16 years ago
Sun Jun 10 2007, 04:14pm
Gone are the days when you had to install special software, and maybe even purchase a special network adapter, in order to see a Windows-based network on a Macintosh. Mac OS X has that capability built right in, and it is enabled by default.
A software service called SMB/CIFS (Server Message Block/Common Internet File System) provides the key that unlocks the Windows network kingdom. If you use Directory Access's default configuration for SMB/CIFS, your Mac can show you any Windows computer that has shared its files with the other computers in a local Windows workgroup called Workgroup — which, not surprisingly, is Window's default name for the local workgroup. You should ask your network administrator what settings to make to Directory Access's SMB/CIFS configuration so you can see the file servers available to the workgroup in which you participate.
When you open the Finder's Network window (which you can do by choosing Network from the Finder's Go menu) you see an icon that represents a file-sharing Windows computer. That icon looks just like the icon the Finder uses when it shows a file-sharing Mac in the Network window: All servers look alike to the Finder. That is, they look alike until you open them.
When you open a Windows server, you see an authentication dialog. Unlike the dialog you see when connecting with a file-sharing Mac, this one proudly announces its Windows-ishness by telling you that you're authenticating to an SMB/CIFS File System, and it provides a space to let you enter a workgroup name, a username, and a password.
If you don't see the server you want in the Finder's Network window, you can enter the server address manually like this:
1. Choose Go --> Connect to Server.
This command brings up a window that has a Server Address field in which you can type the address of the server. Windows server addresses begin with smb: /// instead of the afp: /// used for Mac server addresses.
2. Click Connect.
You see a progress window as your Mac looks for the Windows server on the network. When your Mac makes contact with the server, you enter your authentication information (your workgroup or domain, name, and password).
You don't always need to authenticate to the servers you see displayed in the Finder's Network window. When you authenticate to Active Directory, the Active Directory system looks up the servers on the network to which you have access and makes them available to you. Thus, the servers you see listed in your Finder's Network window may consist of servers to which you are already authenticated, as well as some to which you must authenticate separately. What's more, on a large enterprise network, you may see dozens of servers listed (depending on the size of your workgroup), the network privileges you have been granted, and the configuration of the network.
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