Faculty, staff and cluster desktop computers are configured for remote user home directories and centralized maintenance. This is true for both Macintosh (MacAthena) and Windows (WinAthena) computers.
How MacAthena/WinAthena Works
Macs, PCs and Athena workstations all authenticate against the KDC (Kerberos Key Distribution Center). It is for this reason you must enter your Kerberos ID and Password to gain access to the computer. Once authenticated, WinAthena AD (for Windows) and ldap.mit.edu (for Macintosh) authorize you to connect to file services over AFS (Andrew File System) and DFS (Windows only).
If using WinAthena, your home (H: drive) is mapped to your personal directory on DFS. If using MacAthena, your home directory is mapped to your personal directory on AFS.
Why don't they both map to the same network drive? AFS cannot reliably serve as home directory storage for Windows (Windows doesn't much like playing with anything that Microsoft can't sell you (AFS is open source software)). The Windows management team at MIT refuse to make DFS available to Macintosh users.
Please note that only files stored on AFS are available to to all platforms from all locations. Files stored on DFS are accessible from WinAthena cluster computers only. Files stored on DFS are not available from your personal computer.
• 2009-08-20 22:29:04 •
