Connect to file shares on sesfs.stanford.edu from MacOS X
Last revision January 14, 2010
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System requirements
Mounting file shares on Macintosh PCs from the
School of Earth Sciences file server,
sesfs.stanford.edu,
has only been tested with these versions of Mac OS X that
all work correctly with kerberos authentication:
10.3.9
10.4.11
10.5.5 or later versions of 10.5
Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard") has not been fully tested
but appears to require a
workaround using NTLM authentication
instead of kerberos.
If you are running some other version of Mac OS X and have problems, upgrade to one of these tested versions. Use the About This Mac item from the "Apple" menu to find out your current version. "Classic" Mac OS versions 9 and earlier do not work at all with sesfs.stanford.edu. If you need help upgrading your Mac OS or making the connection to sesfs.stanford.edu, put in a request on the HelpSU web site.
Due to a security restriction in the campus network firewalls, you can only connect to file shares on sesfs.stanford.edu if your computer is connected to the Stanford campus network. If you are off-campus, you can install and use the Stanford VPN client on your computer. That client authenticates you (using your SUNet ID) so your off-campus network connection will be treated by the firewall as if you were on campus. Alternatively, you can use an sftp client program from anywhere on the Internet to connect to the alternate server sestransfer.stanford.edu to access your files.
Login to kerberos
Before you can connect to sesfs.stanford.edu, you must first login to the campus kerberos servers using your SUNet ID and password. Your Mac then stores a kerberos "ticket" or credential that it passes to sesfs.stanford.edu when you connect. This ticket confirms your identity and thus your access rights.
Apple changed their implementation of kerberos in the new Mac OS X version 10.6 ("Snow Leopard") and it does not work correctly with sesfs.stanford.edu. Use this alternate connection method for 10.6 instead.
If you have not logged in to kerberos first, you simply cannot get connected under Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4, or 10.5. The Mac will prompt you for a username and password for sesfs.stanford.edu, but the server will not accept anything you type in those prompts. It will only accept a kerberos ticket.
Kerberos tickets do eventually expire. Typical lifetime settings on a workstation are 10 or 24 hours. If you have trouble getting connected to sesfs.stanford.edu, especially if it has been awhile since you logged into kerberos, check your kerberos status and settings. As always, you can request help from our desktop support consultants using the HelpSU web form.
The beauty of kerberos is that one login gives you access to many resources. If your email application has been configured to authenticate you via kerberos, it will prompt you to login to kerberos when it first starts. If you have already logged into kerberos for email, you don't need to login again to connect to sesfs.stanford.edu (and vice-versa).
If you are not already logged into kerberos, follow the instructions for your version of Mac OS X on one of the following pages. These pages provide a link to bring you back here when done:
Connect to shares on sesfs.stanford.edu
You need to know the name of the share you want to use. You can repeat this procedure to connect to multiple shares at once.
Connections are done from the Finder. Make sure the Finder is active (click on a Finder window, or its icon in the Dock, or an empty area of the desktop). From the Go menu, select the Connect to Server... item, as shown in this screenshot:
This will open the Connect to Server window. You type the information needed to connect to the file server in the Server Address: field. The syntax is:
cifs://sesfs.stanford.edu/sharename
where you substitute the name of the file share you desire for sharename. For example, in the screenshot below, I want to connect to the home share named farrell:
After typing the share address, click on the Connect button. Assuming you have properly logged into kerberos, you will see the Connecting To Server window for a few seconds, as shown in this screenshot:
If the Mac prompts you for a username and password for sesfs.stanford.edu instead of showing the Connecting To Server window, that means you are not logged into kerberos. Nothing you type in this username and password prompt will be accepted by sesfs.stanford.edu. Login to kerberos and then try to connect again.
When the connection is finished, a separate Finder window generally opens to show its contents. You treat this network disk volume as if it were directly attached to your Mac.
On Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4, the file share also appears on the desktop with a network disk volume icon. By default, Mac OS X 10.5 does not show it on the desktop; rather, it lists the server sesfs under the Servers item in the left column of all Finder windows.
You can make Mac OS X 10.5 show the mounted share as a network disk icon on the desktop, like 10.3 and 10.4. Select the Preferences item from the Finder menu, as shown here:
When the Finder Preferences window opens, make sure the General tab is selected. Then you will see a list of items that are shown on the desktop. This screenshot shows the default view:
Click on the checkbox next to Connected servers to force the Finder to show your connected file shares as network disk icons on the desktop.
When you are done working with the share, you can disconnect by dragging the share's network disk icon on the desktop to the Trash, or by right-clicking on the icon (or holding the Control key while clicking with a single button mouse) and selecting Eject from the contextual menu that appears.
If you are using Mac OS X 10.5 in the default mode, you will not have a share icon on the desktop. In that case, click on the sesfs name under the Servers item (click the triangle to expand the list, if needed). Highlight the share from sesfs.stanford.edu that you want to disconnect, and then click the Disconnect button above it.
You will also disconnect automatically if you logout from your Mac or shut it down.