Samba

Samba is a free software implementation of a collection of networking services and protocols, including Microsoft's SMB (or CIFS) protocol, which allows computers on a network to share files with each other.

On Microsoft Windows

If you're using Microsoft Windows, you can connect to the shares of a computer on your local network, as long as you know the hostname or IP address.

1. Open the Run... command from the Start menu (XP) or by pressing Windows key + R (All Versions). You can type in the search box in Windows Vista or Windows 7 instead of opening the run dialog box as well.
2. Type two backslashes (\\), followed by the hostname or IP address of the computer you are connecting to.
3. If you also know the name of the share you wish to access, you can type one additional backslash and then the name of the share.
4. Click on OK.

For example, to install the VendPrint application, you need to copy the installer from \\vendprint.gac.edu\vendprint:

Network Drives

If you need to regularly access the same share (especially if it is a password-protected share), it is a good idea to mount the share as a network drive.

On Mac OS X

1. Click Go from the toolbar in Finder, and select Connect to Server.... You may also use the hot-key Apple+K.
2. In the server address field, enter smb:// and then the host-name and IP address.
3. Click on Connect