Subject: connection to server
From: John Arends (jarends@mac.com)
Date: Sat Apr 14 2001 - 14:47:25 EDT
I'm considering using a netatalk server in a school with 3rd through 5th
graders. Right now we have one big novell server that handles library stuff
which is all PC, and also has the student files. (all student machines are
macs) It isn't working well.
I'd like to put up a netatalk server for student files, but I have some
issues with how students will connect to it. We don't want them using the
chooser, so we have resorted to desktop aliases so far.
I have 2 possible solutions, but neither works ideally.
#1 A setup like we have now. I create a netatalk volume for /home/ and it
has all the users folders in it. The click on their folder and save into it.
This is what we have now. Novell's permissions allow folders that the
students don't have access to to be invisible. When they open the users
folder, the only folder they see in it is their own. With netatalk, folders
the kids don't have access to just have the icons showing they can't open
them. With close to 500 users this isn't acceptable to have that many
folders visible. it will be too slow. Does anyone know a way to make the
other users' folders invisible?
#2 share the users' home directory(~). This will be similar to apple's idisk
where an icon shows up on the desktop with the username and all the files
will be in it. The problem with this approach is that I can't use an alias
to connect to the server since every user's volume has a different name. I
don't want the kids messing with the chooser. Does anyone know of an
application or an applescript or something that will allow you to connect to
a server and gets its list of volumes?
One way I could solve #2 is to name the home directory "Home" rather than
the username. The problem with this however is that people will not be able
to tell who is logged in since it will always be called home. Therefore I
definitely do not want to do this.
Comments anyone? I'd be really interested how other people have this set up.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b28 : Sun Oct 14 2001 - 03:04:36 EDT