Hi all, anybody had luck to network old Macs (with no TCP) into a Truenas Server? I activated AFP and set up a share, but networking works only via TCP and the server does not show up in the Chooser. Any ideas would be much appreciated :)

Little Update

I was digging into the topic a little deeper today and learned the following:

• Netatalk is the software that makes a Linux box act as an Apple File Server
• Apple File Services can run on TCP/IP or AppleTalk protocol, Apple stopped supporting AppleTalk at some point in time (~10 years ago?) and Netatalk dropped the support after version 2.2 (they are at v3.1 or so)
• So: If you want a Linux based Fileserver for old Macs which may not support TCP/IP (old system, want convenience with the server showing up in the Chooser app) you will need Netatalk in Version 2.2
• You will need to set up at least one of the servers as an AppleTalk router via atalkd.conf
• You need to be aware that anything going through WiFi (e.g. accessing the Server from Basilisk II on a WiFi connected modern Mac) will not route AppleTalk (you may use TCP/IP based AppleShare with those) unless the WiFi AP explicitly supports AppleTalk. And the emulation via Basilisk II might also already block the access (not sure about that though).

I installed the 2.2 branch of netatalk inside a Ubuntu VM on top of Truenas Scale running on a Dell R630. The server is connected via 10GB Ethernet to a UniFi Network.

And Success

The AppleShare server now shows up in the Chooser on these machines:

• Mac OS 9 (G3 Beige)
• System 7.5.5 (8100/80)
• System 7.5 (Mac IIci with BlueSCSI DaynaPort Emulation connecting to an AirPort Express)

Configuration inspiration coming from this post:

Thanks to the guys in this thread:

You may find the feature branch needed here:

If you have any questions, feel free to ask :)