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I was surprised to learn (from this question: How to add a Mac to Windows Active Directory) that you could add a Mac to AD.

What are the advantages of doing so?

3 Answers 3

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One of the main reasons you would do it is to authenticate users against Active Directory. By authenticating against AD it also makes access to file shares and printers much easier, as you are already authenticated.

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  • +1 DRY principle - do not keep a separate user account store for the Mac - it's just management overhead you and the user don't need ^^ May 14, 2009 at 9:08
  • Like the questioner, I was surprised to here it was possible. So I went and added a mac to our domain with no problems. However it appears to still require additional authentication when accessing shares. Not to mention completely failing to connect to remote shares off site.
    – Martin
    May 14, 2009 at 9:27
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It helps with asset management. Most asset management pieces that plug into AD can query for a list of computer objects. As long as those are kept up-to-date, you can use that to help track systems in the organization.

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To name a few:

  • same password policy as Window devices;

  • mounting CIFS shares that are specified for each user in their AD user account;

  • SSO to applications that support Kerberos, login scripts;

  • Restricting access to network/file resources;

  • audit trails, 802.1x (wired/wireless);

  • AD extension for Macs that can control policies much like a Windows client;

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