MacOSX and NCR file servers

North coast region have a standard setup for their servers. However they don't document how to access the file server using a Mac and OSX. Initially, I was even told it was impossible to do this, by a member of NCR staff.
(NOTE: this is written assuming the setup in North Coast Region. It is applicable directly to you only if you are:
a) a North Coast Region School, and
b) have a Windows server managed by NCR Also, note that I ahve no control over the NCR doing something to break this!)
It did not help a couple of years ago, when we moved to ncr domain, that they use the arcane Windows Distributed File System.

I was reminded of this recently by a request from a local principal, so I have decided to document the process here. I've used Mac OSX Leopard (10.5) but there are only minor differences with 10.4, at the Mac end.

You need to know what I call the DFS pathname of your server.

This will be something like \\9876Ar0023SF001.ncr.edu.win\9876$\ for a school with school code 9876.

To find it for sure ... on a PC
go to one of your network shares in my computer, right click, choose properties, then look at the DFS tab.
The name will be part way down the box ..
a video example

Now on the Mac:
go to menu called "Go" in finder
Choose connect to Server
in the box type the name of your server and share

eg cifs://9876Ar0023SF001.ncr.edu.win/9876$/

Note: it is now forward slashes on the Mac.

click on the + sign to store it

click on connect ... after a while you will get a password and dialog box see a video here
choose remember in keychain

The url I've given you above is to "the root" of the server ours is :
cifs://8289Ar0023SF001.ncr.edu.win/8289$/

there are a number of folders "on the root" that correspond to your shares in windows ...
some are obvious :
StaffData, StudentData etc
you are probably interested in your home or "U drive"
mine, on ours is at

cifs://8289Ar0023SF001.ncr.edu.win/8289$/StaffHome/gstokes1

yours will be at the equivalent spot on your server.

Note that staff home directories are named according to short user names, while students are named according to their "long" user name.
(For students, I set up a web page with links.)

You will have to enter each path you want as a separate url in the "connect to server" box, if you want to mount it as a separate network drive