Easily sharing files from different (remote) locations?

[617arg]

Hello. I am wondering if it is possible for a set up like this to work (and, if so, how to get it to happen).

I'm an architect who has been working from home for a few years. I currently have a NAS drive set up with all my files that can be easily accessed from any computer on my home network.

I am going to soon be renting some office space. What I would like to be able to do is easily access this drive from the new office. I know I can log in to Buffalo NAS and access the files, but that is annoying, slow, and does not feel integrated. I want it to show up as a shared drive, like it does on my home network.

Is it possible?

If so..............there is something else I would like. Can I set up another hard drive at my office location and have it mirror my home NAS drive, in real time?

Thanks for any help.

 

[617arg]

nothing??? Is it just a ridiculous question?

If anyone is able to answer there is one more requirement. I need to be able to access the files from Windows (mostly running under Fusion) as well.

Thanks?

 

[617arg]

118 views and no reply? not even a "yes, this can be done, here's how" or "no, not possible, here's why"?

strange. either very closely guarded information, or a very uninformed group in the networking/server section of macrumors..........

anyway.....I spoke with the office's network firm and they said that since my machine is not a server what I'm asking for is not really possible.
I would ask how I can get this to work, what I need to do on my end, etc. but don't really expect a response, so.......... thanks for the help

 

[theinstructor]

I will take a swing at it but it seems fairly simple to me...

- Setup a VPN server at your house.
- Use a dynamic DNS service like DynDNS so you always have your most recent home IP address.
- Map the share once you have established the VPN connection.

Personally I use Leopard Server's VPN service to handle my VPN needs. Hope this helps get you moving into the right direction.

 

[chown33]

How much storage did you want to share? Maybe an iDisk would work. Or maybe JungleDisk and an S3 account.

Otherwise you're gonna need a server-capable connection (i.e. your Terms Of Service allow servers). And then I'd probably run a WebDAV server, because you can mount webdav as a disk (iDisk is a WebDAV service).

 

[Les Kern]

How big are the files? How much space will be used? Will other users need to connect, or is this just for your own use?

 

[617arg]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

So far the drive I'm looking to serve is 47GB. The files range from small Word/Pages documents to larger ~8-10MB AutoCad files. Right now it's just me, with a freelancer or two depending on how busy I get, so it's not a large workgroup. I do hope to grow though.

JungleDisk looks promising, except that I'm not sure I want all these files in someone else's hands (I could get over that though). It limits individual files to 5GB in size, which wouldn't work for me however. Maybe another service can handle more.........

I don't think my ISP will allow me to have a server at home (although I might be able to upgrade the service to allow for it), so I'm thinking of maybe setting one up at the office where I know it's allowed.

If I did use Snow Leopard Server, on a Mac Mini I'm thinking, will I be able to access it from Windows machines? What about Windows running through Fusion, does that make a difference?

Sorry for all the questions, i just want to know what I'm doing, or talking about if I need to hire someone to help out.

Thanks.

 

[Les Kern]

Gee I don't know... so many options, none of them very attractive.
I use iDisk and love it, but that is 99.00 for 10GB. You can buy more of course, and Windows users can also log on to it with a little app from Apple's web site.
I have tried MyBook World edition, and like your NAS is INCREDIBLY slow. Don't use Jungledisk, see MacWorld article. Dropbox is REAL nice but I only use it casually for smaller files, and it's only 2GB free.
You CAN set a file server up at your house. If you know how to redirect through a router it's a snap. AFP (which is an IP protocol) and SMB can be shared right from any location on your desktop.
So do I have a recommendation? I guess I'd lean toward iDisk. No local hosting issues, speed is way better than NAS (and Apple DID fix the issues they had recently with SL), Windows users see it as a mounted share. Of course it costs money, but sometimes the paid solution is better than the complicated, undependable free one.