MAC file server upgrade

External Since: Jun 14, 2006 Posts: 2

Hello

We are currently running a file server for our MAC clients which is Windws
2000. This server also runs the File Server for Macintosh service. We would
like to upgrade this server to Windows 2003 SP1 and would appreciate input on
related experiences or general knowledge.

In the past we controlled directory access via shares as NTFS permissions
were not recognized. With MAC OS X this is no longer the case. NTFS
permissions work.
We are going to do some testing, but I wonder if File Server for Macintosh
will be required on our 2003 server?

We are also curious about moving this data to the new server. It seems that
there are several system folders generated when File Server for Macintosh is
enabled. We used RoboCopy in the past, but there seem to be too many
exclusions for system folders in our current file structure. We are
considering a normal backup of the server and restoration to the new server.
(Approx. 325G of data) Anyone have any exerience along these lines? Also, are
the system folders on the current server going to be necessary to move to the
new folder?

Any additional information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark Clark

External Since: Jul 20, 2005 Posts: 68

Hi Mark!

My comments are inline with yours.

> In the past we controlled directory access via shares as NTFS permissions
> were not recognized. With MAC OS X this is no longer the case. NTFS
> permissions work.
> We are going to do some testing, but I wonder if File Server for Macintosh
> will be required on our 2003 server?

NTFS permissions are recognized but ACLs are not supported unless your
Mac runs Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). Prior to Tiger the best way I've ever
found to set good Mac permissions is to create the Mac volume and then
log in to the server as an administrator from a Mac and set the upper
level permissions there. The advanced permissions from the ACLs can
cause a variety of surprising results that aren't always Mac-friendly.

> We are also curious about moving this data to the new server. It seems that
> there are several system folders generated when File Server for Macintosh is
> enabled. We used RoboCopy in the past, but there seem to be too many
> exclusions for system folders in our current file structure. We are
> considering a normal backup of the server and restoration to the new server.
> (Approx. 325G of data) Anyone have any exerience along these lines? Also, are
> the system folders on the current server going to be necessary to move to the
> new folder?

For anyone connecting Mac OS X to a Windows server, I suggest you use
neither Windows Server's File Services for Macintosh nor Mac OS X's SMB
capabilities.

File Services for Macintosh is still running the old AFP 2.2 file
sharing protocol, which is behind Mac OS X's AFP 3.2 (Tiger). You'd
still be limited to 31 characters for file names and folders and the
difference between the two protocols has been found to be somewhat
unstable.

Mac OS X's SMB client is clunky and I've found its implementation can
lead to permissions issues, locked files, files that can't be deleted,
etc. Also, Windows users can potentially see the numerous hidden "._"
files placed on the server by Mac OS X.

I suggest that if you have multiple Mac users, you look into a third
party AFP server such as ExtremeZ-IP from <http://www.grouplogic.com>.
Or if you'll have relatively few Macs then I suggest Dave or ADmitMac
from <http://www.thursby.com>. When deciding between the two products
you'll need to weight the costs of the products in addition to whether
or not you want to administer a single more expensive application on the
server versus multiple less expensive clients on the Macs. Both
companies offer free trials.

Hope this helps! bill
--
William M. Smith
(Microsoft Interop MVP - Mac/Windows)