Question

Local Profile or Domain Profile Which to Use?

Asked by: JimBedford

We run a number of XP and Vista Business Laptops and desktops on our SBS 2003 network.
Desktop users log into their domain profile all of the time. However although Laptop users can log onto the domain profile whilst off the network the log on takes a long time. (3-5 mins) These are all new top spec lap tops. To that end all of the remote users use their local machine profile as standard.  This means that they can't access mapped drives, and printers etc when logged in in the office.

What is the reccomended solution for remote worker profiles.

Can a local machine and domain profile be the same i.e point to the same location.

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Asked On
2009-02-25 at 15:33:10ID24178227
Tags

Laptop User Profiles Vista Business

Topics

Microsoft Operating Systems

,

Windows Vista

,

SBS Small Business Server

Participating Experts
3
Points
250
Comments
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Answers

 

by: pzozulkaPosted on 2009-02-25 at 15:39:07ID: 23739921

You can still have domain profiles for remote users. Setup a VPN connection to your network, so that when they are away from the office, they can login using their domain profiles via VPN.

 

by: pzozulkaPosted on 2009-02-25 at 15:40:12ID: 23739930

Alternatively, to get your users onto the network when they are at a remote location is to setup a Terminal Server. In AD setup Terminal Server Profiles.

 

by: BahpoopiePosted on 2009-02-25 at 15:41:36ID: 23739939

If your worried about getting mapped drives to remote users, you can always add a login script that will attach these mapped drives during the login process via Active Directory. That would be the option i would go. Roaming profiles always get bogged down and takes too much time to deal with and local profiles are too limited.

 

by: djhathPosted on 2009-02-25 at 19:09:43ID: 23741210

Not sure what the issue is, particularly.  However, I would still have them use their domain profiles w/ the cached credentials created upon a successful login on domain, which I'm assuming they must do at some point or another, as their default profile.

With that said, in your login script, you can establish drive mappings and printer mappings that are persistent.  If users for some reason lose the drive mappings by manually disconnecting them, creating a simple batch file for them to run (while authenticated on the VPN if remote):

net use x: /delete
net use x: \\server\share /persistent:yes

The length of time of 3-5 minutes, is because your PC is polling around to DHCP to get an IP address, and to find a domain server authorized to validate their login credentials, both of which will timeout after determined not available.  A truly local profile is quicker, but adds numerous complexities to managing the user, their PC, and their needs.

Windows doesn't have a perfect solution, but what I've found that helps that process is to shut off the wireless radios with the switch on the side, login with the domain profile, and it will quickly default to cached credentials.  After the desktop settles, which it's pretty quick to with the wireless radio shut off, then turn it back on and it'll get the wireless running again.  

If one can master the effective timing of that procedure,  remote login with a domain profile can actually be quite quick.  I do it all the time, personally.

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