Mac OS X Tiger connect problem with SBS 2008?

I have Small Business Server 2008. I have a couple Mac users (os x
Tiger 10.4.11) who need to access a network share. I've read some web
postings that say it can't be done, and other messages that say it can be
done but only after SMB signing is disabled and I use CIFS instead of SMB,
and if change the time server setting on the Mac to match that of the Server
2008.

Has anyone been able to get this to work? I done the following:

* disabled the SMB and secure channel signing on the server and updated the
group policy
* used CIFS in the following format:
cifs://[domain];[username]@[servername]/[sharename]
* and set the time server on the mac to point to time.windows.com

but still can't make the connection - I do Cmd K from finder, but I never
get the login window with the domain/user/password.

This is SBS 2008 Standard SP1.

I don't believe disabling SMB signing will help if using cifs:// as the
connection method. You would need to use smb:// to gain that benefit. I'm
not the best with OSx, but I have some customers using a few. I helped a
customer a few years ago with OSx machines that I joined them (bind) to a
2003 domain, disabled SMB signing on the DCs, and instructed the users to
use smb://server.domain.local/sharename to connect to the shares. They've
been using it for quite some time now. Windows 2008 isn't really that much
different in this respect.

Read the following for more info:
Mac OS X 10.1 or later: How to Connect to Windows File Sharing (SMB)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1568

Disabling SMB Signing:
" go to "Start" ->"Administrative Tools" -> "Domain Controller Policy" (not
Domain Policy) and look for "Security Settings" -> "Local Policies" ->
"Security Options" -> "Microsoft network server: Digitally sign
communications (always)". It should show "Enabled" by default. Double-click
on it and set to "Disabled". Then close the app and reboot the server."

Keep in mind, if the domain has a .local name, there may possibly issues
since OSx uses that name. I believe that can be changed.

Have you thought about binding them to the domain? I can't remember where it
is, but I think if you look in the OSx's drive under utilities, there's an
Active Directory utility to bind it. It's an LDAP application that was built
specifically for AD. Just make sure you only use the SBS as a DNS address on
the OSx (and all other machines for that matter).

The following link talks about how to bind to AD, as well as the nuances
with a .local name, however I do NOT agree with this statement they made:
"First, if the Windows server uses a domain name that ends in .local (which
Microsoft recommends and is typically the case in small and medium-sized
business environments)" This is NOT true whatsoever. I just wanted to point
that out.

Connect a Mac to Windows Small Business Server
http://www.applesource.com.au/how-to...9287478,00.htm

Related links:

Topic : Plaintext password for Samba shares....
http://discussions.apple.com/thread....ageID=10369700

I found the following MSDN blog link, however it was down when I clicked on
it to review it prior to posting. It may possibly be up by the time you read
this.

Windows Small Business Server and Essential Business Server ..."Connecting
Mac OS X 10.3 and Higher Clients to a Windows Small Business Server 2003 ...
The Domain field should contain the internal domain name of the SBS ...
http://blogs.msdn.com/sbsdocsteam/ar...24/269407.aspx

Networking Windows with Mac OS X (how to bind to AD and connect to a share)

[shassi1]

Google for a MS file "Connecting Mac OS X 10.3 and Higher Clients to a
Windows Small Business Server 2003 Network". It has ALL the answers.
Works for SBS 2008 as well.