![]() That can include not only Mac devices, but remote Windows machines, Linux servers at AWS, single sign on to web applications, WiFi authentication via RADIUS, and much more. This lightweight approach connects AD identities to virtually any resource that can’t be directly bound to the Active Directory domain. The JumpCloud AD Integration feature that comes as part of the cloud directory platform offers a particularly interesting example. Option 3 is to utilize a cloud identity bridge. Microsoft is seemingly recommending this approach with their partnership with Apple-centric MDM providers. These solutions are often expensive and further solidify the identity management architecture on-prem, often as IT organizations are making the leap to the cloud. ![]() Usually there are professional services involved and more infrastructure on-prem. These solutions are enterprise caliber tools that are integrated on-prem to the AD server. Option 2 is to leverage a legacy directory extension technology. You’ll likely need to manually provision users on to the machine. What you don’t get is deep management capabilities as well as the concept of GPOs for Macs nor the full user management capabilities as you do with AD for Windows devices. It isn’t necessarily easy, nor scalable, but it can be done. This can be done through some configurations and settings. Option 1 is to manually connect Macs to AD. So if you have an organization that is deeply entrenched with AD and yet you’ve got a fleet of Macs to manage, the question has become, “What are the best practices for integrating Macs with Active Directory?” Options for Integrating Macs with Active DirectoryĬurrently, there are three major options for integrating Macs with Active Directory: Manual Connection The simple fact is that Microsoft is not all that interested in providing support for a competing operating system like macOS (or Linux), even in this new age of Microsoft where they are seemingly playing more nicely in the market. Microsoft has even gone so far as to partner with other Apple-centric MDM providers to cover for this weakness. Those tools would need to be integrated with AD and still struggle to manage Mac user accounts. Of course, for a fee, IT organizations can leverage some of Microsoft’s other IT management tools to support some Mac management functions. Therefore, it is safe to assume that Microsoft isn’t going out of their way to make it easier to manage macOS systems on the same level as Windows endpoints any time soon. While it is easy to forget in the modern heterogeneous IT world, Windows and macOS are competing operating systems. The lack of GPOs for macOS endpoints – or to be more specific, support for the Apple MDM spec – in an AD environment is only a side effect of a larger problem. With the release of BigSur, only IT management solutions that support the MDM protocol and are approved by Apple can manage Mac devices. Of course, Apple has driven hard on it’s own proprietary approach leveraging the MDM protocol to manage Macs. The other factor is systems must be directly bound to the AD domain. For one, they can only be applied to Windows systems. While GPOs are certainly powerful tools, their effectiveness comes down to two factors. ![]() ![]() ( Technet) Microsoft calls these commands and scripts Group Policy Objects (GPOs). ![]() Group Policy refers to a device management feature that enables IT admins to deploy commands and scripts in the form of policy documents that apply their settings to the computers and users within their control. For example, one of the most powerful features of AD is it’s Group Policy feature. The other issue is the lack of device management or MDM (mobile device management) capabilities for macOS systems. This not only adds a lot of overhead for IT admins for user management, but also substantial added costs. Admins often have to implement third party add-ons to have the same level of control for Mac systems as they do for Windows endpoints in a pure AD environment.Īs Apple has continued to add more security features including their Secure Token functions, the ability to provision and manage users on macOS devices has become even more complex. In large part, user management capabilities are limited to user authentication and password management. The first issue is the lack of full control and management for macOS users. Learn More Supplemental Solutions for macOS Management ![]()
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