Good Reasons to Choose EtherShare instead of “netatalk” (Open Source)

Vertriebspartner finden
HELIOS EtherShare and “netatalk” run on UNIX servers to provide AppleTalk file and print services for Mac clients. Though they have common objectives, they are significantly different products. “netatalk” is predominantly used in non-critical environments, whereas EtherShare is renowned for its reliability and scalability in mission-critical environments.
 
EtherShare and “netatalk” simply do not play in the same league. 

"netatalk":

  • No desktop tools to manage files on the server (restore, etc.)
  • No Mac-based administration (very hard to setup/maintain)
  • No advanced print spooling features (no management features, limited options)
  • Lack of performance for large volumes (Mac Find File will take hours)

EtherShare:

HELIOS EtherShare scales from small workgroup servers to the most powerful enterprise servers, for all major UNIX-based server platforms. It offers unbeatable ease of use with the latest Apple technologies supported in the EtherShare product.

Purchase costs (SRP):

Users

EtherShare

netatalk

5

1600 €

(free public domain)

20

3200 €

(free public domain)

100

6000 €

(free public domain)

Yearly maintenance costs:

EtherShare: Software Upgrade Service including updates and upgrades is 500 Euro per year SRP, plus the installation by an authorized consultant/dealer (if required). Additional training and support options are offered by HELIOS partners. The HELIOS Update Installer can automatically download and install or undo all recommended software updates within seconds.
 
“netatalk”: Installation and maintenance is far more complex than EtherShare and can easily cost many consulting days by an external or an in-house software/network engineer. In the case of a software failure, software design-based problems, or network problems, a solution may not be readily available.
 
Customers using HELIOS products know that it will work for years with very low maintenance costs. Hiring full time employees customizing and supporting the “netatalk” public domain source code is very expensive and will result in much higher costs than purchasing and maintaining the HELIOS EtherShare product.
 
Please don't get us wrong, competition with public domain software is good because vendors are pushed to keep their advantage and stay competitive! In many cases public domain software gets integrated into commercial products. In the case of EtherShare compared with “netatalk”, they are not in the same league.