Chapter 23 - Using Macintosh Services

Chapter 23

Despite periodic predictions of its demise, the Apple Macintosh remains popular in many environments, especially ones where users are doing high-end graphics, page layout, Web design, or video production. Therefore, many companies will find themselves with the continual need to support Mac clients on their networks.

If your Mac clients are running Mac OS X 10.1 or later, there is no need for the File Server for Macintosh (FSM) or the Print Server for Macintosh (PSM). If the clients are running a version of Mac OS earlier than OS X, you'll need to use FSM and PSM or a third-party software solution such as Dave. However, the Macintosh has never caught on as a file server, especially given the attractive price/performance ratio of Intel-based servers running Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft Windows 2000.

Anticipating that Windows NT and Windows 2000 would be widely adopted for department and workgroup servers, Microsoft included in them two services that allow Macintosh users to share files and printers with Windows, OS/2, and even MS-DOS users. The FSM service handles the publishing of shared files, and the PSM service allows Macintosh and Windows users to share each others' printers. In addition, Windows 2000 includes an implementation of the AppleTalk network protocol. The mechanism these services use is simple: you share folders and files and then enable Macintosh file sharing on the share. Windows clients can use the share normally, and Macintosh clients use Apple's file-sharing software to connect to the Windows 2000 server and get the files.

In this chapter, you'll learn how to use Mac OS X on a Windows network, as well as how to install, configure, and administer both FSM and PSM for older Macintosh computers. Along the way, you'll gain a basic understanding of Macintosh networking, as well as some of the implications of sharing files among users on different platforms.

Real World

Cats and Dogs: Networking Macs and PCs

Mixing Macintosh and Windows networks has historically been difficult. Each system used different protocols (AppleTalk for Macs and NetBEUI or IPX/SPX for PCs) and different file structures, making interoperating painful. Although Macintosh computers have long had the ability to read PC formatted removable media (floppy disks and CDs), to connect Macs and PCs on the same network, third-party software (such as Thursby Software's Dave) was needed.

Microsoft made an effort to remedy the situation with File Server for Macintosh (FSM) service and Print Server for Macintosh (PSM) service, two services introduced with Windows NT Server and included with Windows 2000 Server. When installed on a Windows server, these services provide classic Macintosh clients access to shared files and printers on the Windows server.

When Apple switched to its new, UNIX-based operating system, Mac OS X, the situation improved once again. Mac OS X handles files similarly enough to eliminate the need to translate files between the two platforms. It can also connect to LPD/LPR printer shares (discussed in Chapter 8) without PSM (later versions of the classic Mac OS can do this as well, so you might not need PSM at all). And beginning with Mac OS X 10.1, Macs have the built-in capability to connect to Windows file shares, either in workgroups or in domains.



Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Administrator's Companion
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Administrators Companion
ISBN: 0735617856
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 320

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