UNH IT: Accessing your CIS Unix Directory With Samba

This document describes how to access your CIS Unix home directory from your own computer using the "Samba" service on CIS Unix servers. Your CIS Unix home directory will appear as a normal file folder, and you can use your own computer's methods to conveniently access the files therein.

The computers in the UNH Student Computing Clusters use this method to access your CIS Unix directory automatically when you use them.

We'll describe how to do this from Windows, MacOS, and Linux.

Note: Samba is only accessible from the UNH network. (If you're off-campus, using the UNH VPN may work.)

Windows

For Windows XP and Vista:
1. Choose "Run…" from the "Start" menu button in the Windows task bar.
2. In the resulting dialog box, specify \\cisunix.unh.edu\homes for the item to open, and click the "OK" button.
3. You should get a dialog box asking for your username and password; type in your CIS Unix username and your CIS Unix password.
  
  Note: in some cases, you may need to precede your username with ldap\ in the dialog box. E.g., ldap\joe instead of just joe.
4. A standard Windows file window should appear showing your CIS Unix home directory in standard Windows fashion.
For Windows 7:
1. Click the Start button , and then click "Computer" from the right pane.
2. Click "Map Network Drive" in the resulting box.
3. In the resulting dialog box:
  - In the "Drive" list, choose a drive letter; you can choose any available letter.
  - In the "Folder" box, type \\cisunix.unh.edu\homes
  - Uncheck the "Reconnect at logon" box
  - Check "Connect using different credentials" box
  - Click the "Finish" button.
4. You should get a dialog box asking for your username and password; type in your CIS Unix username and your CIS Unix password.
  
  Note: in some cases, you may need to precede your username with ldap\ in the dialog box. E.g., ldap\joe instead of just joe.
5. A standard Windows file window should appear showing your CIS Unix home directory in standard Windows fashion.

MacOS

Activate the MacOS Finder.
Either press Command-K or choose "Connect to server…" from the Finder's "Go" menu.
In the resulting dialog box, specify smb://cisunix.unh.edu/homes for the address to open, and click the "Connect" button.
A standard Macintosh file window should appear showing your CIS Unix home directory as normal Macintosh file and folder icons.

Linux

Linux offers a number of options for connecting to a Samba server. Here's a method using a recent version of GNOME on a Fedora linux host:

Choose "Connect to Server…" from the "Places" menu in the top menu bar.
In the resulting dialog box, choose "Windows Share" from the "Service Type:" pulldown menu; type cisunix.unh.edu for the "Server:"; type homes for "Share:"; type your username for "User Name:"; and click the "Connect" button.
You should get a dialog box asking for your domain and password; ignore Domain and type in your CIS Unix password.
A standard GNOME file window should appear showing your CIS Unix home directory in standard GNOME fashion.

And here's a command-line method:

Use the su command to get root privilege.
If necessary, create an empty directory to use as a mount point:
```
    # mkdir cisunix
    
```
Give the mount.cifs command:
```
# mount.cifs //cisunix.unh.edu/homes cisunix -o user=username,uid=uid
    
```
…where you should substitute your CIS Unix username for username and the UID on your Linux box for uid. (You can give the id command to find out what your UID is.)
You'll be asked for a password; enter your CIS Unix password.
Your CIS Unix home directory will be mounted and accessible via normal Linux commands. (Under GNOME it will also show up on your desktop with an icon.)

Page Maintenance:

Paul A. Sand <pas@unh.edu>

Last modified: 2012-05-11 1:51 PM EDT
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