Overview; User And Group Management; Domain Compared To Workgroup Environments; User And Group Name Planning - HP ProLiant 300 Series Administration Manual

5 User and Group Management

Overview

There are two system environments for users and groups: workgroup and domain. Because users and
groups in a domain environment are managed through standard Windows or Active Directory domain
administration methods, this document discusses only local users and groups, which are stored and
managed on the storage server. For information on managing users and groups on a domain, refer to the
domain documentation available on the Microsoft web site.

Domain compared to workgroup environments

When a storage server is deployed into a workgroup environment, all user and group account access
permissions to file resources are stored locally on the server.
By contrast, when a storage server is deployed into a domain environment it uses the account database
from the domain controller, with user and group accounts stored outside the server. The server integrates
with the domain controller infrastructure.
NOTE:
The storage server cannot act as a domain controller for other servers on the network. If user and group
account information is stored locally, those accounts may be used only to authenticate logons to the
storage server, resulting in a workgroup configuration.
Additional information about planning for domain environments can be found at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/directory/activedirectory/default.mspx

User and group name planning

Effective user and group management depends upon how well the user and group names are organized.
Administrators typically create a small number of groups on the network and then assign users to the
appropriate group or groups. File system and share permissions can then be applied at the group level,
rather than at the user level. If the number of groups is small, assigning the appropriate permissions to the
selected group, or groups, is more efficient than assigning permissions to each user.
Although each organization has specific conventions, following general guidelines makes administration
simpler and more efficient. Because CIFS/SMB is dependent on users and groups to grant appropriate
access levels to file shares, CIFS/SMB administration benefits from a consistent user and group
administration strategy.

Managing user names

Usernames should reflect a logical relationship between the username and the person who uses the
account. It is important that rules are established to ensure that usernames are:
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