Hands on: Getting Macs and PCs to play well together

Computerworld -

One of the most common challenges for Mac administrators and technicians is integrating Macs and PCs into a shared network environment. The first issue many IT departments need to deal with is providing access to shared resources for both platforms. There are a wide range of options, both server- and client-based, for accomplishing this, and many of these solutions work well in small-to-moderate network environments with simple access requirements.

In the future, I'll look at the creation of an integrated cross-platform environment that involves network authentication and client management options, issues more appropriate to larger organizations, particularly those that require some level of security as well as integration with network-based PIM software such as Outlook, GroupWise and Apple's iCal.

There are two basic tacks IT workers can take to marry Macs and PCs: server-based solutions and client-based solutions.

Server Solutions

The major commercial server platforms today include either built-in or optional support for both Mac and Windows clients. Ever since Windows NT, Microsoft has included File Services for Mac as an optional feature of its server products. Although not installed by default, Service for Mac adds AppleTalk and Apple file sharing over IP serving capabilities.

Shares can be created as a Mac volume, which enables not only Mac access to the share, but also allows the Windows Server to maintain both the resource and data forks created by a Macintosh. The resource fork in a Mac file structure contains two important codes: the create and type codes. These provide the same functions that a file extension provides under Windows, identifying to a Mac which application created a file as well the type (JPEG image, Word document, text file or others) of the file. Normally, when Mac files are sent across a network or saved on a non-Mac disk, this information is stripped from the file, leaving files that do not include the typical Windows file extensions as generic files when accessed on another Mac. Depending on the server configuration and Mac OS version, utilities may need to be installed on the Mac to support Microsoft's User Authentication Module.

In addition to File Services for Mac, which is supplied with Windows NT/2000 Server by Microsoft, two companies have produced an installable Apple File Protocol that can replace File Services for Mac. These products include Extremez-IP by Group Logic and MacServer IP by Cyan Software Ltd. Both companies boast better performance than File Services for Mac as well as a host of other features. Group Logic claims to provide better Mac OS X support when using Apple File Protocol over TCP/IP than File Services for Mac in Windows 2000.