Little Update
I was digging into the topic a little deeper today and learned the following:
- Netatalk is the software that makes a Linux box act as an Apple File Server
- Apple File Services can run on TCP/IP or AppleTalk protocol, Apple stopped supporting AppleTalk at some point in time (~10 years ago?) and Netatalk dropped the support after version 2.2 (they are at v3.1 or so)
- So: If you want a Linux based Fileserver for old Macs which may not support TCP/IP (old system, want convenience with the server showing up in the Chooser app) you will need Netatalk in Version 2.2
- You will need to set up at least one of the servers as an AppleTalk router via atalkd.conf
- You need to be aware that anything going through WiFi (e.g. accessing the Server from Basilisk II on a WiFi connected modern Mac) will not route AppleTalk (you may use TCP/IP based AppleShare with those) unless the WiFi AP explicitly supports AppleTalk. And the emulation via Basilisk II might also already block the access (not sure about that though).
I installed the 2.2 branch of netatalk inside a Ubuntu VM on top of Truenas Scale running on a Dell R630. The server is connected via 10GB Ethernet to a UniFi Network.
And Success
The AppleShare server now shows up in the Chooser on these machines:
- Mac OS 9 (G3 Beige)
- System 7.5.5 (8100/80)
- System 7.5 (Mac IIci with BlueSCSI DaynaPort Emulation connecting to an AirPort Express)
Configuration inspiration coming from this post:
[Crossposting from TinkerDifferent] While researching Netatalk integration with RaSCSI it struck me just how painful it was to get Netatalk 2.2 working well on a modern Linux distro. For those who are unaware, Netatalk 3.x dropped support for the AppleTalk / DDP protocol in favor of TCP/IP. For...
68kmla.org
Thanks to the guys in this thread:
[Crossposting from TinkerDifferent] While researching Netatalk integration with RaSCSI it struck me just how painful it was to get Netatalk 2.2 working well on a modern Linux distro. For those who are unaware, Netatalk 3.x dropped support for the AppleTalk / DDP protocol in favor of TCP/IP. For...
68kmla.org
You may find the feature branch needed here:
Netatalk is a Free and Open Source AFP fileserver. A *NIX or BSD system running Netatalk is capable of serving many Macintosh clients simultaneously as an AppleShare file server. - GitHub - Netatal...
github.com
If you have any questions, feel free to ask