Chapter 22. File-Sharing Services

In This Chapter

  • Introduction to file-sharing services

  • Planning file services

  • File service setup and configuration

  • Managing and monitoring file services

One of the primary features of Snow Leopard Server relates to file sharing, which is the simple act of making elements on the server available to network users.

In addition to conventional file-sharing protocols used both to serve documents and to host features, such as home directories, there are also a variety of other advanced network services based on specialized file sharing, some of which are discussed in other chapters.

The primary file-sharing protocols supported in Snow Leopard Server for sharing documents among users and groups are:

  • Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) is targeted to Macs.

  • Server Message Block (SMB) is used to support Windows.

  • Network File System (NFS) is common in Unix environments.

  • File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard Internet file service.

Web services are also a form of file sharing that employs HTTP as its file-sharing mechanism.

The WebDAV protocol expands on the basic web server to additionally allow users to edit and create new documents within a web share.

A variety of other specialized, advanced services in Snow Leopard Server are also based on HTTP and WebDAV file sharing, including wikis, blogs, webmail, iCal Server, and the new Address Book Server, but this chapter focuses on document file sharing.

Note

For more on using web services in general, see Chapter 24. For more on wikis, ...

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