Specifications

Chapter 2 Setting Up Share Points 31
Note: Unified locking across AFP, SMB/CIFS, and NFS protocols lets users working on
multiple platforms simultaneously share files without worrying about file corruption.
In some cases you might want to share an item using more than one protocol. For
example, Mac OS and Windows users might want to share graphics or word processing
files that can be used on either file protocol. In a case such as this, you can create a
single share point that supports both platforms.
Conversely, you might want to set up share points using a single protocol even though
you have different kinds of clients.
If most of your clients are UNIX users and just a few are Mac OS clients, you may want
to share items using only NFS to keep your setup simple. Keep in mind, however, that
NFS doesn’t provide many AFP features that Mac OS users are accustomed to, such as
performance optimization or quick file searching.
Also, if you share applications or documents that are exclusively for Windows users, you
can set up an SMB/CIFS share point to be used only by them. This provides a single
point of access for your Windows users and lets them take advantage of both
opportunistic and strict file locking. For more information about file locking, see the
chapter on administering Windows users, groups, computers, and share points in the
Windows services administration guide.
Note: If you enable both AFP and Windows services on your server, Mac OS clients can
connect to the server over AFP or SMB/CIFS. Windows users will need to use third-party
AFP client software to connect to your server over AFP.
Shared Information Organization
Once you have created share points, users will start to form “mental maps” of the
organization of the share points and the items they contain. Changing share points and
moving information around can cause confusion. If you can, organize shared
information before you set up the share points. This is especially important if you’re
setting up network home directories.
Security
Review the issues discussed in “Security Considerations” on page 27.
Network Home Directories
If you’re setting up a share point on your server to store user home directories, keep
these points in mind:
• The share point /Users is set up by default to be used for storing home directories
when you install Mac OS X Server. You can use this preconfigured share point for user
home directories or create a new one on any local volume.
• The Network Mount settings for the share point should indicate that it’s used for user
home directories.