Ideas for a redundant Mac mini

[FRVRandAFTR]

Apologies for what's probably going to be a loaded question.

I ended up with a new M2 base Mac mini and after thinking about giving it to a friend/family member or selling it, I'm leaning towards neither option because it doesn't make sense with the formers' current setups, and the resale vale right now just doesn't seem appealing if I can justify keeping it.

I currently have an iMac and a MacBook so I'm set as far as workstations go, but I'm trying to think of other outside the box options.

So far, I've considered using it for all of the following:

• A Plex server which my iMac is currently acting as
• A home server connected to an external drive for saving/accessing files to within my home
• A home VPN access point to connect to for accessing files remotely
• Automated backups of specific folders/drives from Window PCs outside of my home (is this possible and if so feasible)

I can really think of much else so I'm hoping someone here may have some creative advice or give opinions on if it's a useful option to hang onto it or if it will most likely collect dust with my current iMac acting as the Plex server and easily being able to share files between both Macs as is, and backing up files to the iMac with an external drive hasn't been an issue at all yet. I'm really interested in some things a dedicated server could do that I might not be aware of. I guess I'm hoping there are big options there that I haven't thought of yet.

I will say if I can have some kind of configuration for Windows PCs to automatically do continuous backups of drives or folders, even if that's the only thing it would be devoted to, that would be enough of a reason for me to keep it.

Thanks for taking the time to read over this. I need to work on brushing up on home server benefits and macOS equipment server benefits specifically.

 

[Juicy Box]

You didn't mention what iMac that you have, but chances are, the MM would be better for energy consumption compared to the iMac, if using it as a Plex server or probably any other server.

I am currently using a Mac Pro 1,1 for my Plex server. I also use it for other things, but with it being my Plex server, and being on 24 hours a day, everyday, the energy consumption of it is pretty high.

I have a spare M1 MM that I plan on setting up to replace the Mac Pro that is almost 2 decades old. The things holding me back so far is that I read a while back that there isn't a native AS Plex server SW yet, and also getting the reliable external enclosures to put my drives in.

Originally, I wanted to just keep using my current drive set up, the MM internal drive to replace my Mac Pro boot drive, the two current HDDs in SW RAID0 that is in my Mac Pro for the media drives, and the current 14TB single HDD that I use as a back up to the media drives, as we as some other things.

I still haven't done the research to see how built-in MacOS RAID SW performs (or even works) on AS Macs.

Once I get around to that, or just testing it myself, I will move forward with the transition, finally semi-retiring my longest running daily Mac.

A side note about the Mac Pro 1,1, it is a beast. It has been running, almost completely nonstop, for almost 17 years. I never turn it off, with the exceptions of cleaning and upgrading it.

 

[FRVRandAFTR]

You didn't mention what iMac that you have, but chances are, the MM would be better for energy consumption compared to the iMac, if using it as a Plex server or probably any other server.

I am currently using a Mac Pro 1,1 for my Plex server. I also use it for other things, but with it being my Plex server, and being on 24 hours a day, everyday, the energy consumption of it is pretty high.

I have a spare M1 MM that I plan on setting up to replace the Mac Pro that is almost 2 decades old. The things holding me back so far is that I read a while back that there isn't a native AS Plex server SW yet, and also getting the reliable external enclosures to put my drives in.

Originally, I wanted to just keep using my current drive set up, the MM internal drive to replace my Mac Pro boot drive, the two current HDDs in SW RAID0 that is in my Mac Pro for the media drives, and the current 14TB single HDD that I use as a back up to the media drives, as we as some other things.

I still haven't done the research to see how built-in MacOS RAID SW performs (or even works) on AS Macs.

Once I get around to that, or just testing it myself, I will move forward with the transition, finally semi-retiring my longest running daily Mac.

A side note about the Mac Pro 1,1, it is a beast. It has been running, almost completely nonstop, for almost 17 years. I never turn it off, with the exceptions of cleaning and upgrading it.

It's a newer Intel iMac. In your option, would the power consumption benefits be significant enough to notice?

 

[Juicy Box]

It's a newer Intel iMac. In your option, would the power consumption benefits be significant enough to notice?

It totally depends on the specs of both Macs, but generally speaking with both Macs at idle, a newer 27" Intel iMac uses 10 times the energy of the base M2 MM.

I think that alone is pretty significant if you are trying to reduce your energy consumption.

Not sure how much energy costs in your area, but the savings of switching to a more energy efficient device for a Plex server could pay for a streaming service or two. Not bad if you already have the device.

In my case with the Mac Pro, it uses about 30 times the energy at idle than the M1 Mac Mini that I have to replace it, so that is a pretty big savings for something that is running 24 hours a day.