Bringing the Macintosh into the corporate LAN
Douglas E. Welch
InfoWorld, June 21, 1993 v15 n25 p66(1)
COPYRIGHT InfoWorld Publishing Company 1993
The days of the great PC/Macintosh wars are over. In many companies,
users have the freedom to choose the platform that best suits
their needs. While a boon to users, this freedom has saddled LAN
administrators with the often-difficult task of integrating Macintoshes
into the corporate network.
But that difficult job is getting easier thanks to a growing assortment
of management and administration tools to help keep these new
members up and running.
Integrating Macs into existing networks requires some training
for your support staff and additional hardware. But luckily all
major network operating systems support Macintosh clients and
the sharing of file and print resources. Novell NetWare, Banyan
Vines, and others allow Macintosh users to easily share data with
DOS and Unix systems.
It wasn't always this way. For years, Macintosh users were excluded
from PC networks because they didn't support Novell Inc.'s Internetwork
Packet Exchange (IPX) LAN transport protocol. Today, add-on modules
make NetWare file servers, for example, appear as AppleShare servers
to networked Macs. AppleShare is Apple's network file management
system. Under NetWare 4.0, a Mac-based driver will allow Macs
to communicate using IPX, streamlining this connection even further.
There are many advantages to including Macs on your network. Now,
previously isolated workgroups can share data and storage space
and work together with their PC counterparts using the many applications
that support both environments.
Mac workgroups don't require Macintosh file servers. In fact,
a NetWare or Unix NFS (Network File System) file server is probably
a better choice for most enterprise applications. While they're
not as easy to install or operate, these servers provide higher
transfer rates, better fault tolerance, and more configuration
options than AppleShare file servers. These popular network operating
systems also make excellent platforms for client/server applications.
PLUG AND PLAY. There are two ways to connect Macs to your network:
individually or in groups.
The easiest way to connect a Mac to an existing network is by
installing a network card and the appropriate LAN client software.
With both Ethernet and Token Ring cards available for the Mac,
it's easy to get Macs connected using the same wiring as existing
PCs.
On a NetWare file server, an optional NetWare for Macintosh NLM
(NetWare Loadable Module or LAN application) can be installed
to give Macs the impression they're actually talking to an AppleShare
server. The NLM receives the Mac's AppleTalk packets and maps
the Mac files to the NetWare file structure.
If you've already connected your Macs together using LocalTalk
(Apple's physical network standard), you can bridge these people
into the corporate LAN using gateways or routers. LocalTalk-Ethernet
routers such as a Shiva Corp.'s Fastpath or Cayman Systems Inc.'s
Gatorbox provide this capability. This approach is easier than
connecting each Mac to the network backbone and tends to be less
expensive because one device can serve a number of existing systems.
Picking the right option comes down to performance: LocalTalk
is adequate for light network traffic but can't deliver the speed
needed by high-end applications such as graphics or desktop publishing.
Of course, not every Mac needs Ethernet speeds and not every Mac
needs to be upgraded at the same time. Small workgroups can remain
on LocalTalk, provided their needs aren't changing rapidly. Selected
Macs can then be upgraded to Ethernet as their needs dictate,
spreading upgrade costs over a longer period.
MANAGED MACS. If you haven't managed Macs in a while, you will
be surprised at the progress made in network and configuration
management in the past few years. Most of today's network analyzers
can track AppleTalk traffic and errors and even decode packet
information. This allows network managers to see and troubleshoot
every part of their network.
Many configuration management programs provide an easy way of
installing software on remote Macs without actually visiting the
site. This is a great advantage as corporate LANs grow to include
many remote sites. Configuration management software allows support
staff to troubleshoot from a distance with all the necessary information
at their fingertips.
Configuration management software, such as TechWorks's GraceLan,
requires the installation of an Init (a Macintosh start-up program)
on each machine. This Init sets up communication between the GraceLan
Administrator applications and the remote machine. Queries from
the administrator create a database of information from each machine
and allow the network manager to set up upgrade and reporting
procedures.
The Init returns hardware-specific items such as memory and hard
disk size and software version numbers, as well as available free
space on all hard disks, number and type of others loaded, and
the type of network connection. This also allows the creation
of detailed inventory reports that can be used troubleshooting
and budgeting.
A lasting truce between Macs and PCs finally appears to be taking
hold. As the inclusion of Macs into an existing network no longer
heralds a traumatic affair, Mac and PC users can finally begin
to work together seamlessly, sharing not only files, but ideas
as well. For more ideas on connecting Macs and PCs, see David
Strom's column on page 72.
Douglas E. Welch is a support analyst for a southern California
entertainment company and freelance writer.
Sidebar
Another reason for connecting Macintoshes to your corporate network
is to provide the Mac community with consistent information backup.
Mac workgroups are notorious for not archiving their data, especially
when there's no central file server to use as a data repository.
Clearly, that's not acceptable when these groups are working on
critical data. Putting Macs on the LAN includes them in the regular
backup cycle.
Be forewarned, however, that backing up Mac files with typical
workstation backup software can be problematic and even dangerous.
Mac files are actually stored in two parts: the resource fork
and the data fork. The resource fork contains information on what
program created the file, the type of file, and (if the file is
an application) the actual executable code. The data fork, as
its name implies, holds the actual data. Some backup programs
will only copy the data fork of the Mac files to the backup tape,
leaving the resource fork behind. Without this resource fork,
the Mac files are worthless, the data cannot be accessed, and
the application is destroyed.
It is best to run a few backup and restore tests to ensure that
Mac files are being saved properly.
Mac backup solutions often include remote software packages that
allow a centralized system to back up each Mac connected to the
network. One example of this type of backup software is Retrospect
Remote by Dantz Development Corp. The package installs a program
on each Mac that can talk to the central backup server and allow
it to transfer files even when the Mac is unattended. |