Apple Mac OS X Server (Administrator’s Guide) - Manual (Page 50)

50 Chapter 1
NFS does not support name/password authentication. It relies on client IP addresses to
authenticate users and on client enforcement of privileges—not a secure approach in most
networks. Therefore use NFS only if you are on a local area network (LAN) with trusted client
computers or if you are in an environment that can’t use Apple file sharing or Windows file
sharing. If you have Internet access and plan to export to World, your server should be
behind a firewall.
See “Network File System (NFS) Service” on page 256 for more information about NFS.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
FTP allows computers to transfer files over the Internet. Clients using any operating system
that supports FTP can connect to your FTP file server and download files, depending on the
permissions you set. Most Internet browsers and a number of freeware applications can be
used to access your FTP server.
FTP service in Mac OS X Server supports Kerberos v5 authentication and, for most FTP
clients, resuming of interrupted FTP file transfers. Mac OS X Server also supports dynamic
file conversion, allowing users to request compressed or decompressed versions of
information on the server.
FTP is considered to be an insecure protocol, since user names and passwords are
distributed across the Internet in clear text. Because of the security issues associated with
FTP authentication, most FTP servers are used as Internet file distribution servers for
anonymous FTP users.
Mac OS X Server supports anonymous FTP and by default prevents anonymous FTP users
from deleting files, renaming files, overwriting files, and changing file permissions. Explicit
action must be taken by the server administrator to allow uploads from anonymous FTP
users, and then only into a specific share point.
See “File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Service” on page 244 for details about FTP.
Print Service
Print service in Mac OS X Server lets you share network and direct-connect printers among
clients on your network. Print service also includes support for managing print queues,
monitoring print jobs, logging, and using print quotas.
Print service lets you
m share printers with Mac OS 9 (PAP, LaserWriter 8), Mac OS X (IPP, LPR/LPD), Windows
(SMB/CIFS), and UNIX (LPR/LPD) clients
m share direct-connect USB printers with Mac OS X version 10.2 and later clients
m connect to network printers using AppleTalk, LPR, and IPP and connect to direct-connect
printers using USB
m make printers visible using Open Directory directory domains