Connecting Linux and Mac

We will use Netatalk, which allows us to use Appletalk file services on a Mac network, to access Linux shares from a Mac.

Netatalk supports Appletalk and Appleshare IP. The software is pre-installed in PCQLinux 8.0 and is easy to configure. But if you are using any other version of Linux or don’t have the software installed, then take this month’s PCQEssential CD and copy the netatalk-1.5.3.1-4.i386.rpm file to your home directory and install the RPM as follows. 

#cp netatalk-1.5.3.1-4.i386.rpm ~



#cd (this will change the directory to your home directory)


#rpm —ivh netatalk-1.5.3.1-4.i386.rpm

Configure Netatalk



After the installation is over, check the /etc/services file for the following lines. 

If you’re using PCQLinux 8.0, then chances are that these lines would already be there by default. In case they’re not, you’ll need to enter them. 

Go to the /etc/atalk directory and open the file called Applevolumes.default with your favorite text editor. In this file you will find lots of hashed (Commented) instructions and at the bottom of the file you will find a ~ symbol. This symbol represents the home directory of the user who has authenticated himself to the MAC machine. We’ll explain this with an example. Suppose there are two users in your Linux machine, say U1 and U2. Both have their home directories in the /home directory. So if you are mounting the volume from a MAC and providing the username and password of U1, then by default U1’s home directory will be available on the MAC machine. Whereas if you have logged in with the username and password of U2, then you will find the home directory of U2. If you don’t want to automatically share the Home directory of the user, then type a Hash # before the ~ symbol like # ~, and your share will be commented. 

If you want to add a new share here, then just type in the full path of the directory you want to share and give it a name in quotes like this:

/docs “My Shared Docs”

This will share the /docs folder with the share name of My Shared Docs. Now save the file and exit. You will find the share in your MAC machine. 

Mount shares to the Mac



To access shares you have created from your Linux box, first click on the Apple menu in your Macintosh and select Chooser. It will open the chooser dialogue box. Select the AppleShare icon, and on the right hand side, look for a button called Server IP Address and click it to enter the IP address of your Linux server. It will ask you for your login name and password.

Provide them and proceed. It will now show you the list of shared folders available in your Linux box. Select the one you want to mount and click OK. It will mount your shared folder to your Mac’s desktop.

Anindya Roy