Solution Series/Application Notes
What is the best OAI CD Server Solution for this environment?
UNICOM/MicroAge East Bridgewater High School, MA
Apple Education Reseller
Server System Clients
DEC Alpha running Linux RedHat 5.1 MAC and Windows95 PC’s
Correct Solution: Netserve/CD for MAC and Windows Clients
Advantages of Network Attached CD Server in UNIX server environment with MAC and
Windows95 clients.
• Least amount of MIS involvement and end-users can handle their own CD’s day to day.
• Multi-protocol and thin server approach means no client/server licensing costs ( if choosing
Linux variant of UNIX, both licensing and support costs are issue)
• CD titles can be added/deleted/changed without bringing down production NOS (Network
Operating System) server (s). Disruption due to change is minimized.
• Plug and Play implementation just need a Ethernet port on Network
• Expandability and Flexibility…just expand chassis and add more CD drives, again without
downing any NOS host servers.
• CD server can be located near users/departments while network operating system server
can be kept secure.
The single biggest advantage of the Netserve/CD for MAC and Windows Clients
is that it relieves the network/system administrator from the day to day issues of managing yet
another system device.
Why manage a high performance CD sharing device when it’s read-only media that requires no
group/user security?
The network attached CD Server is an administrators dream come true. It is truly the lowest
maintenance device on the network, requiring far less support time from MIS compared to print
servers and network printers.
Eliminating the tedious task of loading/mounting/sharing CD’s over the network is one task most
network administrators willingly have given up with the introduction of multi-protocol, multi-client
network attached CD servers that don’t have to be kept in the computer/server room.
Be smart move those CD Server towers out among the users and let them be self-sufficient.
Now read on…it doesn’t get any easier than this and the network manager has several easy to
implement options.
Easy Implementation Option #1
Netserve/CD for MAC and Windows Clients…as a Workgroup Server
Let your MAC and Windows95 users work the way they are used to.
For MAC clients they will simply access the CD titles via Chooser just like they are accessing a
Appleshare Server.
Windows95 PC users will see the Netserve/CD for MAC/Windows Clients as a workgroup server
in Network Neighorhood. Or they can simply use the Find Computer Command once they know
the computer name.
Easy Implementation Option #2

Netserve/CD for MAC and Windows Clients as a INTRANET WEB SERVER
Virtually all MAC and Windows95 users know how to use browsers like Microsoft Internet
Explorer or NetScape Navigator/Messenger. Browser users can access any HTML enabled
reference CD’s by simply typing in the IP address to the Netserve/CD Server for MAC and
Windows Clients…and then saving the address under their Favorites button.
Making your networked CD titles available via HTTP is an excellent way of maintaining
consistency for both MAC and Windows95 users while minimizing end user support questions to
MIS and network support by giving them a common way to access CD titles via Browsers and an
Intranet Web Server.
Easy Implementation Option #3
Supporting Linux/Unix Clients via NFS (Network File System) Mounts
Sharing CD’s to Linux/Unix client PC/Workstations would simply be a matter of mounting the
CD’s as NFS volumes off the DEC Alpha Linux Server. The only caveat here would be whether
the CD titles are truly compatible with NFS under ISO standards or are MAC and Windows
specific. In other words this is really a CD media support issue that could/would depend on what
the publisher supports.
In this case, since the existing clients are all MAC and Windows95 clients, typically the only
reason MIS would set up NFS mounts under Linux would be if they had or would be adding Linux
or Unix workstations that needed to access PC or MAC server resources.
Prepared by OAI System Engineer, Richard Hird, hird@oai.com
(781) 937-3910 or (800) 433-5133 ext. 1230