It’s always been easy to integrate your Mac into a Mac-centric network. With Mac OS X, you can add Macs to diverse networks that mix Mac OS, UNIX and Windows computers with the same simplicity.

Mac OS X offers wide-ranging support for the network file services you need to work in just about any popular network environment. Mac OS X can talk to the most popular file server protocols on every major server platform in the market today — including AFP, SMB/CIFS, WebDAV and NFS file services running on Mac OS X Server, AppleShare, UNIX, Linux, Novell NetWare and Windows NT, 2000 and XP servers. Tiger also offers Bonjour, a standards-based networking technology that automatically connects electronic devices on a network.

Symbiotic Relationship

Mac OS X Tiger lets you browse Windows networks right in the Finder. Once you’re connected, servers appear in the Finder giving Mac OS X computers first-class access to Windows file server networks. There’s no need to install additional software on either the server or your Macintosh, so it’s easier to integrate your Mac into a Windows network. Tiger improves compatibility with Windows File Servers with support for NTLMv2 authentication.

With native support for UNIX, Mac OS X can also chat up UNIX NFS servers, making it the perfect network client for universities, research labs and open platform businesses.

Mac OS X also supports SLP, an IP-based protocol used for dynamically discovering network services like file servers. So you can browse available file servers on your network instead of typing in a long, complicated URL.

If you need to connect to your company’s network remotely, Mac OS X has the tools you need right out of the box. Just launch the Internet Connect application and select New VPN (Virtual Private Network) Connection Window from the file menu. Enter your account and server information and you’re connected. With VPN on demand, your connection is reestablished automatically when needed and disconnected when you’re finished. Mac OS X Tiger supports PPTP-based VPN as well as standards-based networks, and Tiger now supports new VPN capabilities such as the option to direct all network traffic through a VPN connection.

Wireless World

Want to tap into that WiFi network at work, the café or the airport? No problem. Mac OS X uses industry-standard networking and security protocols to let you access the Internet, send email or browse servers with wireless convenience. Your Mac will connect automatically to the nearest network, or you can create and rank a preferred list of wireless networks so you join only those you prefer.

And if you are using a network based on an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express wireless hub, Mac OS X Tiger gives you even more control. For example, you can troubleshoot AirPort networks with an easy-to-use new tool that features specialized diagnostics capabilities.

Web on Your Desktop

Mac OS X offers support for WebDAV, an extension to HTTP (the protocol that drives the web) that allows you to create and share web files by adding file server capabilities to ordinary web servers. You can mount and navigate these Internet file servers within the Finder like any other file server.

Its tight Finder integration provides drag-and-drop web authoring, making it easier than the popular file transfer protocol (FTP). And since WebDAV is a standard supported on other platforms, Mac OS X users can easily share documents with users on platforms capable of accessing WebDAV servers. WebDAV is such a versatile file sharing platform that Apple’s own Internet file service, called iDisk, now uses WebDAV for users connecting from Mac OS X.

Works for You

The Apple File Protocol (AFP) remains the richest protocol for Macintosh file services and Mac OS X. It includes full support for any server running the AFP service over TCP/IP. The Internet Protocol (IP) makes it easy to connect to Macintosh file services running on Mac OS X Server, AppleShare IP and Windows 2000 servers.