Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment

Managing SMB Using Defaults

One of the biggest issues that a number of large environments have is controlling what client systems are able to see on a network.  In these types of environments, limiting the number of Windows file servers that show up can be a show stopper.  So Apple has given us an option in the com.apple.smb.server.plist file for RegisterWINSName.  By default it isn’t there, but when you use the following command and then restart smb it will suppress your system from the list of servers:

defaults write /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.smb.server RegisterWINSName -bool false

You can also use com.apple.smb.server to change the NetBIOS name and server description.