Netatalk 4.0 - Future-proofing Apple File Sharing

[rdmark]

The current Netatalk release series (2.x and 3.x) are finally in a good place where we have a modern and flexible build system, with fully functioning user authentication. I can finally pivot to what I wanted to do in the first place: consolidate the best of 2.x and 3.x into one Mac file sharing suite to rule them all.

I hereby present: The Netatalk 4.0 Roadmap.

The mission statement is: A future-proof file sharing suite for Apple //e to macOS and everything in-between.

In the long run, I want to stop supporting two very different branches and have one branch will all the code modernization of 3.x with the support for old clients that 2.x provides.

At a high level, these are the projects:

AppleTalk​

- Graft the AppleTalk protocol modules back onto libatalk: asp, atp, nbp, ddp
- Bring back the AppleTalk daemons: atalkd, papd, timelord, a2boot
- Bring back the AppleTalk networking tools: aecho, getzones, nbp, pap
- Bring back afpd support for AFP 1.1, 2.0, and 2.1

Modern Tech​

- Write a CNID backend in SQLite (Berkeley DB is abandonware)
- Write a Spotlight indexing and search backend in Elasticsearch (Gnome Tracker has not been working well)
- Use Nettle as crypto backend (eliminate the remaining dependencies on OpenSSL)
- Use GDBus as D-Bus client (dbus-glib is going away)

On top of this, I want to remove the old Autotools build system, shore up all the insecure memory mangement, write unit tests...

Needless to say, this will be a massive undertaking. I am looking for collaborators to make this happen. If you or someone you know has a knack for C (or is willing to learn) I can offer a job that is unpaid but comes with the glory of keeping the dream of Apple file sharing alive for the next generation.

 

[rdmark]

All of the relevant code from 2.x has now been restored to the main development branch, and the build system has been retooled to build it.

The next step will be to adapt the various interfaces that were refactored or simplified during the 3.0 release cycle. Notably, the daemon child process handling was simplified to only support DSI (TCP) processes, so it needs to be reworked to manage ASP (AppleTalk) AFP processes again.

If you want to keep track of the progress (and perhaps contribute in some form) see the "appletalk" label in the issue tracker.

 

[rdmark]

We are now looking for alpha testers of Netatalk 4.0.0.

It's a one-way migration path from Netatalk 2.x, so please upgrade only on AFP volumes that have backups, or create fresh volumes for testing.

4.0.0 has a handful of new dependencies, not related to AppleTalk. Notably, Nettle and the Unicode DB. See this pre-release build appendix for concrete packages and commands: https://netatalk.io/4.0/htmldocs/compile ... To get started, clone the latest "main" branch in the Netatalk git repo, and build it with Meson!

Netatalk has to be built with the "-Dwith-appletalk=true" and then you have to put "appletalk = yes" in afp.conf to enable the transport layer. As with 2.x, your OS has to supply appletalk (DDP) networking in the kernel for this to work.

What we want to ascertain right now is twofold: Does AFP-over-AppleTalk work in your environment and workflow. And, is there no performance degradation (file listing, transfer, deletion, etc.)

Looking forward to hearing your feedback!

 

[NJRoadfan]

One thing I haven't extensively tested is the conversion of Apple Double data from the old .AppleDouble folder format to native extended attributes and "dot" files (ex: ._MyFile). So..... back up your shares before trying this! The code should work fine as it wasn't really touched, but always use caution regardless. So far I've tested the following clients:

AppleShare Workstation 1.1 (AFP1.1)
Apple IIgs System 6.0.1 (AFP2.0)
Apple IIgs System 6.0.1 using AFPBridge to connect via TCP/IP (AFP2.0)
The ProDOS 8 2.0.3 client bundled with the above (AFP2.0)
System 7.1 with the stock ASC 3.5 (AFP2.1)
MacOS 8.1 with the stock ASC 3.7.4 via both AppleTalk and TCP/IP (AFP2.2)
macOS 10.15 via TCP/IP (AFP3.4)

Eventually I'll get an XP/2003 image spun up and try Services For Macintosh and PCMacLAN.

Most of this was via emulated machines, so real hardware testing is always appreciated. Get out your rare clients like an Apple IIe Workstation card, or AppleShare for MS-DOS and break this thing! Modern TCP/IP client testing is appreciated as well as I'm concerned about any possible regressions.

 

[rdmark]

Netatalk 4.0.0 beta is available as a Docker image now. It comes with all the best parts of the 3.x release series, and the 2.x release series that you all know and love!

https://hub.docker.com/r/netatalk/netatalk

If you have a host computer with an AppleTalk network stack (Linux or NetBSD) you only need to follow the instructions to get started. All options are named in the same way as the previous Docker releases.