Connecting to Active Directory accounts (which use LDAP), can be a bit fiddly to set up. Follow the steps below and the troubleshooting guide if anything goes wrong.
Step 1: Prerequisites
The following is needed to connect to Active Directory:
- The domain name
- The server name or IP address
- A valid username and password to test
Important to note:
- The domain name must be the FQDN, which looks something like this: students.gallifrey.edu.
- For Windows, entry should contain the NetBIOS domain name, not the DNS domain name. This also applies when adding a Network Share.
- When logging into Windows machines, this will sometimes be listed as just students, but edredi requires the full name.
Step 2: Account Setup
Add a single Active Directory account to your organization and make sure the test device is enrolled in that organization. Choose a representative name for this account (e.g. Academy Students), but don't add any other parameters to the account yet, as they can be entered locally on the edredi tablet. If there is any trial-and-error, this will make the process much quicker.
The change of account details should download automatically and the following page should appear when Login is pressed:
Note that the account name (in this example, Generic LDAP found in the top left of the screenshot) should be the same name as that of the LDAP accountcreated in the portal.
Step 3: Test Connection Parameters
Enter the connection information into the tablet and press the login button. If the parameters are correct, the tablet should return to the previous screen, and the Login box should now display the username and avatar like this:
Once the connection properties (domain and server names) are confirmed to work, enter these same credentials for the LDAP account into the edredi portal. Afterwards, only the login and password will need to be entered.
Troubleshooting
"I can't connect to the server"
The tablet needs to be connected to a wireless network that has access to the Active Directory domain. If a Windows laptop is available, connect it to the same wireless network and try logging in.
"The user avatars are not the same as the ones on Windows"
Active Directory can store custom avatars for users, and if this has been done at the school, please contact us about integrating this with edredi.