mount_webdav not working after 10.11.6 update

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Level 1

8 points

mount_webdav not working after 10.11.6 update

I have a startup script that uses the mount_webdav command to mount 2 webdav locations into the /Volumes directory. The script ran fine on Maverick, Yosemite, and earlier updates of El Capitan. After the last update (10.11.6) the script no longer works. I get 2 empty mount folder in the /Volumes directory, no files visible under them, and no desktop mount disk icons. So I messed around a bit, and here's what I observed.

Restarting machine and resetting PRAM didn't help.
The mount_webdav works sporadically, occasionally, one of the webdav location will get mounted correctly, but still rarely.
Running the mount_webdav commands manually didn't work.
I can mount the same 2 location by going to the Finder menu and use Go > Connect to Server..., no issues there.
So here's the kicker, if I mount one of the drive (let's say B from A & B) using Go > Connect to Server.... I then disconnect mount B. I run the script, which tries to mount both A & B, B will mount successfully. The alternative works too, mounting A first, disconnect, then run script, A will mount successfully.

Seems something is different between the Connect to Server... and the mount_webdav, and something's cached? Anyhow, just some additional detail. The webdav is on a public hosting service, I'm authenticating with user ID and password on HTTPS, and there is a custom port #. I don't think I've changed any security or network settings on my Mac, only the update. I did switch ISP recently, but I would assume if that's issue, Go > Connect to Server... would not work also. Help! Thanks!

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Aug 2, 2016 2:42 PM

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Answer 1

etresoft

Level 9

58,252 points

Aug 2, 2016 3:15 PM in response to Cycotron69

Hello Cycotron69,

What do you mean by "startup script". The only official "startup scripts" were declared obsolete over ten years ago. They continued to work up until a couple of years ago. What OS version did you update from?

Webdav is not well-supported anymore. The rumors are that Apple is even dropping its own network file sharing protocol for Microsoft's standard (http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/06/11/apple-shifts-from-afp-file-sharing-to- smb2-in-os-x-109-mavericks). I suggest you do likewise.

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Answer 2

Cycotron69 Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 2, 2016 5:01 PM in response to etresoft

Hi etresoft,

thanks for your reply. Sorry for the confusion on the "startup script". For my case, it's just a bash script that I have setup to run automatically on login. It's not any Apple specific "startup script.

I didn't look when I did the update, but i'm fairly current with my updates, so I believe I updated from 10.11.5, but at worst, it would've been from 10.11.4.

As for WebDav not being "well supported", I would say, Apple should either support it or not support it, the grey area in between can create a lot of difficulties for end users. It's like saying, "here's your dinner, but it might not be completely cooked", so do I eat it or not?

Anyhow, principles aside, I unfortunately do not have an alternate choice. I use Samba for my own LAMP setup, but the ISP I'm using only support WebDav as a "web disk" access method (a crude version of Cloud I guess). WebDav allow me to have a mount for the site files where I can do direct development against, as suppose to FTP that requires separate uploading and downloading, which is tedious. Additionally, I would say WebDav is working, just not correctly through the mount_webdav command. It would be great to have my bash script working, otherwise, I'd have to resort to Automator or AppleScript, which is another time and effort investment for me for something that I had already spent a lot of time working out. Plus, it'll still be WebDav.

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Answer 3

etresoft

Level 9

58,252 points

Aug 2, 2016 7:16 PM in response to Cycotron69

Hello again Cycotron69,

WebDAV is definitely in that grey area. I wrote (what would have been) a really cool app based on WebDAV. It works, but WebDAV had some really flaky behaviour that was out of my control and Apple told me in no uncertain terms that they had no intention of fixing it. They suggested I switch to SMB instead. Unfortunately, SMB is seriously complicated and I don't have the energy for that right now.

You can try using auto mount instead of your script (see http://www.apple.com/business/docs/Autofs.pdf). I'm lucky enough to be in an enterprise environment that has decent Activity Directory and Mac support. Auto mount works great for me. I don't know if it will work so great with WebDAV, but you can give it a try. You may have to hard-code your login credentials.

If that doesn't work, you can try using sshfs. Any decent web host should support sshfs. You will have to install one of the OS X FUSE systems for Mac. It will give you a "mount_sshfs" command.

If this is just for a web site, I strongly suggest using git instead. I had a similar convoluted system based on sshfs (and webdav through my app) but I finally gave in and went to git.

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Answer 4

Cycotron69 Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 4, 2016 9:22 AM in response to etresoft

Thanks etresoft, unfortunately git is not an option for me, I'm afraid I've simplified my situation, there are other file types being hosted. I'll look into the autofs and see if that can be a solution. Otherwise, I guess I have to bite the bullet and get my own Cloud server setup. Thanks for you time and help! 🙂

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Answer 5

etresoft

Level 9

58,252 points

Aug 4, 2016 10:20 AM in response to Cycotron69

Hello Cycotron69,

Don't try to over-rationalize what is going on with Finder's Connect to Server vs. mount_webdav. One of the things I learned from my app was just how much of a beast Finder is. In most cases (yes most cases), Finder just tries the same command several times in a row.

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