November 18, 2006
Checkpoint VPN Client available for Mac OS X 10.4.7+
The Check Point VPN client for Mac OS X 10.4(7 or greater) is now available. It can be downloaded from the http://www.asu.edu/security web site by clicking on the Software and Tools link. Documentation can also be found on the UTO security web site or by clicking here to download the PDF.
Questions about the ASU UTO implementation of the Checkpoint Macintosh VPN client for Mac OS X 10.4.7+ can be directed to the IT Help Desk at (480) 965-6500.
Posted by tsokol at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)
June 08, 2006
ASU AppleTalk Decommission Update
The following information was provided by Denise Hutchinson:
In case there are folks that haven't heard the news from their UNCEL representative, the University Technology Office (UTO) is planning on decommissioning the routing of the AppleTalk protocol at ASU on July 1st, 2006. The plans, support and impacts of this project were presented at the last UNCEL meeting held on May 17th. For your reference, the text of this document is included at the bottom of this note.
What does this mean to Macintosh users at ASU? This doesn't mean that Macintoshes won't work at ASU. Newer Macintoshes and newer Macintosh services no longer use the AppleTalk protocol for file services or printing; they use TCP/IP and have for many years. Macintoshes running anything newer than Mac OS 8.1 will function as they always have. Macintosh services running on servers such as W2K or greater, Mac OS X, AppleShare IP and Novell 6 or greater will continue to function without issue.
What does it break? Macintosh clients using Mac OS 7.5 or earlier will lose their ability to communicate beyond the building they are housed in as they can only use the AppleTalk protocol. Macintosh services provided by NT or AppleShare 4 or older won't publish beyond their own building but will continue to function internally to the building. Old printers solely using AppleTalk, won't be accessible to others outside of the building, but again, will continue to function for the Macintoshes internal to each building.
To generalize, after AppleTalk routing is disabled, older services based on AppleTalk for client, server or printer usage, are still in business but only internally to the building they are housed in. Newer services such as Mac OS X or W2K will not be impacted and will continue to have the same cross building access.
If you have specific devices or services that you are unsure of it's AppleTalk requirements, please contact your department tech support and/or UTO representative to help you determine and/or resolve any issues that may arise with this change.
Below is the information shared with UNCEL by UTO's Data Comm division.
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End of Support for Appletalk on the ASU Network
The University Technology Office plans to discontinue support for the Appletalk routing protocol on ASU network routers as of July 1, 2006
Rationale: It is costing ASU several thousand dollars per year for special network routing software and flash memory on ASU’s core network routers to support Appletalk on the ASU network. Alternatives have been available for several years which allow Apple networks to function using the IP protocol. UTO will assist any remaining Appletalk users in the ASU community with preparing for the elimination of Appletalk Support.
Issues:
- The router operating system software (IOS) necessary to support Appletalk costs $10,000 per router. The IOS necessary to support IP only comes standard on the router (zero cost).
- There are no dynamic tools available to monitor and decode Appletalk packets in order to identify AppleTalk security violations.
- The size of the current Cisco IOS which includes support for AppleTalk has outgrown the hardware flash currently available on ASU network routers. Eliminating Appletalk support will preclude the need for the purchase of several hundred dollars worth of flash cards to accommodate the size of the IOS.
- Booting from flash cards increases the exposure of failure during router reloads.
- Proficiency and documentation necessary to troubleshoot and route this legacy protocol are scarce. Appletalk routing courses are no longer available.
Considerations:
- AppleShare servers older than version 5.x require AppleTalk to publish services. Therefore, any AppleShare servers older than version 5.x will require upgrade
- NT servers providing Macintosh Services require AppleTalk to publish Macintosh accessible shares. Therefore, an alternative to this method of publishing Macintosh accessible shares must be determined
- Novell servers older than version 5.x (maybe 4.x) providing Macintosh Services require AppleTalk to publish Macintosh accessible shares. Therefore, any Novell servers older than version 5.x must be upgraded
- Macintosh clients back as far as Mac OS 7.6 (with a retrofitted AppleShare client 3.8.3) will be able to function in an IP only world
- Macintosh clients back as far as Mac OS 8.1 will function in an IP only world out of the box
- The Macintosh to AFS file translators provided by UTO currently require AppleTalk. Therefore, if these translators are to be kept beyond AppleTalk decommissioning, they will have to be upgraded to remain functional.
Posted by tsokol at 09:02 PM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2005
Accessing ASUMac Warehouse
It seems that Mozilla based browsers including Mozilla, Firefox and Netscape do not know what to do with afp:// links like the one we are using above to mount the ASUMac Warehouse server volume. Safari and Internet Explorer both handle these links without issue.
For those of you who are using Mozilla browsers, you will need to "Connect to Server", enter asumac.asu.edu/asumacwarehouse and login as "Guest".
For those who are not familiar, we have placed a variety of applications on this network volume for convenient downloading by ASU Mac users. If you think we are missing something, please let us know.
We will address this issue in the near future by turning the webDAV service on which should allow Mozilla browsers to mount the volume.
Posted by snelson at 09:22 PM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2005
Check Point VPN for the Mac is now available!
The Check Point VPN client for the Macintosh is now available. The installation document and software is required for installation. It can be downloaded from ASU IT Security web site by clicking on the Software and Tools link. Users can now access all the Check Point firewalls and the border VPN as the Windows client.
Questions about the Macintosh VPN client can be directed to the IT Help Desk or email sent to comm-q@asu.edu.
Posted by snelson at 07:35 PM | Comments (0)
January 03, 2005
ASU Computer Security information
Information Technology provides a wealth of infomation related to secure computing at ASU.
You will find some helpful information as well as software downloads for virus protection and OpenAFS.
Posted by snelson at 08:56 AM | Comments (0)
January 02, 2005
Official Macintosh support resources provided by ASU Information Technology
Looking for official Macintosh support resources at ASU?
This IT provided resource page is a good place to start.
Posted by snelson at 03:40 PM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2004
Setting Up Entourage to Work with ASU Exchange Servers
Need information for configuring Entourage to work with the ASU Exchange Servers? Look no further. Choose the approriate document for your version of Microsoft Entourage.
Thanks go to TJ Sokol for this documentation!
Posted by asumacauthor at 08:27 PM | Comments (0)
