Bringing the Macintosh into the corporate LANDouglas E. WelchInfoWorld, 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. |