a use case like yours.ĮDIT: A third option - use Boot Camp to install Windows Server on the Server iMac. You might be better off selling that server iMac and replacing it with a NAS and 10Gbps network switch or even just a fleet of enough USB SSDs for each student. As mentioned, macOS Server is next to useless these days. The old network home folders involved local caching this method does not, and that caching / "Mobile Home Sync" functionality has been deprecated and stripped out of macOS. Depending on the number of students, you may also saturate the network as a whole. This said, you're likely to saturate any 1Gbps network connection doing this. File sharing has been removed entirely from Server.app, and Open Directory for user accounts is on its way out the door too - that was $20 wasted on the Server app, unfortunately. If you have a network that's fast enough to handle it, they could work directly out of their mounted network folder - create and save all files there rather than on the local iMac. From a client iMac, they would need to use the Finder's Go menu, select Network, find the Server iMac in the list, connect with their individual account that was created on the Server iMac, and then their home folder from the Server iMac would be mounted on the local iMac. That will generate a home folder on that iMac for them. I believe at this point, you would need to create accounts through System Preferences on the Server iMac for each student. If this can't be achieved with MacOS Server 5.11.1, I would greatly appreciate suggestions on any third party software that may be able to achieve this.Īny solutions, suggestions or help would be much appreciated. I was also wondering if a virtual machine, such as VMWare Fusion or Parallels would allow me to run High Sierra and MacOS Server 5.7.1 on the 8TB 2020 iMac (that was shipped with Big Sur).Īre there any settings or means to accomplish this in MacOS Server 5.11.1? I was thinking of whether or not I could use BootCamp to run High Sierra on the 2020 iMac on a second volume, that doesn't seem possible but might seemingly do the trick if it was. 14 new iMacs was a big investment for my department. The new iMac with the 8TB SSD was obviously quite expensive and purchased to be the main storage for my lab so I would really like to be able to use it for that purpose. It seems ridiculous that the updated "Server" app doesn't actually operate much like a server anymore. That being said, all I really need is the ability to create user accounts and have the home folders and settings reside on the 8TB "Server" iMac. I realize that Apple has deprecated services on MacOS Server. I have contacted Apple Support twice for extended conversations to no avail. This is frustrating as I have several different classes and numerous students and I would like them to be able to access their files and settings from any of the client iMacs at the stations in my lab. I have been able to create student accounts and access Home Folders by logging into the server but the Menu Bar and My Documents are currently being stored on the client iMac that the user logs in to. I would also like to be able to still use the 2011 iMacs as clients if possible. I have spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out ways get this to work, none have worked. ![]() My goal is to have my students be able have student accounts on MacOS Server and have their Home Folders reside on the "Server" iMac, like they used to on MacOS Server 5.7.1. ![]() As a result I am running MacOS Server 5.11.1 now on one of the iMacs that has an 8TB SSD. These new iMacs mostly have Big Sur on them and were shipped with Big Sur. The new client iMacs mostly have 256GB SSDs. ![]() I recently purchased four 27" 2019 and ten 27" 2020 iMacs. That Mac Pro has 12TB worth of HDDs in it. I have been running a Mac lab at the school I teach at, and have been using MacOS Server 5.7.1 to create student accounts and store all of my students files on a 2012 Mac Pro running High Sierra with numerous 2011 27" iMacs with El Capitan and High Sierra as client computers.
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