Sharing resources on the 'multi-system' network

Up to now, Windows is still an operating system (OS) that is easy to use and install but not so other operating systems such as OS X (running on Macintosh) or Linux fall into a situation where there is no land to use martial arts. . Each operating system has its own advantages and specific uses.

If OS X is known for its stability, safety, intuitive interface, ease of use and exceptionally strong graphics, Linux attracts users thanks to the advantages of open source operating systems that are less expensive than copyright fees. , highly customizable, rich software.

However, sharing data files, printers, Internet connections and many other resources between computers running Windows, OS X and Linux is a headache for network administrators and users alike. often. Hopefully, the tips presented in this article will help you solve this problem.

First of all, update the latest version of the operating system for all computers. Previously used OS X Macs (from version 10.2 and earlier) allow users to access Windows files and printers, but need to set up some additional settings. Fixing this phenomenon, new OS X versions have switched to using Windows Server Message Block (SMB) protocol to make it easier to connect and share resources with non-Macintosh computers, though still available. some small errors.

Similar to OS X, Linux supports data sharing with Windows via SMB protocol. There are currently several Linux versions with different interfaces, but this article only covers the latest SuSE Linux version 9.3 with KDE 3.4 graphics environment. This can be seen as the easiest and most configurable Linux version.

INSTALL SHARE

Windows: In Windows Service Pack 2, the ability to share files and printers is disabled but re-enabling them can be done easily.Right-click the My Network Places icon, select Properties.In the Network Connections screen, right-click the network connection icon to share resources and select Properties.Check the File and Printer Sharing option for Microsoft Networks, and then click OK (Figure 1).

Sharing resources on the 'multi-system' network Picture 1 Figure 1: Declaring a shared folder on a Windows XP computer.

To share a folder (file and subdirectory) with another computer on the network, right-click the folder in the Windows Explorer window or any folder window, select Sharing and Security.Sharing, Check Share this folder option on the network.If you want to allow others to delete or edit shared files on your computer, check the Allow network users option to change my files, click OK.To allow other computers on the network to share a printer, select Start, Printers and Faxes, right-click the printer icon you want to share and select Sharing.Next, select Share this printer, enter the printer name into the Share name dialog box (should name the printer no more than 8 characters and no spaces).Finally click OK.

Macintosh: To share Mac files and printers with other computers in the network, open the Sharing section in the System Preferences window, select the Services feature, put a "reminiscent" name for the computer to the Computer section. Name and tick Windows Sharing.Also, if you only want to share the Public folder with other Macintosh computers, choose Personal File Sharing.If you want to specify the printer to share, open the Print & Fax section in System Preferences, check the Share these printers with other computers option, and then select the required printer.

Sharing resources on the 'multi-system' network Picture 2 Figure 2: Find the shared folder of the Windows XP computer from the Macintosh .

OS X's default file-sharing security mode is designed to be "stricter" than Windows XP.When you want to access a shared folder or printer, the user must declare the login name and password. of a user account on the computer running OS X. So, if you are accessing the resources of a Mac from another computer using another operating system, you need to register a new login account on the computer. Mac, but if you have already created a shared folder, you need to protect your own account by creating a new Mac account (click Accounts in System Preferences). To enable Windows Sharing for a specific account , open the Sharing section in System Preferences, select Accounts and then mark which accounts are allowed to access shared resources, enter the passwordu, click OK and Done to finish.Note, when upgrading the operating system from the old version to OS X 10.4, you must re-declare the shared password in the Account section to continue using the feature. Windows Sharing.

Linux: To share files and printers in a SuSE 9.3 Linux operating system, you need to use the YAST utility. Simply launch the utility, enter the root password if required, select Network Services in the left pane and then select Samba Server. YAST utility will read and display the list of shared shared resources (printers, folders) in the configuration file on the machine along with their current status (allow or not allow access) . To change this status, click on the Start Up tab, select On-Start Service when Booting and click Finish. Restart the machine so that these settings become available.

CONNECTING CONNECT

Windows: To connect to shared folders and printers from Windows XP, open the My Network Places icon.The main window that appears will display all the icons of any shared file you have ever accessed (or nothing if it's the first time using this feature).To see all shared resources (folders, printers) on the network, on each different computer, click View workgroup computers and select a computer icon on the network.Once you see the shared folders, you can manipulate them as you are on your personal computer.If you don't see any computers, don't worry and refer to "Troubleshooting common problems".

Sharing resources on the 'multi-system' network Picture 3 Figure 3: Enter the printer address running on the Windows XP computer on the Print & Fax window in OS X.

Similarly, connecting to a shared printer can be done very simply.Select Start.Settings.Printers and Faxes and click on the Add a Printer tab (located in the left pane of the screen) and Next to open the Add Printer Wizard.On the Local or Network Priner page, select A network printer or printer attached to another computer, then click Next twice.Perform a search for shared printers on the network, select the printer to use, then click Next and take the remaining steps to complete the installation.

Macintosh: To access a shared folder of a computer running Windows on the network, select Go.Network in the Finder section. Among the icons displayed in the Finder window will be an icon with the same name as the workgroup in Windows. Double-click this icon for a list of shared computers on the network. Similar to Windows, double-click a computer's icon to view shared folders on that computer. At this point, OS X will ask you to enter a password to access the shared computer, even if it is not required for a password, just click OK. Next, from the drop down list, select the destination share folder (OS X does this based on the SMB / CIFS protocol) and click OK. The shared folder will appear as a link in the left pane of the Finder window (Figure 2).

Accessing a Windows printer from a Mac requires some installation. You must perform a search and reconfigure so that OS X can use a shared Windows printer. In fact, connections often fail due to printer address malfunction. To fix this, select Applications.Utilities.Printer Setup Utility, click on the disconnected printer icon and select Show Info. Then re-enter the correct address of the printer.
In addition, there is another way to connect to a shared printer on Windows from a Mac.In the System Preferences window, double-click the Print & Fax icon in the Hardware section.Next, click on the icon (+) to find the printer and press when you click the More Printer button in case you do not see the printer to search.Then, select Advanced from the drop-down list at the top of the next dialog box and select Windows Printer via SAMBA from the list that appears below.Put a "remember" name for the printer in the Device Name dialog box and fill in the Device URI address field with the content smb: // user @ workgroup / server / printer.In it, the user is the login account name, the workgroup is the workgroup name of the computer with the shared printer, the server is the shared computer name the printer and the printer is the printer to share (Figure 3).Select the printer manufacturer in the Printer Model drop-down list and the printer name in the list that appears then and finally click Add.Linux: To see the shared folders of the Windows-based computer from the computer Linux SuSE 9.3, open the Network Browsing icon on the screen (similar to My Network Places in Windows) and select the SMB Shares icon in the Konqueror file management tool window (similar to Windows Explorer).Soon, you can see the icons of all Windows workgroups on the network.Double-click the icon corresponding to a computer to see the shared folders on that computer.

Sharing resources on the 'multi-system' network Picture 4 Figure 4: Connecting a Linux system to Macintosh requires manually entering the required information.

However, accessing common folders on a computer running OS X from a computer running Linux is not easy because you have to manually enter the computer name, connection name, etc. Run the Network Browsing link (or Select Go. Network Folders in the Konqueror utility), click Add a Network Folder, select Microsoft Windows network drive, and then click Next.Enter a "reminiscent" name for the shared connection in the Name section, the name of the Macintosh computer with the shared folder in the Server section, the name of the shared folder of the Mac in the Folder section (Figure 4).Next, click Save & Connect and the operating system will ask for the username and password declared on the Mac.The operating system then creates a link to the folder in the Network Browsing folder.

Connecting to a shared printer on Mac from Linux is easier because these two operating systems use the Common Unix Printing System protocol. Shared printers on the Mac in the network are displayed right in the list of available printers when you are printing in applications running on the Linux operating system.

Le Thu
PC World USA 12/2005