# Introduction

## Legal Notice

The Netatalk software package as well as this documentation are distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2. A copy of the license is included in this documentation, as well as within the Netatalk source distribution. An on-line copy can be found at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.txt

## Overview of Netatalk

Netatalk is an Open Source software package that can be used to turn a *NIX machine into a performant and light-weight file server for Macintosh computers. It provides a TCP/IP as well as a traditional AppleTalk transport layer.

Using Netatalk's AFP 3.4 compliant file-server leads to noticeably higher transmission speeds for macOS clients compared to Samba/NFS, while providing users with the best possible Mac-like user experience. It can read and write Mac metadata - macOS extended file attributes as well as Classic Mac OS resource forks - facilitating mixed environments of new and old Macs.

Netatalk ships with range of capabilities to accommodate most deployment environments, including Kerberos, ACLs and LDAP. Modern macOS features such as Bonjour service discovery, Time Machine backups, and Spotlight indexed search are provided.

For AppleTalk networks with legacy Macs and Apple IIs, Netatalk provides a print server, time server, and Apple II NetBoot server. The print server is fully integrated with CUPS, allowing old Macs to discover and print to a modern CUPS/AirPrint compatible printer on the network.

Additionally, Netatalk can be configured as an AppleTalk router through its AppleTalk Network Management daemon, providing both segmentation and zone names in traditional Macintosh networks.