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Connecting a Macintosh running Leopard (10.5) to SBS 2003
By Eriq Neale :: 3 Comments :: :: Server issues, Workstations, SBS 2003, Macintosh integration, Public articles, SBS 2003 R2
TERMS
This document and what comes with it are provided as-is with blunt warning: Use at your own risk, buyer beware. You break your system; you own the resolution as well. We have no liability for what you do, or can't do, or fail to do with this information. Your entire protection is to start over again with a protected backup, or from protected system. If you don't want to accept this idea, please don't use this document.
Now that Mac OS 10.5 has hit the streets, there are folks who are wanting to know how to connect a Mac running the new operating system to an SBS network. This document covers steps for connecting a Macintosh running Mac OS 10.5 to an SBS 2003 network. This document assumes a healthy SBS network set up according to best practices.
 
Phase 1 – Network Configuration
 
If the SBS 2003 server is set up properly and the Macintosh is getting its network information from DHCP, the network settings should be ready to go out of the box, so to speak. These steps will confirm proper network settings on the Macintosh to work with the SBS network.
  1. Open the System Preferences application from the Dock or from the Apple Menu.



  2. Select the Network panel from the System Preferences application



  3. Review the settings for the active network connection. You should see settings that match the values expected for the SBS network. You will also see the DNS server address listed (but grayed out) as well as the internal domain name in the Search Domains field. If these values to not match your SBS network, make the necessary adjustments. The DNS server should point to the internal IP address of your SBS server, and the Search Domains field should contain the internal domain name of the network (i.e., domainname.local).



  4. Click the Advanced button in the Network pane.



  5. Click the WINS tab.



  6. Select the correct NetBIOS domain name from the Workgroup drop down list. The WINS server address should already be populated and be the internal IP address of the Server.
  7. Click OK and then Apply in the main Network panel.
  8. Close System Preferences.
  9. Open the Macintosh HD icon and select the Application icon from the navigation tree.



  10. Open the Utilities folder and scroll down to the Terminal icon.



  11. Open the Terminal application. Ping the SBS server by its short name (i.e., if the fully-qualified domain name for the server is servername.domainname.local, ping servername).



  12. If the Mac is getting proper DNS resolution, the internal IP of the address will respond to a ping. Note that you will need to press Control-C to stop the ping command. If you do not get the proper IP address of the server from the ping command, go back and review the network setup steps.
  13. Close the Terminal application.

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Comments
By henry ubachs @ Saturday, December 22, 2007 12:06 AM
i've just joined the site and i'm a beginner with a SBS and the only thing i ee is expelation how to configure a Mac and if i want to see more i've got to pay for everything tha's on the site.What i don't see are the costs for support and that's something i would like to see before i fill in the form.I always tought that these sites were to help each other but i think this site is purely comercial .I don't have anything against this but i think it would be better to put this on the starter page

By Phil Hanson @ Saturday, January 05, 2008 4:50 AM
I am a total novice to SBS - just wanted to connect my Mac. Your instructions were very clear and precise. I did it start to finish without a hiccup - thank you!
Haven't tried the active directory bit yet, but I'll try that when my brain has a rest.

By Ben Ahlquist @ Wednesday, January 16, 2008 11:33 PM
Add-on Note: If planning on having the users use their network logon credentials (2nd half of Phase 3- Joining AD), make sure that no local account on the Mac has a short name that is the same as their network logon name. If so, you will have trouble connecting to AD and possibly corrupting the local account on the Mac. Check the short names by browsing on the Mac to Macintosh HD/ Users folder.

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