Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

itunes music server.....

mrgreeneyes

mrgreeneyes

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 7, 2007
843
53
Gatineau,Canada
hi, i am very interested in trying to make a itunes music server for me at home.


what i need to know is how can i make a server?

i guess it would have to be able to run mac os x server.

but i would also like it to be able to stream to my apple tv.


money is not an issue, as i will be slowly building this.

so any suggestions on how i can get started will be great. thanks

oh and i almost forgot, i dont want it to just be a mac pro or a mini turned into a server. i want it to be as simple and small as possible.


thanks
 
Aldaris

Aldaris

macrumors 68000
Sep 7, 2004
1,791
1,250
Salt Lake
Have you considered getting an old/used/refurbished mac, and just use it as an iTunes hub/Backup/Sync Station?

I'm also looking for an "iTunes Server" solution. Right now, I have two Apple-TV's, Synced or Shared from a PowerMac G4, with a few internal drives and an external. It works fairly well, there are times when I may have to reset either iTunes or one of the Apple-TV's. Generally this has been ideal. In the future I plan to just get a Mac mini, with at least an additional 1TB external drive and use it specifically for iTunes sharing.

Of course this is not the easiest, or financially friendly option, but I think in the end it's the best option.

I can personally recommend these retail sites, that may have a system that can meet your needs.

www.gainsaver.com
www.dvwarehouse.com
www.powermax.com

I do not represent any of these site's but have purchased from them and have been quite satisfied- I even have a G4 Cube still kickin' even with 10.4.11!

*** Also if your still avoiding the whole "Don't want a MacPro/Mini" thing, You can get an old Xserve G4 for under $600 at http://www.gainsaver.com- run either as a shared desktop or get Mac OS X Server- So I hope this might help point you in the right direction to accomplish your iTunes Media Center
 
M

misterredman

Cancelled
Oct 3, 2007
723
0
If you have an old computer laying around you may want to consider FreeNAS. It's a free NAS operating system that also include Firefly media server, to stream audio for iTunes.
 
M

mpshay

macrumors 6502
May 19, 2008
387
10
Florida
Drobo was supposed to opening up to developers, but I don't think anyone has released an itunes server app yet. I went the mac mini & 1 TB FW drive route
 
B

bondtrails

macrumors newbie
Jun 18, 2008
2
0
Just use a cheap PC or an old mac...

...I have a dedicated iTunes server and its incredibly simple. All you need is a computer (mac or PC), add plenty of hard drives, install iTunes, and network that computer. Its that easy. You certainly don't need OS X Server either.

My first iTunes Server was an old B&W 400Mhz Mac, it had OS X 10.3 and 400 gig of storage with an 802.11g network card so I can VNC into it from my laptop. It served faithfully until it failed over the summer.

My current iTunes Server is a cheap HP computer which I got on uBid (for less than $350) and came with Windows Vista Home Premium, 500 Gig of hard drive, and an integrated tuner, HDMI output, 802.11n and other good things. This computer is hooked up to my 50" Plasma and I use it as an overall media server where I can watch DVDs, music videos, etc etc via iTunes. I also use it to stream my entire library of 4000 CDs, 100 movies (which I ripped using Handbrake and Slysoft), and TV shows to my Apple TVs in my bedroom and basement.

Simple.

Cheers,
Bondster!
:D:cool::D:cool::D:cool::D:cool:
 
mrgreeneyes

mrgreeneyes

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 7, 2007
843
53
Gatineau,Canada
Aldaris said:
Have you considered getting an old/used/refurbished mac, and just use it as an iTunes hub/Backup/Sync Station?

I'm also looking for an "iTunes Server" solution. Right now, I have two Apple-TV's, Synced or Shared from a PowerMac G4, with a few internal drives and an external. It works fairly well, there are times when I may have to reset either iTunes or one of the Apple-TV's. Generally this has been ideal. In the future I plan to just get a Mac mini, with at least an additional 1TB external drive and use it specifically for iTunes sharing.

Of course this is not the easiest, or financially friendly option, but I think in the end it's the best option.

I can personally recommend these retail sites, that may have a system that can meet your needs.

www.gainsaver.com
www.dvwarehouse.com
www.powermax.com

I do not represent any of these site's but have purchased from them and have been quite satisfied- I even have a G4 Cube still kickin' even with 10.4.11!

*** Also if your still avoiding the whole "Don't want a MacPro/Mini" thing, You can get an old Xserve G4 for under $600 at http://www.gainsaver.com- run either as a shared desktop or get Mac OS X Server- So I hope this might help point you in the right direction to accomplish your iTunes Media Center
Click to expand...

misterredman said:
If you have an old computer laying around you may want to consider FreeNAS. It's a free NAS operating system that also include Firefly media server, to stream audio for iTunes.
Click to expand...

awesome help, thanks so much!

i do actially have an old pc laying around. but it does not work.

i would love to get a xserve, that would be the exact thing i need, but i do not have the money right now.

if i had the money i would get a new one from apple. but they are still very expensive.
 
jzuena

jzuena

macrumors 65816
Feb 21, 2007
1,126
150
misterredman said:
If you have an old computer laying around you may want to consider FreeNAS. It's a free NAS operating system that also include Firefly media server, to stream audio for iTunes.
Click to expand...

And if you don't want to install FreeNAS, there are several NAS solutions that already have a Firefly plugin. I have a Promise SmartNAVI NS4300 and their iTunes plugin is based on Firefly (more specifically, it uses mt-daapd which became Firefly). It should cost slightly less than an Xserve :D
 
belvdr

belvdr

macrumors 603
Aug 15, 2005
5,945
1,372
irishking05 said:
oh and i almost forgot, i dont want it to just be a mac pro or a mini turned into a server. i want it to be as simple and small as possible
Click to expand...

This makes no sense at all. A server can be anything that can serve out resources to clients. I think a mini is about as small as you can get.

irishking05 said:
i would love to get a xserve, that would be the exact thing i need, but i do not have the money right now.
Click to expand...

I have no idea why you believe you need an Xserve. It's far from ideal as it is a waste of resources (financially, economically, and energy). It sounds like you just want a setup that looks cool, especially given the advice above your post regarding old PC's and such.

Considering you want this small, an Xserve definitely doesn't fit this requirement.
 
garybUK

garybUK

Guest
Jun 3, 2002
1,466
3
I have a HP ML110 G5 (Intel Xeon 2.3ghz Dual Core) 1gb Ram, 250gb HDD that i bought from ebuyer for £140 i put another gig of ram in and 2 1tb hdd's then installed FreeBSD 7 and MT-DAAP (As someone else mentioned)

Runs a iTunes server perfectly :) sharing over 100,000 music files to my computers in the house.
 
netdog

netdog

macrumors 603
Feb 6, 2006
5,760
38
London
I hang mine off my Time Capsule using a 1 TB USB drive. 1400 CDs of yummy lossless audio available all over the house and even when away on my iPhone using Simplicity.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom