Oldest Mini for Lion Server?

[DustinT]

So, I'm looking to setup a Mini as a iTunes and Time Machine server for the 2 MacBooks, 1 ATV2 and 2 iPhones in my place. I'll handle the storage needs through a combination of ethernet and firewire, so the internal storage doesn't need to be much of anything. Aside from upgrading the ram, what else would I need in a system like this?

I tend to think that picking up an older Mini would be less expensive although I'm not opposed to a 2011 base model and grabbing the $50 Server upgrade from the App Store.

I'm open to any and all suggestions, and thanks in advance for your input.

 

[ReggaeFire]

If all you need it to do is act like a file server, then the oldest C2D mini would do that just fine. Upping the RAM to 4gb is cheap and might help a bit (though probably not needed). I still use G4's as file servers at work with no problem. Not much processing power is required to share out files.

 

[DustinT]

Thanks for the information. Any idea what a fair price is for one now?

 

[talmy]

Needs of a server like this are pretty minor. Doing a quick investigation, only 2009 and later models can be upgraded to 4GB and have all 4 available, however the earlier models, as long as they have Core 2 Duo processors, will at least run with 3GB. My mini with Snow Leopard Server is currently using 3GB of 4GB and is running Plex Server, Address Book Server, Calendar Server, DNS and DHCP servers, Web Server for a local Wiki, and a Windows XP virtual machine under Parallels. So I think 3GB would be more than sufficient for you and 2GB would probably actually be fine. Buying used, I wouldn't think twice about opening the box and upgrading the RAM.

Certainly use external and not ethernet connected drives. I'd suggest FW800 for streaming but USB actually works fine for TimeMachine which is quite slow anyway.

 

[DustinT]

So, anything with at least a Core 2 Duo will be fine is what I'm hearing. That fits since, I believe, Lion requires at least a C2D officially. I do agree with you, 3 or 4 gigs of ram shouldn't make much of a difference on a system like this. I won't sweat that part.

That just leaves the question of price, what is one of these worth?

 

[blevins321]

I'm wondering for simple file sharing if you even need to get the server version at all. You should be able to get by with just the $30 client version.

 

[DustinT]

I'm wondering for simple file sharing if you even need to get the server version at all. You should be able to get by with just the $30 client version.

In my case, I'd like to use this for Time Machine backups, so I'd require the server version.

 

[talmy]

That just leaves the question of price, what is one of these worth?

They don't seem to depreciate much, unfortunately from the buyer's side! Look at completed sales on EBAY to get a good idea. Looks like $400-$450 for the older ones.

 

[DustinT]

They don't seem to depreciate much, unfortunately from the buyer's side! Look at completed sales on EBAY to get a good idea. Looks like $400-$450 for the older ones.

That is what I'm finding. It looks like the .edu discount on a base 2011 would be my best bet. No upgrade to Lion needed. Plus, it will have a full warranty.

 

[blevins321]

That is what I'm finding. It looks like the .edu discount on a base 2011 would be my best bet. No upgrade to Lion needed. Plus, it will have a full warranty.

I just got mine yesterday. Seems most of the geniuses don't know that the Mini doesn't get the BTS card. They gave me a free one after the sales guy realized his mistake. (No, I didn't know it didn't qualify either). Might be able to get it too.

 

[DustinT]

I just got mine yesterday. Seems most of the geniuses don't know that the Mini doesn't get the BTS card. They gave me a free one after the sales guy realized his mistake. (No, I didn't know it didn't qualify either). Might be able to get it too.

 

[DustinT]

I just grabbed a 2011 Mini 2.3. Its installed in my closet already and I'm using screen sharing to remotely access it. As soon as server downloads I'll be good to go.

Any tips for keeping my MBP's iTunes library synced with the Mini?

TIA

 

[japtor]

In my case, I'd like to use this for Time Machine backups, so I'd require the server version.

I'm not sure Server is required for that, I think you could backup to the regular client version in the past.

I just grabbed a 2011 Mini 2.3. Its installed in my closet already and I'm using screen sharing to remotely access it. As soon as server downloads I'll be good to go.

Any tips for keeping my MBP's iTunes library synced with the Mini?

TIA

Home Sharing? There's ways to manually do it but I figure you might as well look into the built in function first and see if it does what you want.

 

[DustinT]

I'm not sure Server is required for that, I think you could backup to the regular client version in the past.

Home Sharing? There's ways to manually do it but I figure you might as well look into the built in function first and see if it does what you want.

Ya, Lion server is required to serve as a Time Machine host. At least, officially according to Apple.

Thanks for the information on Home Sharing. I'm currently using it to access my media at my place and it seems to work well. What I'd like to do is have the contents of my MBP's iTunes automatically sync'd to my Mini Server, just a little different from Home Sharing.

 

[japtor]

Can you post where they say that? All I can find is this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1427
This article may be out of date, but if nothing has changed...

Note: Every available disk that can be used to store backups is listed. If you’ve partitioned a disk, the available partitions are listed. Time Machine can’t back up to an external disk that's connected to an AirPort Extreme, or to an iPod, iDisk, or a disk formatted for Microsoft Windows (NTFS or FAT format). If you select an NTFS or FAT-formatted disk, Time Machine prompts you to reformat the disk. Choose a different disk or reformat the disk in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Because reformatting erases any files on the disk, only do this if you no longer need the files or if you have copies of them on a different disk.

If your backup disk is on a network, the network server must use Apple File Protocol (AFP) file sharing and both your computer and the networked backup disk should have Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later installed.

Note that there's nothing about requiring Server in there. One caveat might be that Lion has a new version of AFP or something, but I don't think that'll be an issue.