Windows for Workgroups

September 17, 2005 9:55 PM

Windows Workgroup Assistance?

I'm currently using a workgroup at work, and though I imagine the change to a domain-based system is in the near future, I don't feel like putting up with all the headaches. Is there a tool that's better than Microsoft's advice to "use a domain" that I can use to better manage my minions? Or maybe a good resource that describes all the crazy-ass permission problems I get with a workgroup. Or, I guess even better, would be a guide explaining how to make the switch as painlessly as possible.

posted by hoborg to computers & internet (3 comments total)

In all serious (and depending on the number of workstations) the hardest part of setting-up a domain is the initial creation of user accounts and adding the machines to the domain.

There are a lot of articles about best practises on Microsoft's site. They are pretty helpful when it comes to creating a domain environment and I would recommend going over their best practises before moving forward.

Unfortunately (and to my knowledge), managing users and workstations in a workgroup environment is very difficult. The only solution I can think of is to modify the policies on the local machines to use a fixed start-up/login script that you could modify to manage the workstations.
posted by purephase at 10:30 PM on September 17, 2005

If you're not familiar with domains, and you're considering switching all your PCs at work to a domain, I very strongly recommend hiring someone to do the initial setup for you, and giving you a cheat-sheet on how to perform common administrative tasks.

Maintaining a domain is pretty easy, but there are a million ways to screw things up pretty badly when you're getting it all put together.
posted by Jairus at 6:45 AM on September 18, 2005

Managing a domain is so much better than a workgroup, and also infinitely more secure. I'm sure your users will appreciate some of its features as well. You will continue to get crazy-ass-permissions problems with workgroups because workgroup security is on a per-computer basis.
posted by adzm at 11:10 PM on September 18, 2005