# howto network mac and linux



## gnubie (Mar 1, 2003)

Yahoooo!!!! 

I just got a new G4 Powerbook!

I want to network my mac notebook with linux as the server.  I was able to network the mac with the window$ box but unsuccessful with the linux one.  Anyone know how to do this?

I am using MAC OS X and Mandrake Linux 8.1 with a netgear 10/100 BaseT router.

Thanks all!


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## symphonix (Mar 2, 2003)

If you set the linux server to allow FTP access, then you can mount it as a drive on the mac by going "Go -> Connect to Server" and enter *ftp://hostaddress/*.

Once you've put in your password and so on, it will appear as a mounted drive. You can drag this into your favourites folder to have a shortcut to it.

You should also be able to connect using NFS (Network File System) though I'm not sure how this would be done. There is also SSH.


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## Phineas-Freak (Feb 15, 2007)

Hi Symphonix,

I've been searching for this option for a while and have tried FUSE & sshfs without success (I am a newbie to LINUX but consider myself a competent computer user, I just don't know the nitty-gritty yet!)

When I saw your suggestion I tried it and Bingo, it appeared to work. I logged onto  ubuntuto from the *Connect to Server* option in Finder using my ubuntu name and password and the folder appeared which I can read from; unfortunatley I cannot write to it (the folder on ubuntu) from my Mac. I own the folder on ubuntu and have 777'd it without success.

Do you have any suggestions?

Also, what's the signficance of the '*.*' after the slash = *ftp://hostaddress/.* ? When the Mac mounts it it is named '*.*' but it would be nice to have it display something meanigful.

If it's easier for you to reply to my email please do and I will then post your reply here.

Many thanks,


Regards,

Dave.


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## nixgeek (Feb 15, 2007)

FTP through the Mac OS X Finder is read-only.  You would need an FTP client like CyberDuck, Transmit, or Yummy FTP.


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## MisterMe (Feb 15, 2007)

Phineas-Freak said:


> Hi Symphonix,
> 
> I've been searching for this option for a while and have tried FUSE & sshfs without success (I am a newbie to LINUX but consider myself a competent computer user, I just don't know the nitty-gritty yet!)
> 
> ...


*symphonix*'s FTP suggestion is good only for read access. It is well-known that the Finder does not allow read/write access to FTP sites--only read access. Try connecting to the server using "nfs://hostaddress/," "smb://hostaddress/," or just "hostaddress/."


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## ora (Feb 15, 2007)

nixgeek said:


> FTP through the Mac OS X Finder is read-only.  You would need an FTP client like CyberDuck, Transmit, or Yummy FTP.



Of which CyberDuck has the advantage of being completely free!


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## nixgeek (Feb 15, 2007)

ora said:


> Of which CyberDuck has the advantage of being completely free!



Incidentally, CyberDuck is the one I use primarily.   But the other ones are good too if you don't mind paying for it.


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## Phineas-Freak (Feb 15, 2007)

Nice one! Thanks Guys for a quick solution!

Dave.


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## Yesurbius (Feb 16, 2007)

Sorry for my late reply.  I know that this was mentioned but here goes:

FTP: - setup an FTP server on the Linux box.  Make sure its configured properly with permissions et all.  As mentioned, through finder it will be read-only.  You can install a 3rd party app, or you can drop to the command line and use the ftp client there.

SAMBA: - most Linux distros have Samba installed.  Its not overly complicated to setup if it is not installed.  http://www.samba.org is where you want to get more information from.   Using Samba, you can setup windows shares, and then connect to them through Mac OS X.   And yes, you can make them read/write 

NFS: Although this isn't a popular option in most linux distros - you can get your hands dirty and setup an NFS server.  Basically setup your exports on the linux side, then mount them on the Mac OS X side.  NFS is quite efficient if configured properly.

X: One of the great things about Mac OS X is that you can run X    You can configure XDM on the Linux machine to accept remote connections.  Then you can connect to the Linux machine from your Mac OS, and get the Linux desktop .. gnome - whatever you want.  This is more than getting your hands dirty of course.

Other ways.   
* You can setup a kerberos realm on your Linux machine, and then do away with authentication when connecting from your mac box to your linux box ..  Its essentially a single-sign on system.
* You can set up a directory server using OpenLDAP, and then get your Mac OS X box to authenticate off of your Linux system.  You can even mix in kerberos, NFS, the works - When you login to your Mac, it'll authenticate off of your linux box's OpenLDAP, mount your home directory and other mount points via NFS, and populate your Dock with X11 Apps that execute remotely from your Linux box.  Oooh the fun 

Short answer is that you can do a lot of networking between Mac OS X and Unix like operating systems - they will integrate together very nicely --- depending on how much you want to delve into it


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## Phineas-Freak (Feb 16, 2007)

Wow!,

Thanks for that. I do like getting my hands dirty and will probably play with all your suggestions - I have already re-loaded ubunuto  several times due to hacking which resulted in a broken installation :-(

My first comments about LINUX are that I love it. It takes me back to my ealry command-line Apple ][ and DOS (Borland C Programming) days. windows (note the small 'w') environments are good for end users but to really get to grips with things you need to 'be in control' !!!


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## Yesurbius (Feb 16, 2007)

If you like getting your hands dirty and learning - dump linux.

You very rarely learn anything when using Linux, except on how to use that specific distribution's software.  If you want knowledge that will help you use any unix like os - such as Mac OS X - I'd get into something else.  You *COULD* get into Debian or Slackware - of all the Linux distros, they are probably the least contaminated.

I use OpenBSD personally. Its extremely powerful and versatile - delightfully secure - and isn't hacked up like every other distro out there.   FreeBSD is a nice blend between OpenBSD and Linux.  It has a lot of the lower-level functionality and 'Unix-ness', but it is compatible with an unbelievable amount of software packages.


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## EirÃ­kr (Mar 7, 2008)

I'm a bit late to the party, but for those of you interested, there's a way of setting up an NFS server on Linux, broadcast through Avahi (the Linux version of Bonjour / zeroconf), so your shares will show up automagically in your Finder's Network folder when they're available, but then disappear and not cause Spinning Beachball Hell&#8482; when they're not available.  Have a look here for the howto.  

Cheers,

Eiríkr

PS -- Yesurbius, I think there's a lot of Unixy goodness to learn from Linux, provided you mix and match and don't just get used to one distro.  Shopping around, you get to see what they all have in common - Unix-ness - and you also get to see how widely varied things can get and still work in similar ways under the hood.


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