file system compatibility

[free1776]

Hello,

I'm working on a case study for my operating systems class, and the client in question has 18 windows 2000 servers, and plan on implementing 5 new Red Hat Linux servers. The users who will connect to these servers are using either Windows 98, Windows XP, or Mac OS 9.1. What file systems are compatible in this network?

I have figured out that ext3 should work for Windows, but I don't know if it will work for 9.1. I also can't find anything in the text on whether or not any of the other file systems will work with Mac.

Can anyone help?

Thanks

[mart_man00]

I have figured out that ext3 should work for Windows,
Since when?

I know there is a app out there that gives you a Explorer app but theres a real 'driver' now?

Windows is the hard part here, keep it happy. Fat or NTFS. NTFS is buggy(supposedly under linux) so im guessing your only choice is vfat(fat32).

[bwkaz]

Originally posted by free1776
the client in question has 18 windows 2000 servers, and plan on implementing 5 new Red Hat Linux servers. The users who will connect to these servers are using either Windows 98, Windows XP, or Mac OS 9.1. Samba (the program that lets your Linux box share files on a local-area network, in a manner that Windows can understand) can read any filesystem that your kernel can read.

Therefore, it doesn't matter (much) what you use on the Red Hat servers -- Samba, which is running on those servers, will be able to read it, which means that other machines connecting to those servers will be able to see the files (through Samba).

The only one I'm not so sure of is Mac OS 9.1; I don't know if it has an SMB client (SMB is the Windows file-sharing protocol that Samba implements). But I'd hope so.

If you are not dual-booting the servers (and I would hope you are not!), then you don't need any Windows filesystems on them anyway. Which is good, because vfat loses data easily, and the Linux ntfs driver isn't stable...

[adikgede]

Perhaps I missed something but do these computers need compatable file systems to read a disc directly, or are they accessing the other computers over the network?

If they are accessing the computers over a network connection then the Linux box would run Samba for the connecting to the windows network and run Netatalk to connect to the appletalk network. There may be 3rd party solution to enable SMB access on the Macs, Appletalk on Windows and NFS on both windows and macs. NFS, SMB (Samba) and appletalk (netatalk) are all ready available for the Linux box, but netatalk will not be installed by default.

If you want every one to rally around SMB/CIFS then the Mac OS 9.1 clients will need something like DAVE, or DoubleTalk. DAVE is if I recall the best for the task. SMB/CIFS is part of OS X 10.2 so an upgrade to the OS could be another option.

you might mouse around here : http://www.macwindows.com/

[free1776]

sorry, I was wrong on the ext3 oops