Lesson 9. Accessing Network Services

Time

This lesson takes approximately 1 hour to complete.

Goals

Describe how service discovery is implemented in Mac OS X

Configure Mac OS X using Directory Access to access network services via AppleTalk, SMB, SLP, and Bonjour

Use the Finder to mount remote AFP, SMB, FTP, and WebDAV volumes so that files can be transferred between the local system and the server volume

Use Directory Access to configure Mac OS X to authenticate users using an LDAP or Active Directory server

Troubleshoot a Mac OS X computer that is not able to access a network service

In Lesson 8, "Networking Configuration and Troubleshooting," you learned how to configure a Mac OS X computer for network access, connect to a network, and troubleshoot networking issues.

Once your connection to the network is established, you are ready to access network services. This lesson addresses what's needed to access and troubleshoot connections to any network service, with specific attention to:

General services such as web and mail Available to anyone with an Internet account
File services Typically found within an organization
Directory services Also typically found within an organization

To access a service on another computer on your network, you must find the service, make the connection, and prove your identity. In the past, finding out where to connect was often haphazard and inefficient. Users had to get information from their system administrator or from other users, store it somewhere, and then remember where they stored the information when they wanted to connect. Today, computer software does most of that work for you, especially in Mac OS X. Most of the time, you can browse a list of available servers.

Connecting to a service is also easy in Mac OS X. In most cases, you make a selection from a list and click. In a few cases, you might have to enter a computer name or address.

Most network services require that you prove you are who you say you are, or authenticate, typically by providing a password. Mac OS X helps you manage your passwords so that you don't have to enter them over and over again, and also uses modern security methods to protect computers against unauthorized access.