User Accounts
There are several ways to implement user counts for deployments such as ours.
Decide what type of accounts
Windows Domain Accounts are a popular option but, we are a standalone computer, and we don't need any Windows Domain features, so we can rule this option out. There is a lot of extra administrative overhead administering a domain.
So that leaves us with Local Accounts. These are accounts that exist only on the local computer, and the profile storage is usually on the local disks of that same computer.
Assigning Accounts to Users
There are decisions to be made in this area too. The simplest thing to do would be to share accounts among all the users. They could be named for each workstation, perhaps, such as Workstation_1 ... Workstation_2. Accounts like these have no need for security, so you could even configure them to not require a password.
The opposite arrangement is to assign each user his own account. This adds a great deal more complexity to the arrangement but has attractive features
- Each user has
| Comparison of Shared Accounts | |
|---|---|
| Shared Accounts | Individual Accounts |
| No password overhead | Lots of password overhead |
| Only as many accounts as workstations | Accounts for every student |
| No need to add or remove accounts each semester | Ongoing account maintenance tasks |
| Desktops and folders littered with files from all the users | Each user has their own space for file storage |
| Some users keep choosing settings that conflict with another user's preferences | Each user can customize things as they need |
| No privacy (from othe students) | Each user has a private space (admins still have access) |
| No file or process accountability | Unambiguous file and process ownership |