personal server

[ifjake]

i know this kind of thing exists. basically i'd like something to hold all my iTunes songs and other large space taking stuff that could be accessed wirelessly, essentially an external harddrive without wires. i know i could use a mac mini, but those things use the tiny laptop drives and really have more processing power than i would need. anyone know of anything interesting?

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

You could get an iMac G3 500 or something and throw in a 80GB 7200RPM or 5400 drive.

Those are really easy to crack open and install stuff.

 

[bah-bah'd]

or you could get a real network storage device and hardwire it to your router... You may want to play music over WiFi, but you will prob want to hardwire to copy everything over anyway...

Here is an example: http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail~dpno~191900.asp

I just found this top 5 list of Network Storage devices on toms hardware guide: http://www.tomsnetworking.com/popular_products/computers/networking/networkstoragedevices/

 

[Keebler]

using an esata enclosure

i know this kind of thing exists. basically i'd like something to hold all my iTunes songs and other large space taking stuff that could be accessed wirelessly, essentially an external harddrive without wires. i know i could use a mac mini, but those things use the tiny laptop drives and really have more processing power than i would need. anyone know of anything interesting?

Hi,

I just bought a Fusion 400 with a 4 external port card from Sonnet. I'm adding 1 500 GB to start with. i thought about getting another mac (like someone suggested an older model), but i don't want another machine hooked up. this will be accessed directly by my g5. that said, if you have multiple macs to connect, then probably not your solution.

cheers,
keebler

 

[emaja]

I just found this top 5 list of Network Storage devices on toms hardware guide: http://www.tomsnetworking.com/popular_products/computers/networking/networkstoragedevices/

Be careful. Some NAS do not work with Macs due to proprietary files formats. Look for one that uses a Reiser FS that will be universal between Macs and PCs. You may have to dig for it, but it is out there.

BTW, I have read very bad things about the Netgear SC101. It is supposed to run very hot and will not work with a Mac.

 

[ifjake]

i'm pretty happy with using airportexpress as my router. would i be able to stick one of these network storage devices between the airportexpress and the wall via ethernet, letting the airportexpress take care of the wirelessness? also, how would Airtunes fare in this configuration?

 

[mrichmon]

i'm pretty happy with using airportexpress as my router. would i be able to stick one of these network storage devices between the airportexpress and the wall via ethernet, letting the airportexpress take care of the wirelessness? also, how would Airtunes fare in this configuration?

No, you need to put the the NAS (Network Attached Storage) on the inside of your network. I assume that the ethernet cable from the wall to your airport express is your WAN connection (ie the route to the rest of the internet).

 

[ifjake]

so i'd have to get a new wireless router with some ethernet jacks in the back as well and use the airportexpress for just airtunes streaming?