Following the release of OS X 10.10.3, I noticed in my testing that I was no longer able to create Active Directory mobile user accounts using the /System/Library/CoreServices/ManagedClient.app/Contents/Resources/createmobileaccount tool.
The process of using the createmobileaccount tool usually works like this:
- Open Terminal or run a script
- Run the following command with root privileges:
/System/Library/CoreServices/ManagedClient.app/Contents/Resources/createmobileaccount -n network_account_username_goes_here
What normally happens is a new mobile account and home folder are then set up on the Mac for the network_account_username_goes_here account. On 10.10.3, I’m receiving an error indicating that the mobile account could not be created.
To try to narrow down if it was an issue specific to Active Directory account, I tested against both my shop’s Active Directory domain and OpenLDAP domain. In both cases, I received similar errors.
Active Directory on OS X 10.10.3
OpenLDAP on OS X 10.10.3
To verify that this was a 10.10.3-specific issue, I re-ran my tests in a 10.10.2 VM. On 10.10.2, my results were what I expected: A new mobile account and home folder were created on the VM.
Mobile account creation on OS X 10.10.2
Mobile account creation via the OS loginwindow
One piece of good news is that this does not appear to affect the creation of mobile accounts via the loginwindow. In my testing against my Active Directory domain, automatic mobile account creation via the loginwindow appears to work fine.
The process I used in my testing looked like this:
- Bind test Mac running OS X 10.10.3 to my shop’s Active Directory domain, with mobile account creation enabled in the Apple Active Directory plug-in’s settings.
- Verify that the test account was not present as a mobile account on the Mac
- Log in with the test account’s credentials at the loginwindow
The results were what I expected: A new mobile account and home folder were created on the test Mac.
To help get this issue fixed, I’ve filed a bug report. For those interested in duping it, it’s bug ID 20482382.
For those interested in the details, I’ve also posted the bug report to Open Radar:
http://www.openradar.me/20482382
