Home Networking Beginner

[RedElectro]

Hi...
The following post will possibly get me laughed off the forum, but I can't seem to find any way to do what I want to do.

Hardware involved:

PowerMac G5 (Leopard)
Intel Dual Core iMac (Lion)
MacBook Pro 15" (Lion)
MacBook Pro 17" (Lion)
Airport Express

I want to use the G5 as a file server for the other machines in the house. It has a 2TB hard drive and I want to keep everyone's files (multiple users) in one place. I would like the process to be fairly transparent so the rest of the family don't have to do anything and all their files are saved automatically to the G5.

Is this possible without a dedicated server? Thanks in advance for any guidance... I've been messing about with this for days and can set up sharing etc, but can't seem to get it to do it automatically for the other users.

 

[StevenMeyer]

Hi...
The following post will possibly get me laughed off the forum, but I can't seem to find any way to do what I want to do.

Hardware involved:

PowerMac G5 (Leopard)
Intel Dual Core iMac (Lion)
MacBook Pro 15" (Lion)
MacBook Pro 17" (Lion)
Airport Express

I want to use the G5 as a file server for the other machines in the house. It has a 2TB hard drive and I want to keep everyone's files (multiple users) in one place. I would like the process to be fairly transparent so the rest of the family don't have to do anything and all their files are saved automatically to the G5.

Is this possible without a dedicated server? Thanks in advance for any guidance... I've been messing about with this for days and can set up sharing etc, but can't seem to get it to do it automatically for the other users.

HRMMM, I do not think so. What you SHOULD do in this case is set up open directory on a server. Or make a shared folder/ linux box and just make them do an extra click.

 

[willfurnell]

I would seriously not advise you to use the G5 as a fileserver. It consumes a lot of power, and isn't very upgradeable on the HDD side of things (max 2 HDDs). I know, I have tried this with the G5 sitting under my desk.

Instead I would recommend something like a NAS from http://qnap.com/ (or other sites, that is just an example). NAS' use much less power, and are built to be dedicated fileserver machines. They can also hold lots of HDD's in different types of RAID, so you know that your data is going to be pretty safe.

If you really do want to use your G5, and it is running Tiger or below, like mine, you can use a program like SharePoints http://www.hornware.com/sharepoints/. If you are using the G5, you could go Apple + K and enter the IP of the G5 followed by the share name, for example, 192.168.0.2/MyShare

Edit: You have Leopard. I guess you can't use SharePoints.

 

[StevenMeyer]

I would seriously not advise you to use the G5 as a fileserver. It consumes a lot of power, and isn't very upgradeable on the HDD side of things (max 2 HDDs). I know, I have tried this with the G5 sitting under my desk.

Instead I would recommend something like a NAS from http://qnap.com/ (or other sites, that is just an example). NAS' use much less power, and are built to be dedicated fileserver machines. They can also hold lots of HDD's in different types of RAID, so you know that your data is going to be pretty safe.

If you really do want to use your G5, and it is running Tiger or below, like mine, you can use a program like SharePoints http://www.hornware.com/sharepoints/. If you are using the G5, you could go Apple + K and enter the IP of the G5 followed by the share name, for example, 192.168.0.2/MyShare

Edit: You have Leopard. I guess you can't use SharePoints.

Just so you are aware w/o open directory it will not be automatic.

 

[willfurnell]

Just so you are aware w/o open directory it will not be automatic.

No, but using OSX's built in sharing/a 3rd party app like SharePoints is free.
Also, using + K means that you can drag that to your login items and it will connect automatically each time you login.

The + K format goes like this:

username:password@serverip/share

You could also make a simple applescript to connect to the share.

If you are going to use a NAS you could use the same principal, but obviously dedicated hardware.


There is some helpful information on this page: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1218216/

 

[RedElectro]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to try some of them out later today. I'll let you know how I'm getting on.

I'm just so attached to the G5 I can't let it go!! If I don't use it as a file server, I fear it's going to end up in the loft or something!