Chapter 15 - Introduction To Services For Macintosh

Microsoft® Windows NT™ Server Services for Macintosh® (SFM) is a thoroughly integrated component of Microsoft Windows NT Server that makes it possible for PC and Apple® Macintosh clients to share files and printers.

You can set up SFM and other components (such as Microsoft Windows NT Server Remote Access Service) when you install Windows NT Server, or you can set them up later. After SFM is set up, a computer running Windows NT Server can also function as an AppleTalk® router. Routing capability is supported for AppleTalk Phase 2.

With SFM, Macintoshes need only the Macintosh operating system software to function as clients; no additional software is required. You can, however, set up the optional user authentication module, which is software that provides a secure logon to the Windows NT Server.

Features

Version 1.0 of LAN Manager SFM made it possible for a LAN Manager server to share files and printers with Macintosh clients. This meant that both PC and Macintosh clients could share resources on the same network. This version of SFM does that and more. Version 4.0 uses the capabilities of Windows NT Server, which include built-in networking services for multiple-domain networks of MS-DOS® – based, Windows™-based, and OS/2® clients. Version 4.0 includes these features:

• Enhanced performance because of better resource use. 

• Secured logon, which provides added protection from network sniffers. (Sniffers can detect clear-text passwords.) 

• Easy-to-use graphical administration tools that are fully integrated into the Windows NT Server File Manager, Print Manager, and Server Manager. 

• Printing to non-PostScript® printers. 

• Increased number of clients that can be simultaneously connected to the server.

• Compatibility with all computers that can run Windows NT Server, including 80386, 80486, MIPS®, Pentium™, Alpha™, and multiprocessor systems. 

• Support of AppleTalk Phase 2, which is available for routers and networking protocols. (AppleTalk Phase 1 is not supported in this version of SFM.) 

Note Macintosh Service functionality is still included in File Manager and is not part of the Explorer. After you install SFM, in the Start menu, click Run. In the Open box, type winfile and click OK to start File Manager. You can also add File Manager to any group in your Start menu by choosing Settings in the Start menu and then clicking Taskbar. In the Start Menu Programs tab, click Add, and type winfile.

What Services for Macintosh Can Do

Using SFM on your network gives you many benefits—including the following:

• File sharing 

  For example, some people in your department use Microsoft Excel for Windows. Others prefer using Microsoft Excel for Macintosh. With SFM, these users can work on the same spreadsheet files.

• Printer sharing 

  For example, your small network has only one PostScript printer. With SFM, both PC and Macintosh users can have access to the PostScript printer. 

  Or your network has two printers for PC clients and two printers for Macintosh clients. However, PC users get frustrated when the PC printers are busy and the Macintosh printers are not, and vice versa. With SFM, all users can send print jobs to all printers, which means users have more choices for getting their work done. Moreover, you can control all of the print queues from a single location—your computer running Windows NT Server or Windows NT Workstation.

• Simplified administration 

  For example, you have several Macintoshes that you'd like to put on the network. With SFM, you don't need a Macintosh server: Your computer running Windows NT Server can provide file sharing and file security for your Macintoshes and PCs. And by using your computer running Windows NT Server with Macintosh clients, you have only one list of users to maintain instead of two (one on a computer running Windows NT Server and one on a Macintosh server).

• AppleTalk routing support 

  For example, suppose you want to connect an AppleTalk internet (a group of two or more AppleTalk physical networks). With SFM, you can attach networks with Macintosh clients to create an AppleTalk internet.

File Sharing

Even though the MS-DOS, OS/2, and Windows NT file systems differ greatly from that of the Macintosh operating system, both PC clients and Macintosh clients can use the same files stored on the server. SFM works in the background to make this possible.

For both Macintosh and PC users, files appear as they usually do: A PC user sees files located in a directory tree structure, and a Macintosh user sees files located in the familiar Macintosh folder structure.

Using Cross-Platform Applications on PCs and Macintoshes

For many applications that have versions for PCs and for Macintoshes, users of both versions can work on the same data file using SFM. When Macintosh users view directories on the server containing these data files, they see the files represented by the appropriate icon.

For example, a person using a PC version of Microsoft Excel can create a spreadsheet file, and then store it on the server in a shared directory that also is configured as a Macintosh-accessible volume. A Macintosh user who opens that folder sees the file represented by the Macintosh icon that represents a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The Macintosh user can double-click the file icon, and Microsoft Excel for Macintosh starts and opens the file. The Macintosh user can modify the file, and then save it. When the PC user opens the file, the modified version of the file appears.

SFM uses extension-type associations to display PC files with the correct icon when the Macintosh user is viewing them in the Finder. For example, the Macintosh user sees a Microsoft Excel for Macintosh document icon for a Microsoft Excel for Windows file (a *.XLS file).

SFM comes with extension-type associations already defined for many applications. You can also add extension-type associations. For information and instructions on how to add more associations, see Chapter 19, "Configuring Services for Macintosh."

Printer Sharing

With SFM, Macintosh and PC users can send print jobs to any printer attached to a computer running Windows NT Server, as well as to PostScript printers that register themselves as a LaserWriter on the AppleTalk network.

SFM provides additional benefits for Macintosh users who use AppleTalk printers—it provides spooling. With spooling, Macintosh users can start other tasks as soon as they send a print job to the computer running Windows NT Server, where print jobs are stored until a printer becomes available. Without spooling, users must wait until the print job completes before doing anything else.

Simplified Administration

With simplified administration you have one set of users to maintain instead of separate user accounts on the Macintosh server and the computer running Windows NT Server. It also ensures a consistent file-level security for PC and Macintosh users.

SFM translates file permissions, which adds a level of security to your network. SFM translates Windows NT file permissions and Macintosh-style permissions (referred to as access privileges by Macintosh users). A Macintosh user sets permissions according to the Macintosh scheme; SFM translates these to Windows NT permissions. The reverse is also true: Windows NT permissions set by PC users are translated to Macintosh-style permissions for Macintosh users.

Both Administrators and Server Operators can administer SFM.

AppleTalk Routing Support

With SFM, the computer running Windows NT Server can also provide routing and seed routing support. An AppleTalk router broadcasts routing information, such as network addresses, and keeps track of and directs data packets on AppleTalk networks. Seed routers perform these functions and also seed the physical networks on which they reside. Seeding a network means establishing and initializing the network address information for that network.

You can install an unlimited number of network adapters to a computer running Windows NT Server to add to an AppleTalk internet, which is a group of two or more physical networks connected by one or more routers.

For more information about routing and internets, see Chapter 17, "Planning Your AppleTalk Network."

System Requirements

To set up SFM, you need a PC that is running Windows NT Server; to make full use of SFM, you need Macintosh clients. Requirements for each of these follow.

In addition, SFM supports version 6.x (or later) of the LaserWriter printer driver and versions 2.0 and 2.1 of the AppleTalk Filing Protocol.

Requirements for Computers Running Windows NT Server

Setting up SFM with Windows NT Server requires that your server meet specifications for both Windows NT Server and for SFM.

For information about the Windows NT Server requirements, refer to the Windows NT Server System Guide.

SFM requires these additions to the computer running Windows NT Server:

• 2 megabytes (MB) of extra hard disk space 

• A Windows NT file system (NTFS) partition in order to create directories (Macintosh-accessible volumes) that can be used by Macintosh clients 

Requirements for Macintosh Clients

All Macintosh computers that can use AppleShare® (the Apple networking software for the Macintosh) can use SFM. These include all Macintoshes except the Macintosh XL and Macintosh 128K. To use SFM, the Macintosh must have version 6.0.7 or later (including System 7™ or higher) of the Macintosh operating system.

The following are known Macintosh client limitations:

• For Macintosh clients older than version 7.5, the volume size must not exceed 2 GB. 

• For version 7.5 or later Macintosh clients, the volume size must not exceed 4 GB.

Note The AppleTalk Filing Protocol (AFP) has the following limitations: a maximum volume size of 4 GB, a maximum file size of 2 GB, and a maximum number of files and folders (65,536). For more information, see the Apple Tech Info Library.

SFM supports LocalTalk®, ethernet, token ring, and Fiber Distribution Data Interface (FDDI). Ethernet and token ring are commonly used when integrating Macintoshes into PC networks. For more information about these networks, see Chapter 17, "Planning Your AppleTalk Network."

Where to Go from Here

For more conceptual information about SFM, read Chapter 16, "How Services for Macintosh Works."

For instructions on setting up SFM and a discussion of how to plan your Apple internet setup, see Chapter 17, "Planning Your AppleTalk Network."

For step-by-step instructions that explain how to administer SFM after it is set up and how to set up files and printers to be shared by Macintosh and PC users, see Chapter 21, "Working with Macintosh-Accessible Volumes."