To setup a SEPM administrator account to use Active Directory authentication, Steps A and B are required. You will configure SEPM to communicate with the Active Directory server(s), and then create a new Administrator.
Steps A - Add the Active Directory Server to your SEPM:
1. In the Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager console, click Admin.
2. In the Admin page, under Tasks, click Servers.
3. In the Admin page, under View Servers, select the Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager to which you want to add a directory server.
4. In the Admin page, under Tasks, click Edit Server Properties.
5. In the Server Properties for name of site dialog box, click Directory Servers.
6. In the Server Properties for name of site dialog box, click Add.
7. In the Add Directory Server dialog, type the name for the directory server (domain name) that you want to add in the Name field.
8. In the Add Directory Server dialog, check Active Directory as the Server Type.
9. In the Add Directory Server dialog, type the IP address, host name, or domain name in the Server IP Address or Name field. You must type the IP address, host name, or domain name of the Directory Server that you want to add.
10. Type the user name of the authorized directory server account in User Name field.
11. Type the password for the Directory Server account in the Password field.
12. Click OK.
13. When you click OK, SEPM will test the connection with the added server, if anything is wrong, the test will fail & will give you an error message: "The server failed to connect to the target directory server".
14. Check your configuration and try again till it comes without an error.
Steps B - Create a new SEPM Administrator account:
1. On the Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager console, click Admin.
2. On the Admin page, in the Tasks pane, click the Administrators.
3. In the Tasks pane, click Add Administrator.
4. In the Add Administrator dialog box, enter the administrator name in the first text box. This name is the name with which the administrator logs on and by which the administrator is known within the application.
NOTE: You can enter any user name you want besides the default "admin" user name, it does not have to be an Active Directory user name.
5. Optionally enter the full name of the administrator in the second text box (this field is for informational purposes only).
6. Leave the password fields blank.
7. Specify the 'Authentication type' by clicking Change.
8. In the Administrator Authentication dialog box, select Directory Authentication.
9. Select the Active Directory server you created in Steps A-7 in Directory Server box.
10. In the field Account Name enter your account name as it appears in Active Directory.
11. Click OK twice.
12. Logoff SEPM and try to login again:
a. Use the username you created in Steps B-4 (remember username is case sensitive).
b. Enter the Active Directory password for the account name used in Steps A-11 above.
c. Leave the Domain blank. (This field is expecting a SEPM domain and not an Active Directory domain)
WARNING:
Do not use the built-in SEPM "admin" account when setting up Active Directory Authentication, as this could lock you out of SEPM with an "Authentication Failure" when changing the Active Directory account, or when upgrading Active Directory, or when changing the Active Directory mode, or when removing SEPM(s) as a replication partner.
SEPM Active Directory Authentication is only supported for Admin accounts that have been created in SEPM by clicking "Add Administrator."
NOTE: The SEPM user name is taken from SEPM database while the password is taken from Active Directory for the account you specified in Account Name.