Re: NT versus Appleshare servers

Peter C.S. Adams(adamsp[at]cs.umb.edu)
Thu, 16 Jul 1998 08:06:47 +0200

"Harris, Matt" <HARRISMA@Mattel.com> wrote:
>Currently, NT servers are the way to go. One is more than enough for
>your needs. [...] Advantages: Native File Sharing for NT and Mac

Except for two things: (1) last I saw, Mac clients and Windows clients
couldn't share the same directory; and (2) AFP speed under NT is TERRIBLE.
Since the original post came from a guy with something like 30 Macs and 5
PCs, he should get something that serves the Macs better than an NT server.

>Main disadvantage: Jumping Icons - or use the SFM hot fix from Microsoft
>and get the new bug ... your Macs crash if they use recent items
>servers because of a new incompatibility between NT 4.0 SP3 SFM Hotfix
>and the Macintosh aliases which recent items creates.

Some pretty serious disadvantages. Add in the tremendous complexity of an
NT server and the high cost of either training or support.

>Appleshare IP [...] has an inferior security model which requires
>a different user list on every server

I don't see this as a disadvantage at all. Appleshare servers are designed
as departmental servers, not enterprise servers, and if you want to share
users and groups, that's pretty easy. What in particular are you thinking
of when you imply NT is more secure? Or are you just saying you like the
security model better? Personally, I think it's a drawback (one person's
advantage is another's design flaw, I guess). For instance, if you are
logged in to your machine as "Steve Jobs" and want to connect to a server
as "Bill Gates," you have to restart Windows to do it, unless Guest access
is disabled on the NT machine. (By the way, for those of you with multiple
usernames and passwords, the KeyChain, last seen in PowerTalk, is making a
comeback.)

Obviously, Appleshare servers are not for everyone, but neither are NT
servers. I still say a typical computer user wanting to set up a server for
30 Macs and 5 PCs should go with Appleshare. A company with 200+ users and
the budget for an NT Administrator would be better off with an NT server.

--
Peter C.S. Adams <mailto:peter.adams@umb.edu>
Computing Services, UMass Boston (617) 287-5263
Mac OS: Year 2000 compliant since 1983!

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Wed Jul 15 1998 - 23:12:27 PDT