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Server: Mac OS X Server 10.2.8
Client: Mac OS X Panther 10.3
Users have (working) home directories on the server, automounted and shared with AFP. Everything works fine when just one user uses a computer at a time. Users can login from multiple computers just fine, but when Fast User Switching is turned on, and another user tries to log in to a computer where another one has already logged in, she'll only get an error dialog:
You are unable to log in to the user
account "User's Name" at this time.
Logging in to the account failed because an error
occured. The home folder for the user account is
located on an AFP or SMB server. Contact your
system administrator for help.
and an "OK" button, which returns the system to the Login Window screen. This does not count local accounts (I can log in as local admin and a network user, but not as two network users).
This kinda spoiles Fast User Switching, if you ask me.
Anybody know how to make it work?
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I would doubt it is fixable. Because all that is over the same connection, the server may not have a way of distinguishing between the users. Logging out and logging back in did work, correct? You just couldn't have two active network users, which supports my theory.
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Yes, logging in & out works as it should.
I fear the same, that it isn't fixable, but this *really* makes Fast User Switching lose it's point, in my opininon.
I wonder if Server 10.3 will allow FUS ( heh. 
) to work with network users.
On a sidenote, it works perfectly if the user home directories are using NFS instead of AFP, but I have another problem with that, see the other thread. (And AFP is more secure in any case, so it should be used in places where security matters at all.)
But I sure hope Apple will do something for this. I don't believe people will switch over to server 10.3 just for FUS, and if it isn't working on 10.2.x, people won't use it, and it loses its point.
Sad, really. It is a wonderful feature, when it works.
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FUS was built for consumer systems in people's homes - i.e. FUS between local accounts. In a server environment, I can see plenty of disadvantages to FUS, and very few advantages. Regular login/logout takes about as long as FUS, except when classic is required.
ex.: User 1 logs in and starts some work, walks away without logging off. User 2 comes along, sees a free machine and uses FUS to log in, leaving User 1 in the background. User 1 comes back, sees their computer now taken, moans a bit about what a jerk User 2 is, then tries to log on to another machine - this fails since user 1 is not allowed multiple logins.
ex. 2: User 3 logs into machine, gets bored doing actual work, browses a couple of joke sites on the internet then decides to get a snack before settling down to some real work. User 3 leaves his account logged in with FUS, but the computer is at the login screen (that way no one will see the questionable sites he was looking at). User three spends 35 min cruising the chicks hanging around the vending machine, and totally forgets that he was logged in. Doesn't matter, its quitting time anyway. The next day, User 3 can't login because he still is logged in w/ FUS and so he procedes to moan to the lab manager that the stupid macs are cr@p and why did they switch anyway.
ex. 3: User 4 logs into machine and loads about 10 programs, including three versions of classic "AtEase" hacks and the latest SETI@home client running in the background. Not knowing the difference between closing a window and closing a program, user 4 leaves everything open. Declaring Mac OS X "unhackable", user 4 "logs out" with FUS (actually user 4 remains logged in). User 5 comes along, logs in and finds that performance on the computer is complete cr@p. User 5 decides that Apple sux and goes home to moan to everyone they know that Apple computers stink.
See where this is going...
Miles
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good info
we're just setting up a networked user envirement
and we stumbled on the following:
fonts use in networked homedirs doesnt seem to work.
very erratic and inconseqeunt behaviour
has anyone suggestions
thanks john
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They probably won't work if you can't get them to work...so I'd say put them on all the computers?
Or make sure permissions are correct and all that...
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Fonts will work in networked home directories. you have to make sure that there are no sub folders within the fonts folder in the ~/Library/Fonts directory.
I have tried this (both on Jaguar and Panther) and they work fine with managed users on the network
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