• Created by Unknown User (nick.pifer@mobap.edu) on Feb 15, 2019

This article documents setting up a Mac OS device with a VPN connection, and how to connect to a file share. 

Warning

This article requires the help of an IT Technician. Please contact the IT Helpdesk at helpdesk@mobap.edu to schedule a tech to help you with this problem.

The L2TP protocol used by the VPN built into Mac OS does not support UNC paths; so the "MBU Files" icon in the dock will display folders, but nothing inside of any of them.

Step-by-step guide

Once the "VPN Menu Settings" profile has been applied using the managed software center, a VPN icon  will appear in the status menus portion of the menu bar. This profile setting is not default and is available upon request.


  1. Connect MBU remote access using the VPN menu
  2. Open Finder, and use Go > Connect to Server…
  3. Enter the smb path for the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the file server hosting the share you need to connect to in the "Server Address" field and click “Connect”. (For example, the UC share would be: smb://FS4.mobap.edu/UC). Contact IT to get help determining the FQDN for a particular share.