Mac OS X and Windows Networks

Mac OS X plays well with others. Files created on a Mac OS X computer can be easily read by PCs. Like other modern operating systems, it uses TCP/IP for its core networking and can use HTTP for file sharing using a Web server and WebDAV redirector. It has built-in support for the Line Printer Remote (LPR) network printing interface (which Windows 2000 is capable of using). Starting with Mac OS X 10.1, it has native support for Windows file shares (which is good, because Microsoft hasn't written a Mac OS X native version of its User Authentication Module for the FSM service).

The following sections describe how to connect a Mac OS X system to network printers using the LPR service, as well as how to connect to Windows file shares.

The client version of Mac OS X can't natively share files or printers with Windows-based systems (it can, however, share files over an intranet using its built-in Apache Web server). Mac OS X Server is a different story, though; it has little trouble acting as a (mostly) full-featured file and print server on a Windows network.

Connecting to Networked Printers

To print from a Mac OS X computer to a Windows print server, the server either needs to have Print Services for UNIX installed or Print Server for Macintosh (PSM), as there is no native support for Windows print servers. Although both solutions work (PSM is covered later in this chapter), we recommend connecting Mac OS X clients to a Windows server running Print Services for UNIX, which provides LPD services. This approach allows for eventually phasing out PSM servers, eliminates the need for the AppleTalk protocol, and also provides print services for any UNIX clients on the network. Note that later versions of the classic Mac OS can also connect to network printers using the LPR service.

To connect a Mac OS X client to a Windows server using the LPR service, use the following procedure:

1. Install Print Services for UNIX on the Windows print server to which Mac OS X clients need access, if it's not already installed.

   To install Print Services for UNIX, open Add/Remove Programs, click the Add/ Remove Windows Components icon, select the Other Network File And Print Services option, and then click Details. Select Print Services For Unix and then click OK.

2. On the Mac OS X client, open the Applications folder, and then open the Utilities folder, as shown in Figure 23-1.

   

   Figure 23-1. The Utilities folder of a Mac OS X 10 system.

3. Double-click Print Center to open the Printer List dialog box.
4. Click Add Printer.
5. Choose LPR Printers Using IP from the box at the top of the sheet shown in Figure 23-2.

   

   Figure 23-2. Connecting to a Windows print server using an LPR connection on a Mac OS X 10 system.

6. Enter the IP address or DNS name of the print server.
7. To specify a printer on the print server, clear the Use Default Queue On Server check box and enter the share name of the printer in the Queue Name box.
8. Select the appropriate printer driver from the Printer Model box (you might have to install an appropriate driver).
9. Click Add when you're finished. The printer is then added to the list of printers available on the Mac OS X client system.

Connecting to Windows File Servers

Starting with Mac OS X version 10.1, Macs can natively connect to Windows file shares over a TCP/IP-based network; no AppleTalk is necessary. Because Mac OS X provides integrated secure authentication, there's no need to install a special authentication module, as is necessary with FSM.

To connect to a Windows file share from a Mac OS X 10.1 or newer client, use the following procedure (the procedure will vary somewhat depending on the Mac OS X version):

1. On a Mac OS X 10.1 or newer system, select Connect To Server from the Go menu of Finder.
2. In the Connect To Server window shown in Figure 23-3, enter the address of the Windows file share, using the following format:

   smb://domain.name;servername/sharename

   For example, to connect to the Data share on the srv1.scribes.local computer in the scribes.local domain, use the following syntax:

   smb://scribes.local;srv1/Data.

   

   Figure 23-3. Connecting to a Windows file share.

3. Verify the workgroup or domain name, enter an appropriate user name and password in the SMB/CIFS Filesystem Authentication dialog box, and then click OK, as shown in Figure 23-4. The Windows file share then appears on the desktop.

   

   Figure 23-4. Authenticating with a Windows domain.

Mac OS X 10.1 has a few rough edges with its support for Windows networks. If you connect to more than two Windows file shares, it might experience a kernel panic (not good). Also, share names can't contain spaces, and connecting to Windows 2000 servers might occasionally and mysteriously not work. Update Mac OS X to the newest version, if possible.