Should I setup a server?

[joe19812]

I'm going to be upgrading from a 2009 MBP to a new MBA. I plan to keep the MBP to use as storage for the bulk of my seldom used files and media files such as iTunes, movies, pictures, etc sort of like an HTPC. We'll have a couple of MBA's utilizing the MBP file storage and also an AppleTV for movie playback.
Should I setup the MBP as a server for this or just keep it as standard OS X?

 

[dimme]

for basic file server duties regular OS X is just fine, If you want to add a centralized time machine backup then you will need OS X server.

 

[Altemose]

I'm going to be upgrading from a 2009 MBP to a new MBA. I plan to keep the MBP to use as storage for the bulk of my seldom used files and media files such as iTunes, movies, pictures, etc sort of like an HTPC. We'll have a couple of MBA's utilizing the MBP file storage and also an AppleTV for movie playback.
Should I setup the MBP as a server for this or just keep it as standard OS X?

Standard client OS X is just fine for this. However, you may find it is better to invest in an NAS for the file storage.

 

[rmackner]

I'm going to be upgrading from a 2009 MBP to a new MBA. I plan to keep the MBP to use as storage for the bulk of my seldom used files and media files such as iTunes, movies, pictures, etc sort of like an HTPC. We'll have a couple of MBA's utilizing the MBP file storage and also an AppleTV for movie playback.
Should I setup the MBP as a server for this or just keep it as standard OS X?

The only benefit to a server is folder access security with usernames, a raid card to allow raiding of hard drives for faster access (and redundancy), DNS/DHCP, VPN access and calendar syncing. But your router can cover the networking aspect of a server and most newer NAS storage devices allow folder security. And if you don't have more then 15-20 workstations accessing the server's shared drives a NAS will be way more then sufficient.

 

[satcomer]

If I were you I would look at a smart NAS and your situation something like the Synology DS415play. If you are unsure about it look at these Youtube videos to see how these NAS Server works.