Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!lll-winken!uunet!mcvax!hp4nl!philmds!nlgvax!geertj
From: geertj@nlgvax.UUCP (Geert Jan de Groot)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.nfs
Subject: Re: NFS for Macintosh
Summary: Still searching!
Message-ID: <229@nlgvax.UUCP>
Date: 31 Mar 89 22:24:32 GMT
References: <8903302307.AA18426@bcm.tmc.edu>
Reply-To: geertj@nlgvax.UUCP (Geert Jan de Groot)
Distribution: inet
Organization: Philips Research Geldrop
Lines: 51

In article <8903302307.AA18426@bcm.tmc.edu> hacke@MDC.COM writes:
>Does anyone know of an NFS client for a Macintosh runnung Mac-OS?  Does
[I miss a line here?]
>I know about the Gator Box.  I am looking for NFS that could be run
>on a Mac with an Ethernet card in it.

I am also interested in NFS for the MAC. If you find anything, let me
know!

Currently, I networked a mac using TOPS by SUN, using a ethernetcard by Apple.
This approach will (sort of) allow similar things, that is, using files
from a SUN filesystem. It does have some problems:

 - It does not allow sharing of executables. I think this is a MacOSism:
   for instance, Hypercard apperently needs write permission (and ownership
   of the user for the executable).
   Therefore, it is impossible to build a central place for executables,
   and restrict write access to 'disencourage' viruses.
 - Filenaming is a headache. TOPS allows spaces in a user's filename,
   and builds a weird construction for the resource fork.
 - TOPS does not allow redirecting printeroutput to a laserwriter connected
   to a SUN network. It is impossible to spool to a SUN printer from
   a MAC.
 - Using an ethernet card switches off the appletalk connection. Which
   makes an appletalk printer unreachable. This results in making
   local copies of print output, switching the MAC to appletalk,
   reboot (it crashes otherwise - I don't know why), printing, and
   switching back. A (hard-) diskless client is about unusable.
 - First-time installation does not work for the SUN software.
   Workaround: install it, and re-install....

A Fastpath box is said to be a solution. It has an appletalk connection
on one end, and ethernet on the other. It is about as expensive as a MAC
itself :-(. Moreover, we have multiple MACs spread around in the lab, and
only ethernet, no appletalk wiring, we should need a fastpath for every
MAC, kinda expensive.

Hey geoff, how about MAC-NFS :-) ?

Geert Jan


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Geert Jan de Groot,			Email: geertj@nlgvax.pcg.philips.nl
Philips Research Laboratories,		       ..!mcvax!nlgvax!geertj
Project Centre Geldrop,			Ham: PE1HZG
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