Knowledge base

Mac OS X: Active Directory - Naming considerations when binding

Posted in Apple Mac OS

Products Affected

Mac OS X 10.4, Mac OS X 10.5, Mac OS X 10.6, Mac OS X Server 10.4, Mac OS X Server 10.5, Mac OS X Server 10.6, OS X Lion, Microsoft Active Directory

Symptoms

When binding a Mac OS X client to Active Directory, it is important to ensure that the computer names used in the binding process are less than 16 characters and use valid characters for Active Directory computer account names. Entering a longer computer name or invalid characters may cause client binding to Active Directory to not work, or cause Mac OS X to bind to Active Directory with a truncated computer name.