Using old MacPro as a file server?

[kat.hayes]

I have a MacPro 1,1 and the graphics card went out. I'm thinking of buying a new iMac when the new ones come out, and I'd like to continue to use the MacPro with four 4TB drives in it as a file server that I can hide somewhere, maybe in a closet.

1. Can I log into the MacPro from a Macbook Pro or iMac and make changes to settings in Preferences on it without it having a graphics card or monitor connected?

2. I want to be able to transfer large amounts of video and photos to the MacPro every couple weeks from either my Macbook Pro or the iMac. What would be the best way to do this? Air Drop (I've never used this) or some shared folder on my network?

Thanks.

 

[d-m-a-x]

i'm going to use it as a back up / archive and just plug in firewire t bolt when needed. The best way to do it is with a decent ethernet network

 

[Macman45]

What kind of network structure do you have? If you ahve a TC or an AE you could cable in the old MP and add it to the network....copying files might take a while, but if you are only adding a few at a time you should be okay.

If it sits on the network, you can easily make it accessible from any device. We have a Windows based server that does just this job...All our movies and music live on it, and using Air Video ( available from the MAS) we can view and listen on both our TV's, our Ipads and Iphones also.

 

[handheldgames]

Would also make a good space heater for any room it's in.

 

[snarfquest]

I'm using my old MacPro 3,1 as a server. It is quite nice. It is running OS X Server. 16GB of ram. I put an eSATA III PCIe card in it with 2 external arrays with 8X 2TB drives in them. I use it for Timemachine backups, file sharing, all my movies, music etc. It is also my DNS/DHCP server, web server, wiki, boot image server.

 

[chrfr]

I'd like to continue to use the MacPro with four 4TB drives in it as a file server that I can hide somewhere, maybe in a closet.

It will get too hot in a closet without cooling.

 

[ColdCase]

It will get too hot in a closet without cooling.

I was just going to say that. The pro also does draw a lot of power, expensive for occasional use. Perhaps allow the pro to sleep and set it to wake on network access. That should save power and heat but allow you to wake it up on the occasion you want to store stuff there.

With OSX you can remote desktop fairly seamlessly.

Connect to network via ethernet cable if you have the choice as that provides better file transfer performance.

 

[seveej]

I have a MacPro 1,1 and the graphics card went out. I'm thinking of buying a new iMac when the new ones come out, and I'd like to continue to use the MacPro with four 4TB drives in it as a file server that I can hide somewhere, maybe in a closet.

1. Can I log into the MacPro from a Macbook Pro or iMac and make changes to settings in Preferences on it without it having a graphics card or monitor connected?

2. I want to be able to transfer large amounts of video and photos to the MacPro every couple weeks from either my Macbook Pro or the iMac. What would be the best way to do this? Air Drop (I've never used this) or some shared folder on my network?

Thanks.

As noted by others: Forget the closet.

1.) I have no experience with running a mac pro without a display adapter, but I'm sure someone could answer you on that part. Problem may be, you might need to get a display card from somewhere, in order to set up the machine for screen sharing (VNC or ARD, don't know whether that can be done purely based on an ssh connection)...

2.) Honestly, if you need to move tens of gigs of data, nothing beats a wired gigabit ethernet connection. All your gear should support that out-of-the-box. Just get a Gigabit switch and some cables. Also, if you're intending to use it as a file server, check out System Prefs->Sharing -> File sharing.

RGDS,