What about a simple fileserver

2

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 60
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by TednDi

    I don't know if this has been mentioned before...



    An large apple hard drive that can be used as the central repository of all your digial files with integration into ilife. Keep all of your photos there or all of your music etc.



    Just a thought?




    Doesn't your computer have a hard drive built in?



    There are other threads on this, but how about an iPod with wifi built into it or the dock?
  • Reply 22 of 60
    beigeuserbeigeuser Posts: 371member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by TednDi

    an emac is too big. I live in NYC so space is at a premium.



    Which is why I included the iBook as a alternative. It's much quieter than the eMac too.





    Quote:

    Originally posted by TednDi

    or go out and buy a 3rd party product.



    I haven't seen a third party, consumer-priced server made specifically for the mac. If you get a Windows-based server, expect some incompatibilities. I have a Mac hooked up to a Windows network at my workplace. The connection is flaky at times. OTOH, the appleshare between the Macs are rock solid.





    If you really need a home server, spending a extra few hundred dollars for the ibook is probably better than a windows-based solution.
  • Reply 23 of 60
    rhumgodrhumgod Posts: 1,289member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BeigeUser

    If you really need a home server, spending a extra few hundred dollars for the ibook is probably better than a windows-based solution.



    Hell I have an iMac G3 in my home that does this perfectly. Over Airport. The "server" doesn't need a lot of horsepower, it is running over Airport Extreme, so we are talking 54Mbs theoretically, at best. Just cram a huge HD in the sucker and away you go; no muss no fuss.



    A laptop that sleeps a lot is not a good file server, and I wouldn't plug in a laptop 24/7 for use as a server. Good used Macs make nice servers.



    Heck, until a year or so ago, I used a PowerMac 8500 running OS X as a server.
  • Reply 24 of 60
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    Thanks Rhum,





    Ok ,yes, I have an 80gb hard drive built in to the Powerbook



    I travel. Yes, I have an ipod.



    I have a home network. Mixed at the moment. The windows units are headed out the door.



    Now. I am a prosumer digital photographer with a Large music collection.



    I want all of those files to sit on my at home harddrive/server I want to be able to log onto my network see my files download them and seamlessly synch new songs or photos that I have downloaded on my trip. I want my powerbook harddrive mostly empty or at least not filled with my other sensitive data.



    I don't want them on a computer. A simple <=== Simple fileserver. Space is at a premium something I can stick next to the router Don't even need it to be wireless. Plug it in. ethernet or whatever.



    worst case scenario my powerbook and Ipod get stolen. I cry then buy a new one and wait for the insurance to pay. I still have all of my data. I can buy a powerbook at compusa log onto any local network and get my data from my little (500gb) fileserver. i don't need quadruple redundancy. or anything too fancy. Apple is about simple.



    not just a big harddrive. a big harddrive with a small mac os interface and mac security and ease of use. Doesn't need to host a webpage or have more than 5 using it at any time. Just a secure way to warehouse all of my files in one place and be able to access them without creating multiple copies and subsequent space on harddrives. or multiple computers (unless they cluster and give me a good reason to do so)



    If it doesn't exist and it needs future OS's then let's talk about it. Perhaps Apple will listen
  • Reply 25 of 60
    rhumgodrhumgod Posts: 1,289member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by TednDi

    Now. I am a prosumer digital photographer with a Large music collection.



    I want all of those files to sit on my at home harddrive/server I want to be able to log onto my network see my files download them and seamlessly synch new songs or photos that I have downloaded on my trip. I want my powerbook harddrive mostly empty or at least not filled with my other sensitive data.



    worst case scenario my powerbook and Ipod get stolen. I cry then buy a new one and wait for the insurance to pay. I still have all of my data. I can buy a powerbook at compusa log onto any local network and get my data from my little (500gb) fileserver




    Ok, that's a little clearer. The iTunes/iPhoto options are easy, as the sharing is built into the apps. The synching is manual at the moment. I would create a Playlist (iTunes) or Album (iPhoto) for new files that you accumulate while on the road. Then, just upload those to your server when you are back at home. You currently can use Backup to do what you are asking, just specify a network drive (your server) as the location.



    Most of what you are asking is there, a portion is manual. iSync would be nice if it supported a personal server, but I think Apple realizes that could be a headache to try and support in an app.



    Besides, you should do a backup once in a while anyway.



    I've done this with the last 3 or 4 Macs I've had. Started doing it on a TiBook 400, then a PowerBook 17", now with my little ol' 12" PowerBook. Backup is a great tool.
  • Reply 26 of 60
    rhumgodrhumgod Posts: 1,289member
    As a side note, I have been tinkering with the idea of using this technology in a bar (go figure )



    Sharing music from a server over airport to the "jukebox" which is basically a touchscreen iTunes keyosk for nothing more than playing Tunes. Even connecting to the iTMS for anything the barfly wants. There are stumbling blocks with it, as for the payment option, but that is another story for another thread I suppose.
  • Reply 27 of 60
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    Ok rhum, now you are with me. but...backup to what?



    yes i can be dense.



    I don't want to use another mac. or a pc. I want those files accessable when on the road. and I want them at home not on apple's server.



    an appliance that can give me this is what I want.
  • Reply 28 of 60
    arnelarnel Posts: 103member
    I think the big advantage of a personal server over iTunes/iPhotos built in sharing functions would be the availability.



    To stream a tune from a user's iTunes library, their computer has to be switched on, they have to be logged in, and iTunes has to be running. If it were all on a central server, then all the tunes would always be available to anyone who might want to access it, regardless of whether the user's machine is on (or even present, in the case of a portable). I think that would change the way people integrate this stuff into their lives - a true digital hub that's in a sense built into the home, rather than lots of little digital hubs that may or may not be there depending...



    Whether they do it or not, though, who knows?



    Neil.

    a.k.a. Arnel
  • Reply 29 of 60
    rhumgodrhumgod Posts: 1,289member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by TednDi

    Ok rhum, now you are with me. but...backup to what?



    yes i can be dense.



    I don't want to use another mac. or a pc. I want those files accessable when on the road. and I want them at home not on apple's server.



    an appliance that can give me this is what I want.




    I think I see where you are headed. Basically, a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device. You won't find that available. This is kinda what I was thinking in simple terms:







    The eMac (or iMac G3, whatever...) in the picture is your server, runs Mac OS X and shares out your complete library of iTunes/iPhotos. Then, when you connect your 17" PowerBook, you can play, copy any of those files. When hitting the road, you copy the files you want into a playlist called Outgoing (iTunes) or an album called Outgoing (iPhoto).



    That was what I thought you were asking in your thread title about a simple fileserver.



    Of course, you could always carry it with you if you prefer only one Mac on a Firewire HD. I think I saw someone making a 1TB drive, but I know for sure there are 500Gb Firewire external drives available. You could use that as a portable storage device for all your digital media. You could have everything available no matter where you are, rather than a limited selection.
  • Reply 30 of 60
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    yup, simple fileserver that isn't a computer and i don't have to use the sneakernet.



    thanks
  • Reply 31 of 60
    rhumgodrhumgod Posts: 1,289member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by TednDi

    yup, simple fileserver that isn't a computer and i don't have to use the sneakernet.



    Sounds like a candidate for external Firewire. NAS devices are nice, but they have no functionality in the Mac realm to date. Firewire is much nicer though, as you can also share it out as well, and your PowerBook can become an NAS if need be.



    If you are want to share, I think Apple is doing more in the IP over Firewire so that may be an option for NAS. I haven't looked at that for a while though. Apple sure isn't standing still these days, thank God. I remember the Amelio days with great sadness...
  • Reply 32 of 60
    jadejade Posts: 379member
    how about one of these?



    ethernet disk



    And someone else makes one, netdisk i think, availible at best buy.
  • Reply 33 of 60
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Overkill. Note 'includes Windows XP Embedded!' Um, bleah?



    It'd be better if you could get away with writing a simple OS that *only* has to implement a disk driver (easy), an IP stack (simple), a basic AFP server (eh), and Rendevous (a breeze).



    Voila. Plug and play NAS. Say... add these drivers to an AirPort Express II? Heck, it already has the Rendevous and IP stack, and since it does printer sharing, we *know* it has driver capabilities. Make it a FW port instead of USB, and ta-freakin-da. Plug in any FireWire drive, and off you go.
  • Reply 34 of 60
    beigeuserbeigeuser Posts: 371member
    TednDi,



    So you don't need iTunes sharing, iPhoto sharing etc. You just want a simple fileserver which you can access while you are on the road. You probably don't want to mess with FTP or uploading and that stuff. You just want to use it like a disk... right? Sounds like iDisk. Except that you don't want to use iDisk.



    What's bothering you? Is it the monthly fees? Or is there a functional reason why you avoid it? You did mention that you'd want your data at home. Is there a reason to this? Do you not trust Apples servers? Give us the details.



    If you want to convince Apple to make a fileserver, you need to show them that their .Mac strategy is flawed.
  • Reply 35 of 60
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    when last I checked (1 min ago) the cost of 1gb on the mac site was



    1000MB iDisk Storage / 350.00 USD per year



    so 250gb (small for my requirements 500gb would be nice. Therefore $350*250= $87,500



    Now while I like giving my money to apple and I like the digital mobile lifestyle I don't want that lifestyle to involve me being homeless and collecting soda bottles to pay for 1 year of 250gb storage from apple.



    It is an old school philosophical thing I want my files with me! If I want offsite backup I can get a firewire disk and backup everything and put it offisite.



    The product doesn't exist.



    simple

    cost effective (for apple) perhaps $600-$800 (below the cost and complexity of an emac)

    clean apple interface

    access from anywhere

    over the net!
  • Reply 36 of 60
    beigeuserbeigeuser Posts: 371member
    If you need 250GB to 500GB of storage, it must be absolutely painful to access that much data remotely through the internet. Maybe all you need is a portable hard drive that you can carry around.
  • Reply 37 of 60
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    that's the point . I don't want to carry it around. I want to access it from anywhere. I only might need some of the files but I don't want to have to take all of my files in case I need one of them.





    It sits in my home. I move.

    Not another computer(unless clustered)

    Gobs of storage

    all my stuff in one place.

    accessable

    apple interface

    simple connectivity
  • Reply 38 of 60
    beigeuserbeigeuser Posts: 371member
    If you only need a few files, you can keep it on your laptops hard drive. Laptop hard drives are available in 100GB sizes now. If you need to access more than 100GB remotely, you are going to an need unbelievably fast internet connection to download all that data. I'd personally don't want to spend hours (days?) downloading files when I could just carry them around on a external hard drive and access them immediately.
  • Reply 39 of 60
    beigeuserbeigeuser Posts: 371member
    Actually, after re-reading your post, it seems that you have 250GB to 500GB of data but you only need access to small chunks at a time (Let's say 2-5GBs). But you have no idea which 5GB out of the 500GB that you will need when you go out on business so you want to have 24-hour web access to the 500GBs just to be safe. Is that correct?



    If that's the case, you will probably need to find a windows-based web/fileserver to suit your needs. But isn't there a way that you can get more organized so don't need 24-hour access to the 500GB? A laptop hard drive can hold up to 100GB. Don't you think that will be sufficient to keep all your "for-sure" data and all your "maybe" data? You can leave the "definitely not" data behind.
  • Reply 40 of 60
    bennbenn Posts: 10member
    I"ve got one of these hooked up to my AEBS's LAN port, so its accessable to any authorized Mac (or PC) on my network.



    Great for media storage/backup; but its not very Mac-friendly (e.g. no auto-mount); most of the features are Win-only.
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