Setup a NAS within OSX / MacOS?

[Dreama]

G'day,

I have a 2011 Corei5 MacMini hooked up to the TV, currently running Mac OS X El Capitan.

I already have a 2TB USB Drive hanging out the back of it, and wondered if its possible to set it up as a NAS to share to both Windows and Mac computers.

is there some software that will help share the folder out?

I also have really old Mac Mini Core 2 duo which I'm tempted to put FreeNAS onto, but the Core i5 i want to keep with OS x / Mac OS

any tips or links would be great
thanks
SMAC

 

[Alrescha]

The Sharing tab in System Preferences should do what you want. The only consideration is that <probably> you have to stay logged in on the mini for that to remain active. If that is a problem then installing Server ($20) from the Mac App Store gives you more options.

A.

 

[Dreama]

yeah i did consider OS X Server.
I have shared it in the Sharing tab, so will see how we go - i got kicked off of it last night as the kids wanted to watch movies

 

[DJLC]

Sharing in OS X client should be fine for what you need to do. Being logged in isn't required in my experience.

 

[kiwipeso1]

I would suggest that you use Plex, and that is free for a mac server within your home network.
It has apps for android tv, chromecast and apple tv. (one time fee)

 

[belvdr]

I would suggest that you use Plex, and that is free for a mac server within your home network.
It has apps for android tv, chromecast and apple tv. (one time fee)

Which has nothing to do with file sharing between computers.

 

[kiwipeso1]

Which has nothing to do with file sharing between computers.

Then just use sharing if that is all you are doing. However, if you are only sharing media, then Plex is better than leaving sharing on.
Alternatively, you may find that most routers have this capability to share USB drives across a network.

 

[talmy]

G'day,

I have a 2011 Corei5 MacMini hooked up to the TV, currently running Mac OS X El Capitan.

I already have a 2TB USB Drive hanging out the back of it, and wondered if its possible to set it up as a NAS to share to both Windows and Mac computers.

That's all you need. In System Preferences, Energy Saver, make sure the mini is set to never sleep. Under Sharing, File Sharing, add the folders you want to share and set permissions (probably just Everyone to Read&Write). You don't need the Server app at all for this unless you want to get fancy with permissions or make use of other features of Server such as hosting TimeMachine backups. You do not need to be logged in.