AppleShare will soon serve much more than its usual AppleTalk fare. Sources said a major overhaul in the works for the Mac-based file server will turn it into an Internet platform with OpenDoc-based administration.
The new version, code-named FutureShare and expected to ship this fall, will deliver many types of data via the Web's HTTP as well as SMTP, Point-to-Point Protocol 3 and FTP. According to sources, FutureShare will be able to deliver its core AFP onto TCP/IP networks. This change will allow non-Mac users access to Mac files and folders via FTP without special client software.
In general, FutureShare will function over both AppleTalk and TCP/IP and will be optimized for the Mac OS' new networking architecture, Open Transport. Sources said the server software will be fully Power Mac-native and have a new caching architecture.
The new server reportedly will feature an administration interface built in OpenDoc. Called OpenAdmin, the new server-management console will provide components for configuring and maintaining FutureShare. Third-party developers will be able to add components to OpenAdmin and replace its built-in functions with their own OpenDoc parts.
Sources said OpenAdmin will provide many of the features found in the Apple Network Administration Toolkit, which was due to ship in June. OpenAdmin was originally scheduled for a later version of AppleShare but has progressed to the point that it will likely arrive with the FutureShare release.
While final testing has not been done, sources said FutureShare should be significantly faster than the current AppleShare, thanks to the use of TCP/IP for file service.
"What will really give it a boost is when the Mac file system becomes native in Copland," one source said.
Apple has not settled on pricing for FutureShare or decided whether to keep the AppleShare name.
AppleShare is sold only with Apple Workgroup Server hardware. Apple also includes Quarterdeck Corp.'s WebStar server with Workgroup Server machines in the Apple Internet Server Solution. Sources speculated that FutureShare, with its new Internet capabilities, could bump WebStar out of its premier position in the Apple bundle. Quarterdeck of Marina Del Rey, Calif., could not be reached for comment.
