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Windows NT Server 4.0 Services for Macintosh
Mark Minasi
September 30, 1996
3 Min Read
Apple has fought an ardent battle to make the Mac an accepted playeron the corporate desktop. Despite the fact that only 9% of enterprises todayrely on the Mac as their desktop standard, recent changes in Apple's long-termstrategy may increase that number. The company is making headway in intranetsand the Internet, increasing the need for you to integrate your Macintoshclients into the rest of your enterprise network. Enter Windows NT Server 4.0with its Services for Macintosh.
NT Server 4.0like 3.51 before itsupplies Services for Macintoshas part of its base set of features. Services for Macintosh provides file andprint services for the Mac using native AppleTalk protocols, support forAppleTalk routing, and Microsoft-based encrypted authentication for your Macclients.
What's New in NT 4.0?
The changes to NT Server 4.0's Servicesfor Macintosh are mostly cosmetic as compared to 3.51. In 3.51, to manageMacintosh-accessible resources on your server, you installed Services forMacintosh from the Network applet in Control Panel and used the Macfile Applet,with Server Manager and File Manager. In 4.0, Explorer replaces File Manager butdoesn't include any controls for Services for Macintosh. In 4.0, Services forMacintosh still requires use of File Manager to manage some features, includingfile associations and file and directory permissions. My biggest complaint in anotherwise easy-to-use service is the lack of a single interface for managingServices for Macintosh.
Here's a list of the utilities in NT Server 4.0 that let you manage theServices for Macintosh and the functions they provide.
Server Manager: You can use the Macfile menu choice, as you see inScreen A, to view the same Macfile applet as in the Network Control Panel. Youcan also view, create, and remove any defined Mac-accessible folders on theserver and set passwords and permissions on them, and you can send a message toall Macs connected to the server.
File Manager: You can use the Macfile menu choice to perform thesame folder creation, removal, and security functions as in Server Manager. Youcan also set file associations so that files on the server with MS-DOSthree-character extensions correspond to a Macintosh application. Thiscapability guarantees that a Word .DOC file, for example, appears on the Mac'sfinder with the proper Word for Macintosh icon.
Macfile Control Panel Applet: This applet gives you informationabout the status of and provides controls for Services for Macintosh on yourserver. You can view which Mac users are connected (and optionally disconnectthem), which Mac-accessible folders are in use and by whom, and which files arein use and by whom. From the Attributes button, you can set logon security,limit the number of sessions, and even rename the NT Server as it appears to theMac.
Network Control Panel: By double-clicking the Services forMacintosh listing in the Services Property page, you can configure the defaultzone and AppleTalk routing options.
Macfile Command Line: If you're a command-line person, you canperform all the above functions from one place by using the Macfile command.This command lets you create and remove folders and set global service optionsand directory permissions. It even includes the forkize option to manipulatedata and resource forks on Mac files.
--by Darren Mar-Elia
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