October 12, 1999 - Osmosis Technical Note 10

Subject: Auto-Guest Control Panel and MacOS 9

Discussion:

Osmosis 3.2 includes the control panel, Auto-Guest. This control panel allows Osmosis to link to Helix, via Program Linking, without requiring a system’s administrator to respond to the User Authentication Dialog. In short, it enables unattended operation.

Mac OS 9 does not support Auto-Guest.

Solution:

In its place, Apple has provided a new technology called, “Keychain Access”. Keychains are an integral part of the Mac OS 9 System and do not require the installation of a separate extension or control panel. Keychains allow for the storage of passwords in a central location.

Using Keychains, system administrators can still provide unattended access to Helix (via AppleTalk or IP) using Program Linking.

To insure a link can be established without user interaction, the keychain on the ‘target machine’ (the one running Helix) must be unlocked and have a key created for Program Linking; and a key for the target machine must be created on the ‘source machine’ (the one running Osmosis).

Refer to Apple’s technical information regarding Keychains for more information.