By mapping drives (Windows) or mounting volumes (Mac), you can access Amherst network storage shares and manipulate files as if they were stored on your own computer. For many purposes, mapped network drives or mounted volumes provide a simpler way to manage files than using SFTP or SSH and Unix commands.

Take note, drive mapping or mounting volumes only works on campus or from off-campus with a VPN connection.

One common use of drive mapping is to put files on a traditional Unix web server. The College’s main web site will let you build a web page quickly and easily, but for some purposes (e.g. JavaScript and PHP development) you'll want to directly create web pages. Everyone may have a web site here with the address https://AmherstUsername.people.amherst.edu/ , and similar sites exist for departments and other College groups. However, this service requires greater technical skill.

Warning: Special file permissions are required for the web server to load your files. When your Web page is set up for you they are correct, but if they become scrambled contact IT for assistance.

Windows | Macintosh

Windows

To work on a web page on the traditional Web server:

You can access the files on your web site, or another account's web site (while logged in with your own username), by mapping the W: drive:

  1. Right click on My Computer, and select Map Network Drive;
  2. Choose W: (or any available Drive letter if you already are using W:);
  3. As your Folder, type:
         \\unix-win\AmherstUsername
    or if you have already mapped that name, type:
         \\unix-nt\AmherstUsername
  4. Check the button Reconnect at logon if you want it to automatically connect when you startup. This only works with your logon account; if you are using a different account you will still have to enter the password again at that time.
  5. If you are not connecting to your own Amherst account, or are connecting from a personal computer where you have a different username, click on the link different user name; in the dialogue that pops up, enter the other account's AmherstUsername and password, and click the button OK (Note: on a personal computer you may need to prefix the Amherst domain to the user name: amherst\AmherstUsername ).
  6. Click the button Finish. Now the network drive will be available to you in My Computer.
  7. Navigate into the folder www/html.

To work on a file in your Unix home directory on Romulus or Remus or R:

You may sometimes want to access the home directory of a Unix account, for example, to work on files for a Computer Science course on Romulus or Remus or a Statistics course on R, or for a research project on Cluster.

  1. Right click on My Computer, and select Map Network Drive.
  2. Choose any available Drive letter.
  3. As your Folder, type:
         \\unix-win\AmherstUsername
    or
         \\unix-nt\AmherstUsername
  4. Check the button Reconnect at logon if you want it to automatically connect when you startup.
  5. If you are not connecting to your own Amherst account, or are connecting from a personal computer where you have a different username, click on the link different user name, and enter the same AmherstUsername as in step 3, along with that account's password, and click the button OK (Note: on a personal computer you may need to prefix the Amherst domain to the user name: amherst\AmherstUsername ).
  6. Click the button Finish. Now the network drive will be available to you in My Computer.

To work on a file in your Unix home directory on the HPC System:

  1. Right click on My Computer, and select Map Network Drive.
  2. Choose any available Drive letter.
  3. As your Folder, type:
         \\hpc.amherst.edu\AmherstUsername
  4. Check the button Reconnect at logon if you want it to automatically connect when you startup.
  5. If you are not connecting to your own Amherst account, or are connecting from a personal computer where you have a different username, click on the link different user name, and enter the same AmherstUsername as in step 3, along with that account's password, and click the button OK (Note: on a personal computer you may need to prefix the Amherst domain to the user name: amherst\AmherstUsername ).
  6. Click the button Finish. Now the network drive will be available to you in My Computer.

Macintosh (Mac OS X)

Mac OS X understands a number of network disk mounting protocols, in particular Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) and the Windows System Message Block (SMB). At Amherst College, the protocol available for shares is the SMB protocol, and it is the default if no protocol is specified. The following instructions explicitly use smb:// to specify the protocol.

To work on a web page on the traditional web server:

  1. In the Finder, menu Go > Connect to server;
  2. In the Address field, type:
         smb://unix-mac.amherst.edu/AmherstUsername
  3. Log in with an Amherst username and password.
  4. Click the button OK.
  5. Navigate into the folder www/html.

To work on a file in your Unix home directory on Romulus or Remus or R:

  1. In the Finder, menu Go > Connect to server;
  2. In the Address field, type:
         smb://unix-mac.amherst.edu/AmherstUsername
  3. Log in with an Amherst username and password;
  4. Click the button OK.

To work on a file in your Unix home directory on the HPC system:

  1. In the Finder, menu Go > Connect to server.
  2. In the Address field, type:
        smb://hpc.amherst.edu/AmherstUsername
  3. Log in with an Amherst username and password.
  4. Click the button OK.