Yes, the German system house Helios Software GmbH has a file server product
named EtherShare.
EtherShare implements an AFP fileserver and PAP printserver on UNIX
machines in Ethernet. It supports the well-known AppleTalk and the
enhanced AppleTalk Phase 2. You decide during the boot process what
AppleTalk version to use. It is also capable of routing AppleTalk packets
between several Ethernets, when the UNIX machine has more than one Ethernet
interface. EtherShare is installed with very few UNIX commands. This means
you can do server administration totally from a Macintosh in the typical
Macintosh style.
Currently Supported UNIX Machines
---------------------------------
- Sun 3/xx, Sun 4/xx, and Sun 386i under Sun OS 4.0 or higher
- Sony NEWS 1500, 1700, 1800, and 1900 (as of September, 1989, AppleTalk
Phase 2, because NEWS's Ethernet driver does not support the IEEE
standard for MultiCast).
AFP Functionality
-----------------
EtherShare fileserver can be used by all AppleTalk clients without any
changes in the client AppleShare software. These clients include
Macintosh, Apple IIGS, and MS-DOS PCs. It also supports all security and
locking mechanisms, like scrambling of passwords, volume password, MS-DOS
short names, drop folders, and so on. EtherShare can be used by up two 200
users simultaneously, depending on the server machine. AppleShare clients
can access UNIX files if allowed by the administrator. Likewise, UNIX
applications can access files stored by AppleShare clients.
PAP Functionality
-----------------
EtherShare implements a PAP printserver in AppleTalk with as many print
queues as you want. You can print to PostScript printers (which are
directly, asynchronously attached to the UNIX machine) or to other
networked PAP print services in the AppleTalk Internet. EtherShare also
lets UNIX applications print to PAP printers, like networked LaserWriters.
Installation and Administration
-------------------------------
It takes very few UNIX commands to install EtherShare. The administration
of AFP and PAP servers is done from any Macintosh in the AppleTalk
Internet, in a manner similar to Apple's AppleShare admin program.
However, you can administer several EtherShare fileservers simultaneously
and easily exchange users, user groups, and their privileges between
different EtherShare servers.
EtherShare APIs
---------------
Helios provides a full set of programming interfaces. For example, you can
write UNIX applications which respect the AFP-locking.
For more details, search the Tech Info Library under "Helios Software."