Add Users and Computers

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Click this To Do List task when you want to add users and configure client computers for them. You can configure the following settings:

User accounts

To manage user accounts, you must be a member of either the Domain Admins or the Domain Power Users security group.

You can manage user accounts from a central location by using one of two consoles: Server Management or Server Management for Power Users. Each console contains a taskpad called Manage Users, which displays a list of user accounts and provides a set of administrative tasks, such as adding, updating, and renaming user accounts, and setting password policies.

Note

  • Only Domain Admins can delete user accounts.

You create user accounts by using the Add User Wizard. User accounts are based on templates. You can create one user account at a time or create many user accounts at once, all based on the same template.

If you need to change group memberships or Windows SharePoint Services site group memberships for a group of users, you can update the user template on which those user accounts were based and reapply the updated template to the group of users. Reapplying the user template updates the group memberships and site group memberships but does not change any permissions that were manually applied to a specific user account.

After creating user accounts and configuring the client computers, you can apply strong password policies to help secure your network.

Disk quotas and Exchange Server 2003 mailbox quotas are enabled for users. Disk quotas are only in effect on the server volume where the Users shared folder is located. By default, users can store up to 1 gigabyte (GB) of data on that volume. By default, e-mail quotas limit the size of an individual user's mailbox to 200 megabytes (MB).

User templates enable you to standardize common user properties, such as group memberships, remote access permissions, and company address information for new user accounts. Creating a user account that is based on a user template reduces the need to manually enter account properties. When creating a new user account, you enter the unique information, such as user name, e-mail alias, and password, and then the new account inherits common properties from the template you apply. You can use the following templates, or create new templates.

User templates

  • User template. Has access to network printers, shared folders, fax devices, e-mail, and the Internet.
  • Mobile User template. Has all the permissions from the User template, plus can connect to the server over dial-up or virtual private network (VPN) connections.
  • Power User template. Has all permissions from the Mobile User template, plus can manage users, groups, printers, shared folders, and faxes, and can log on remotely to the server.
  • Administrator template. Has unrestricted system access.

Computer accounts

Every client computer running Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, or Windows NT Workstation 4.0 that joins the domain (and is connected to the network) has a unique computer name and computer account. Client computers running Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Millennium Edition have computer names in the domain but do not have computer accounts.

Similar to user accounts, computer accounts enable you to administer and audit the computer's access to the network and to the Windows Small Business Server domain.

Note

  • Computer accounts are not created for client computers running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows NT Workstation 4.0. By supplying user credentials, these client computers can connect to the network without joining the Windows Small Business Server domain. Because they do not have computer accounts, you cannot manage these computers in Active Directory.

Client applications

Windows Small Business Server 2003 includes a group of default applications that you can deploy to client computers. You can also choose how these applications are configured before they are installed. For more information about default applications, see Installing and configuring client applications.

Note

  • Before installing applications, disable any real-time antivirus monitoring software or backup software.

Mobile client computers

You can choose whether a client computer (for example, a laptop computer) will be used outside of the office. Windows Small Business Server 2003 will install tools on this computer that configure settings and provide instructions on how to connect remotely to the network.

You can also allow users to to remotely access features in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, such as e-mail, even though they are not connected to the Windows Small Business Server network.