Services for Macintosh

What is Services for Macintosh?

An optional set of services and protocols in Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000 that enables file and print resources to be shared between Macintosh computers and computers running Windows NT or Windows 2000. This simplifies the administration of resources on heterogeneous networks containing a mix of Macintosh and Windows servers and clients. On the Windows 2000 platform, these services and protocols are collectively known under the umbrella name AppleTalk network integration.

How It Works

Services for Macintosh (or AppleTalk network integration) consists of three optional components in Windows NT or Windows 2000:

• The AppleTalk protocol:
  Apple’s proprietary network protocol for Macintosh computers.

   

• File Server for Macintosh (MacFile):
  Lets you specify which volumes on your Windows NT–based or Windows 2000–based server you want to make available to Macintosh clients as Macintosh-accessible volumes, manages differences in permissions between the two platforms, and makes sure that Macintosh file names are legal NTFS file system names.

   

• Print Server for Macintosh (MacPrint):
  Enables Macintosh clients to spool their print jobs to a Windows NT or Windows 2000 print server.

   

Macintosh client machines can access Windows NT servers running Services for Macintosh (or Windows 2000 servers with AppleTalk network integration installed) in the same way that they access file and print resources on an AppleShare server. Services for Macintosh supports an unlimited number of client connections using the AppleTalk Filing Protocol (AFP), Apple’s presentation-layer protocol for sharing files and applications over an AppleTalk network.

You can install Services for Macintosh on a server running Windows NT by using the Network utility in Control Panel. On servers running Windows 2000, you can install File Server for Macintosh or Print Server for Macintosh by using the Windows Components Wizard from Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, which automatically installs the AppleTalk protocol as well. You can also separately install the AppleTalk protocol by using Network and Dial-Up Connections. Services for Macintosh requires an NTFS-formatted volume in order to operate. When Services for Macintosh is first installed, a Macintosh-accessible volume called Public Files is created on the server running Windows NT or Windows 2000. You can create other Macintosh-accessible volumes later using My Computer.