Download Part II: Building Your Own Network

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Part VI: Beyond Windows
✓The server versions of Windows include a feature called Services for
Macintosh that allows Macintosh computers to access files and printers
managed by the Windows servers without installing special client
software on the Macintosh computers.
✓If you use NetWare, you must purchase separate NetWare client software
for your Macintosh computers. After you install this client software, the
Macs can access files and printers managed by your NetWare servers.
The biggest complication that occurs when you mix Macintosh and Windows
computers on the same network is that the Mac OS and Windows have slightly
different rules for naming files. For example:
✓Macintosh filenames are limited to 31 characters, but Windows filenames can be up to 255 characters.
✓Although a Macintosh filename can include any characters other than
a colon, Windows filenames can’t include backslashes, greater-than or
less-than signs, and a few other oddball characters.
The best way to avoid filename problems is to stick with short names (under 31
characters) and limit your filenames to letters, numbers, and common symbols
(such as the hyphen or pound sign). Although you can translate any filenames
that violate the rules of the system being used into a form that is acceptable
to both Windows and the Macintosh, doing so sometimes leads to cryptic or
ambiguous filenames. But hey, network administration is as much an art as a
science.