Microsoft Sharepoint Products and Technologies Resource Kit eBook

152 Part II: SharePoint Products and Technologies Architecture
User Account Mode
When you install Windows SharePoint Services, you must choose which mode you
want to use to allow users access to Windows SharePoint Services sites. Windows
SharePoint Services can work with two modes: domain account mode and Active
Directory account creation mode. Domain account mode is used inside organizations
to grant access to users that have existing Windows domain accounts. Active
Directory account creation mode can be used by Internet service providers to create
unique accounts for customers using the Active Directory directory service.
In domain account mode, you use existing domain user accounts. If you
choose Active Directory account creation mode, you are choosing to have accounts
automatically created in the Active Directory organizational unit you specify. In
either mode, you use the same methods to manage users of a site. You add them to
the site by using their existing domain or Active Directory accounts, and then assign
them to site groups to give them the rights they need to use the site.
The choice between user account modes is a one-time-only choice because it
affects how the configuration database for your server or server farm is created. You
cannot change user account modes after creating the configuration database, and
this step is one of the first choices made during installation when using Microsoft
SQL Server. If Windows Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (WMSDE) is
used, the account creation mode is set to domain account mode and cannot be
changed.
In a Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 domain, Windows SharePoint Services
can use Active Directory account creation mode. In a Windows NT domain,
the domain account mode is needed.
Controlling Access to Sites
Windows SharePoint Services provides the ability to control site access through the
use of site groups. Site groups let you specify which of your users can perform specific
actions in your site. For example, a user who is a member of the Contributor
site group can add content to Windows SharePoint Services lists, such as the Task
list, or a document library.
Because SharePoint Portal Server is designed to work in an Active Directory
environment, some functionality for administrative tasks is unavailable. When adding
a user to the portal site by clicking Add Users on the Manage Users page, the
Select Users And Groups – Web Page Dialog dialog box should appear. However,
this feature does not work with Windows NT domains. This dialog box searches for
and adds users to the site. As a work-around try the following steps:
1. On the Site Settings page, in the General Settings section, click Manage users.
2. On the Manage Users page, click Add Users.