#Linux netatalk server software#
#Linux netatalk server windows#

Īn AppleTalk print client ” The pap program allows Linux to submit print jobs to AppleTalk-enabled printers or print servers. The papd server is controlled through nf, which is usually located in /etc/atalk. The print server features work only over the original AppleTalk, not via TCP/IP. Used in conjunction with Ghostscript (part of Linux's standard print queue), this allows you to share even an inexpensive inkjet printer as if it were a full-featured PostScript device. In addition, the fault file controls which directories are shared, and AppleVolumes.system maps filename extensions onto Macintosh file and creator types, which are stored directly on MacOS-native filesystems.Īn AppleTalk print server ” The papd program allows a Linux computer to operate as a print server for Macintosh systems. (In the event they don't, LocalTalk-to-Ethernet converter devices are available to bridge the gap.) This server is controlled through a file called nf, typically in /etc/atalk. The file server supports both native AppleTalk and TCP/IP, so Linux can serve even old Macintoshes, so long as they share a network hardware type. This package provides three features:Īn AppleTalk file server ” The afpd program allows a Linux computer to operate as a file server for Macintosh systems.

#Linux netatalk server software#

The Netatalk package, which comes with most Linux distributions, is the primary AppleTalk software for Linux.

Good security practices, as discussed in Part IV, can help secure a TCP/IP network, though, so AppleTalk isn't the only option for improving security. Similarly, disabling everything but AppleTalk printing on a network-enabled printer or print server can keep this system from being abused by outsiders, unless they first gain a foothold on another system in your local network. You can disable TCP/IP on a Netatalk server if you want to be absolutely certain that nobody can break into your system from outside your local network by exploiting a flaw in your Netatalk server. The fact that AppleTalk packets are seldom routable by typical routers makes AppleTalk a good choice for providing a little extra security. net) is the main program that uses AppleTalk in Linux it's discussed in the next section. Even in the case of Macintosh-dominated networks, the Unix-based MacOS X supports NFS as well as AppleTalk, so you may prefer to use NFS if your network's Macintoshes run MacOS X. There's seldom any reason to use AppleTalk except on a network that contains MacOS systems, though, because most other OSs provide better support for other network protocols.

#Linux netatalk server windows#

Many network-enabled printers 'speak' AppleTalk natively, and AppleTalk file-sharing protocols are understood by MacOS, Windows NT and 2000, Linux, BeOS, and other systems. The primary applications for AppleTalk are the file and printer sharing for which the protocols were developed. (In a zoned network, the computer attempts to set its zone automatically, and the zone name may bear no resemblance to anything in the TCP/IP hostname.) The two-tiered nature of AppleTalk names is an important limiting factor on AppleTalk networks without more layers of names, creating an AppleTalk network with more than a few hundred computers becomes awkward. For instance, if a computer has the TCP/IP hostname, the computer's AppleTalk name becomes larch. When you start Netatalk, the primary AppleTalk package for Linux, the software sets the system's AppleTalk name based upon the TCP/IP hostname, unless you override this setting.

Small networks may be zoneless, meaning that the zone name doesn't obtrude itself upon users. Each computer has a name, and resides in a zone, which is a logical group of computers. (You can request a specific address or an address in a specific range if you want to, but this usually isn't necessary.)Ībove the AppleTalk numeric addresses lies a two-tiered alphabetic naming system that humans use more directly. AppleTalk includes a procedure by which the computers on the network can negotiate their own AppleTalk addresses, so you need not set this address explicitly. Also like TCP/IP, the AppleTalk address is broken down into two components ”a network address and a computer address however, the division of these two components is fixed, with each consuming 16 of the 32 bits available for the address. Like TCP/IP, AppleTalk uses a 32-bit machine address. If you run Linux on such a system, you will not be able to use the LocalTalk hardware, although you may still use AppleTalk over Ethernet, if the computer has a built-in Ethernet adapter or a supported Ethernet expansion card. Ironically, Linux doesn't support the LocalTalk hardware built into Macintosh computers.