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<chapter id="intro">
  <title>Introduction</title>

  <sect1>
    <title>Legal Notice</title>

    <para>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 <ulink
    url="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.txt">http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.txt</ulink></para>
  </sect1>

  <sect1>
    <title>Overview of Netatalk</title>

    <para>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.</para>

    <para>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.</para>

    <para>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.</para>

    <para>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.</para>

    <para>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.</para>
  </sect1>
</chapter>
