Netatalk - ArchWiki

# Netatalk

Netatalk is a free, open-source implementation of the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP). It allows Unix-like operating systems to serve as file servers for Macintosh computers.

## Installation

Netatalk v3 is availabe as netatalkAUR in the AUR.

The older version of netatalk, v2, is distributed as netatalk-ddpAUR and supports the Apple Macintosh network protocols, including AppleTalk (ATalk), Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), and Printer Access Protocol (PAP).

### Choosing Features

With the deprecation of DDP (and therefore ATalk, PAP, timelord, and a2boot), netatalk also dropped these features in netatalk>=3.0. The legacy 2.x branch with DDP support is still available in the AUR as netatalk-ddpAUR. DDP is only necessary to support Mac OS <= 9, but OS X <= 10.3 will also benefit from the integration of SLP since it does not fully support Bonjour/Zeroconf. DDP would network older Macs which ran on AppleTalk instead of TCP/IP, and timelord and a2boot were for time-synchronization and Apple II booting. PAP may still be necessary for users with LaserWriter printers without TCP/IP support.

- Install netatalkAUR if you only need the "modern" features cnid_metad and afpd, with Bonjour/Zeroconf support only.
- Install netatalk-ddpAUR to build the full complement of legacy features with SLP support.

## Configuration

Enable and/or start `netatalk.service` using systemd.

Besides the configuration files that are installed (and checked during upgrade), netatalk may generate two files `/etc/netatalk/afp_signature.conf` or `/var/state/netatalk/afp_signature.conf` which holds the system UUID, and `/etc/netatalk/afp_voluuid.conf` or `/var/state/netatalk/afp_voluuid.conf` which holds volume UUIDs for TimeMachine. These files may remain after package removal and should be kept in most cases to disambiguate the services broadcast over the local network.

### Netatalk

Note: Users moving from 2.x to 3.x should be aware that CNID data is no longer stored in `.AppleDB` directories alongside the hosted data, but in `/var/state/netatalk/CNID`. To upgrade a share, remove any `.AppleDB` directories and rebuild with `dbd -r <path>`.

Netatalk 3.x uses a single configuration file, `/etc/afp.conf`. See `man afp.conf` and the following example (make sure processes have write access to `afpd.log`):

    /etc/afp.conf

    [Global]
     mimic model = TimeCapsule6,106
     log level = default:warn
     log file = /var/log/afpd.log
     hosts allow = 192.168.1.0/16

    [Homes]
     basedir regex = /home

    [TimeMachine]
     path = /mnt/timemachine
     valid users = tmuser
     time machine = yes

    [Shared Media]
     path = /srv/share/media
     valid users = joe sam

Warning: Avoid using symbolic links in `afp.conf`

### Netatalk-ddp

#### System

Edit the afpd configuration file (`/etc/netatalk/afpd.conf`), and add a line similar to

    /etc/netatalk/afpd.conf

    ...
    - -mimicmodel TimeCapsule6,106 -setuplog "default log_warn /var/log/afpd.log"

This tells netatalk to use the system's hostname, mimic a TimeCapsule, and log warnings and errors to file.

#### Volumes

Edit the volumes configuration file `/etc/netatalk/AppleVolumes.default`, and append the following to add a TimeMachine-like share

    /etc/netatalk/AppleVolumes.default

    ...
    <path_to_share> <sharename> allow:<username> options:usedots,upriv,tm

- The `volsizelimit:<limit_in_whole_mebibytes>` argument can be useful here to limit the total space reported to TimeMachine.
- If you wish to turn off "home" shares, change the `~` line to `#~`.

Warning: Avoid nesting volumes, and do not share directories by any other protocol. All file changes must be made via afpd only

## IP Tables

If you use the iptables package for firewall services, consider adding the following: (replace `-I` with `-A` as necessary)

    Bonjour/Zeroconf

    iptables -I INPUT -p udp --dport mdns -d 224.0.0.251 -j ACCEPT
    iptables -I OUTPUT -p udp --dport mdns -d 224.0.0.251 -j ACCEPT

    AFP

    iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport afpovertcp -j ACCEPT

    SLP

    iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport slp -j ACCEPT
    iptables -I OUTPUT -p tcp --dport slp -j ACCEPT
    iptables -I INPUT -p udp --dport slp -j ACCEPT
    iptables -I OUTPUT -p udp --dport slp -j ACCEPT

    AppleTalk

    iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -m multiport --dport at-rtmp,at-nbp,at-echo,at-zis -j ACCEPT
    iptables -I OUTPUT -p tcp -m multiport --dport at-rtmp,at-nbp,at-echo,at-zis -j ACCEPT

## Enable Bonjour/Zeroconf

Bonjour/Zeroconf is now a requirement of netatalk and is compiled by default. No configuration is necessary, netatalk will register its own services using the dbus link. Make sure you set `-mimicmodel` to the desired string (see `/System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Info.plist` on a Mac for a full list).

You may need to enable and/or start `avahi-daemon.service` using systemd if it is not running yet.

Category:

- Networking