Subject: [netatalk-admins] MacOS X and Unix integration

From: Casey Bisson <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 09:15:14 -0400

Pardon me if this is not the best venue for these questions.

After looking at MacOS X and NetBoot/Macintosh Manager for a day, I quickly discovered
that:

1. Macintosh Manager (server side) uses its own user database, separate from the MacOS X
unix passwd file
2. No synchronization between the two user databases occurs (Apple notes that this
"shouldn't be a problem" in their docs)
3. A limited import mechanism is available within Macintosh Manager
4. Despite my hopes, the client side of Macintosh Manager requires additional support from
the server, and cannot authenticate against a regular AppleShare server.

At my college, we are fans of YP and a single username/passwd combo. User data is stored
on a NFS disk array, and exported to multiple server for different services. A user can
move from Mac to PC or login to a unix host, and access the same data. But Apple's new
Macintosh Manager does not appear to be able to integrate with that.

I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered these frustrations, or if anyone is working
on solutions to this.

Thank you

Casey Bisson
Plymouth State College