Change from AFP to SMB (or CIFS)

As we migrate to a new storage solution and Apple continues to move away from providing enterprise-level solutions, it has become necessary to change the protocol used to mount some of our network shares on the new storage. Specifically, we are moving away from using Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) towards using Server Message Block (SMB) or a version of SMB protocol called Common Internet File System (CIFS).

For most people, you will only need to make the following change on your Mac:

Old way:

afp://igppsoftware.ucsd.edu

New way:

smb://igppsoftware.ucsd.edu

Notice the only change above is the first three letters of the URL.

If you are already using SMB (or CIFS) to mount, you will not need to change.

Finally, if you are moving or have already moved to High Sierra (macOS 10.13) or higher, you will also need to make this change because starting in High Sierra, specifically High Sierra’s use of the APFS file system, Apple has deprecated AFP in favor of using SMB.