[Web4lib] Mac and wireless authentication + pay for print

[John Creech]

We are, as usual, years behind probably every other academic library in
the U.S. and I humble myself before you all with two critical questions
for my organization.  In the next few months our library needs to plan
for and implement, in cooperation with our campus computer center (CWU
ITS) the following:  a) Mac logins for dozens of Macs we have in the
building, b) pay for print, and c) the ability to authenticate wireless
Mac and pc laptops to the campus networks and have them play nicely. 
Right now students check out laptops, authenticate to the wireless
network, but don*t normally authenticate via Novell to the network. 
They simply dump their data onto flash pens and move on.

We are a Novell campus and transitioning to Netware 10.  Our library is
the only entity on campus outside of CWU ITS that has its own Novell
subnet server that resides here in our building.  We manage accounts for
our library staff and faculty and for generic public logins.  ITS
handles all student accounts on servers in the computer center.  My
staff manage Novell and about 250 desktops including about 55 Mac and
Windows laptops.  We manage the OS and apps for windows and Macs and we
broadcast prebuilt images across our network to all Windows machines. 
We in the library have been pushing for a Novell/LDAP solution for Mac
logins for years, and as well for a pay for print config.  Any Buffalo
Springfield fans will know what I mean--we've asked for years and we get
"Forty Nine Reasons" why it can't happen right now.  With the Washington
state budget in such dire straits, our campus ITS has lost positions
like everywhere else.  But that*s apparently about to change, finally.

Our new dean has taken this up the food chain and focused our campus
admin on printer paper issues to the point that CWU ITS is looking at
pay for print solutions to begin next fall.  Of course everyone in ITS
knows that the 100s of Macs scattered across our campus, as well as all
laptops, will have to authenticate to do so.  We don*t yet know what pay
for print product CWU ITS is intending to implement but have been asked
to be part of the pilot in the next few weeks/months.   I'd like to get
enough info to give to my dean so that we can meet w/ ITS and give them
"possible futures," if you will, of how this can shake out.  We want to
be proactive and contribute rather than being reactive once a situation
is in place.

We've had all dedicated pc's on fixed ethernet logging in via LDAP for
years.  But for all campus Macs, including the library, the user simply
gets an auto login with a default user account.  And it is the same with
our wireless laptops.

For those of you who have been down this road, can you share with me
anything at all about how you*ve implemented these processes, apps,
authentication protocols, etc.?  Since everyone on the planet but us has
already done this, when I try to find web-based info I get the wonderful
guides that academic libraries have put out to help their users when
they bring in laptops, but I*m not finding white papers, *how we did it
good* documents, etc. that say this is how our library in collaboration
with our campus computing instituted Mac logins to a Novell network.  
And how we authenticate laptops for pay for print.  I've probably missed
easy solutions already written up.  Thank you all for ANY help or
direction.  Sorry for the long post.





John Creech
Systems Librarian
Brooks Library, Central Washington University
400 E. University Way
Ellensburg, WA 98926
office - 509.963.1081