# Introduction to Netatalk

Netatalk is an Open Source software package that can be used to turn a *NIX machine into an extremely high-performance and reliable file server for Macintosh computers.

Using Netatalk's AFP 3.4 compliant file-server leads to significantly higher transmission speeds for older Macs compared to Samba/NFS, while providing clients with the best possible user experience: full support for Macintosh metadata, flawlessly supporting mixed environments of classic Mac OS and OS X clients.