Using your NCSU Drive space with a Mac

  • These instructions are for all versions of macOS.
  • To connect to a share of space on NCSU Drive, you will need to map a drive to it.

Mapping a drive on campus

  1. From the Finder menu bar, select Go.
  2. Select Connect to Server.
  3. If you have already saved the path to the desired NCSU Drive space,
    select that path from the Favorite Server list and skip to Step 6.
    Otherwise, continue to Step 4.
  4. In the Server Address box, enter one of the following two paths as appropriate.
    • Home share path (for all users):
      smb://ncsudrive.ncsu.edu/home
    • Unit share path (only for employees with managed desktops):
      smb://ncsudrive.ncsu.edu/oitmd/clients/DEPTSHARE
      Replace DEPTSHARE with the name of the share assigned to your unit.
      For a list of these, see Share Names and LANTechs for Campus Units.
  5. For future convenience, click the button marked with a plus sign (+) to save this in the Favorite Server panel.
  6. Click the Connect button.
  7. If asked, enter your Unity ID and password.
    A window will open showing that you are connected to a drive labeled with either “home” or the name of your DEPTSHARE.

Mapping a drive off campus

For security, before you can connect to your NCSU Drive space from off campus you will need to establish a VPN connection as indicated below.

If you have not already done so, go to Virtual Private Networking (VPN) Service.
Download and install the correct version for your operating system.

  1. In your Applications folder, open the folder labeled Cisco.
  2. Double click on Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client to open it.
    TIP: Drag the icon for this application to your Dock for faster access in the future.
  3. Make sure the box under Ready to connect. shows this text:
    vpn.ncsu.edu
  4. Click the Connect button.
  5. From the Group: pop-up menu, select the correct group.
  6. Enter your Username (Unity ID) and Password in the boxes indicated.
  7. In the Second Password field (f available), type:
    push
    to receive the required DUO 2FA prompt.
  8. When the VPN window closes, indicating that the connection has been established, follow the steps for mapping a drive on campus (above).

Disconnecting a drive

  1. On the Finder Desktop, find the icon for the drive.
  2. Right click (or Option click) on it.
  3. From the pop-up menu, select Eject.
  4. To unmount all campus drives at the same time:
    1. Open a Finder window.
    2. In the left side bar, under Locations, next to ncsudrive.ncsu.edu, click on the Eject icon.