Configuring AFP Connections from Mac OS X

A Mac can tap into an OS X Server using any of the three services: AFP, SMB, or WebDAV. However, using AFP is going to be the most native means to access file servers of any ilk, including those running on OS X Server. When accessing shares from a Mac, you can specify which protocol to use in the address that is entered. If no protocol is specified, then OS X will by default use AFP (see, it is already the most native protocol).

The simplest way to connect to an AFP share is to use the sidebar from any Finder screen. In smaller networks, servers accessible to the client will appear (a result of Bonjour). Highlight the server and any network shares that are accessible to guests will appear, as well as buttons to Connect As… and Share the screen of the server (Figure 3-4). Click on Connect As… to establish a connection to the server, and when prompted, provide a valid username and password using the Registered User field. Use the “Remember this password in my keychain” checkbox to keep the password in the keychain of the current user’s profile. Then click on the Connect button and the list of shares in the Finder screen will change to include all the newly authenticated user has access to.