In addition to hardware's importance in constructing a network, software plays a crucial role in the network's function. This section is not meant to cover network operating systems in depth, nor are the operating systems covered here the only systems available.
Many networks consist of a variety of different computers and operating sytems.
The task of a network operating system is to give all of these various components the tools they need to communicate directly with other hosts and resources on the network. AppleShare IP AppleShare IP 6.0 provides file, email, print, web and ftp services. AppleShare IP 6.0 supports file sharing for Windows 95 and Windows NT clients. AppleShare IP 6.0 supports plug-ins to permit customization of AppleShare's file, print and security capabilities. Lantastic 8.0 offers multi-level security for networked documents and resources.