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What does everyone use their mini server for

C

cukoodukoo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 21, 2011
7
0
Hello everyone,

I wanted to buy a mini too hook it up to my spare tv and ended up getting the mini server from the refurb store.I was initially planning to just stream videos from the net onto my tv and use it as my itunes hub.Now that I am getting a server i was wondering what else could I use it for.

.We have 2 gaming pc's,a PS3,iphone ,ipad2 and a MBP.I have an airport express connected to my AVR in th eliving room to stream my music off my itunes.

Just wanted to know what all the server owners are using theirs for.
 
File Server, Time Machine, Mail Server, Profile Server, iCal server, Contact Server, iTunes Media Server...

These are just a few of the things I am either using my current mac mini server for or will use my future mac mini server for...
 
I bought my Mini server mainly because I wanted the quad core i7 (for BR ripping and transcoding) and dual 7200 RPM HD's. Don't play PC games so the Intel HD3000 was good enough.

Not using any of the server functions yet and I'm only using HD2 for time machine and temp storage of MKV BR rips.
 
Mine is coming tomorrow..got a refurb from Apple for $849. I will be using it to rip BluRay and to act as a movie server for my Tivo. Also for photo storage and the like. It will be set up in the kitchen connected to my 19" HDTV. It is replacing a 2.0 GHZ Core 2 Mac Mini that I will be bringing to my office.

I also bought a Bluray player off Amazon for $75. Also upgrading memory to 8gb for $48 from Amazon.
 
PLamarine said:
Mine is coming tomorrow..got a refurb from Apple for $849. I will be using it to rip BluRay and to act as a movie server for my Tivo. Also for photo storage and the like. It will be set up in the kitchen connected to my 19" HDTV. It is replacing a 2.0 GHZ Core 2 Mac Mini that I will be bringing to my office.

I also bought a Bluray player off Amazon for $75. Also upgrading memory to 8gb for $48 from Amazon.
Click to expand...

Same usage here. It is my Windows Media Center movie server for ripped DVDs and Blurays. Also serves as overflow for Live TV recordings. Nicely hidden below my 27" iMac.
 
Vienna Ensemble Pro slave for hosting sample-based virtual instruments for orchestral MIDI compositions. 16 GB RAM and 2 SSD's (60 + 256). I use it to offload some of the load from my Mac Pro hex core running Logic.
 
paulrbeers said:
File Server, Time Machine, Mail Server, Profile Server, iCal server, Contact Server, iTunes Media Server...

These are just a few of the things I am either using my current mac mini server for or will use my future mac mini server for...
Click to expand...

I understand all the other uses but how do you use it for a mail server if you are connected to an isp at home? You need an mx record dedicated ip address to host a domain?

Curious, not questioning you
 
Wicked1 said:
I understand all the other uses but how do you use it for a mail server if you are connected to an isp at home? You need an mx record dedicated ip address to host a domain?

Curious, not questioning you
Click to expand...

He might be collocating it in a data center. I use mine for web serving. In fact, my website (battey.me) is hosted on a mini in a data center in Wisconsin. Great machine and it's cheap to collocate.
 
Wicked1 said:
I understand all the other uses but how do you use it for a mail server if you are connected to an isp at home? You need an mx record dedicated ip address to host a domain?

Curious, not questioning you
Click to expand...


Most ISPs have an option for a Static IP. At least here on the East coast both FIOS and Optimum Online do.

After that, your domain provider (go daddy, etc..) will have a DNS configuration page for your domain, or you can go with a free or paid third party option, like DNSMadeEasy. From there you can set your MX records.

Some ISPs block port 80, 443 and 25 by default inbound, so make sure that they can allow these, or buy a business class Fiber or Cable account.


We've replaced 2 T1's at my job with a cable provider and FIOS, and have been able to support mail, citrix, and a host of other services, all even with load balancing/failover between the two providers. You can do pretty much anything with your ISP if you have the right plan that allows it.

EDIT: You can also go the cheapo route and use a DHCP address and a DNS service made for that, but I wouldn't suggest it as many email filters do reverse lookups to validate email headers. A constantly changing IP would not give you a static PTR record to support that.
 
OD, DNS, File, SUS, Virtual farm (mostly Ubuntu Server, a few Win 2008), VPN, Media, workhorse. I don't do web on it, mainly because I prefer doing that in Ubuntu server as it give far more control.

Loaded it up with dual 256GB SSDs and 16GB.
 
well mine is not a mac mini server but this is what I use my server for:
Ugly windows box in basement+ 16 tb of tv shows = happy macbook air user
:D
 
2011 server with an SSD hard drive acting as an iTunes server to 3 Airport Express and 2 Apple TV's. I also occasionally use Handbrake to convert a concert DVD for iTunes. (So far it has never run hot! ;) )
 
jackrv said:
Most ISPs have an option for a Static IP. At least here on the East coast both FIOS and Optimum Online do.

After that, your domain provider (go daddy, etc..) will have a DNS configuration page for your domain, or you can go with a free or paid third party option, like DNSMadeEasy. From there you can set your MX records.

Some ISPs block port 80, 443 and 25 by default inbound, so make sure that they can allow these, or buy a business class Fiber or Cable account.


We've replaced 2 T1's at my job with a cable provider and FIOS, and have been able to support mail, citrix, and a host of other services, all even with load balancing/failover between the two providers. You can do pretty much anything with your ISP if you have the right plan that allows it.

EDIT: You can also go the cheapo route and use a DHCP address and a DNS service made for that, but I wouldn't suggest it as many email filters do reverse lookups to validate email headers. A constantly changing IP would not give you a static PTR record to support that.
Click to expand...


Oh Ok, yep I have Comcast and it is a personal account, no need for a business account unless I wanted all that, but right now I have a Linux server and have for many years which is co-located and they only charge me a small fee, for that I get up to 100GB bandwidth, email server, webserver etc, plus I use SFTP for uploading stuff for my wife's craft website.

This is what I do for a living, so I was just wondering how he was using it for a mail server, but it all makes sense, I might opt for a business account later on if I decide to get back into Web Design.
 
Wicked1 said:
This is what I do for a living, so I was just wondering how he was using it for a mail server, but it all makes sense, I might opt for a business account later on if I decide to get back into Web Design.
Click to expand...

I get a static IP from my internet provider (and yes I pay more for this). I actually looked to see what it would cost me for a dedicated T1 line, but wow those are ridiculous compared to Cable and/or DSL for considerably slower download speeds (albeit slightly faster upload speed). I also host a few of my lesser frequented websites from my Mac Mini Server as well (my personal website mainly). For my business sites, I still use a dedicated hosting center running on VM's.
 
Mine arriving this week. Hope to use it as a basic 'home' storage kind of thing. And could double up as a media centre down the line if I find a way to rip my DVD collection in a more efficient way than DVD converter on my 4 year old MBP currently.

The storage need is acute because with 4 iOS devices and numerous users in our house, the photo stream is starting to stress the hard drive capacity of our MBP and MBA. What's the point, I thought paying £200 for a DIY hard drive replacement (which may or may nor work depending on - or lack there of - skill. Paid a few more quid and got a new machine instead. With the occasional use to do some video and photo editing which would, I hope, benefit from the quad core processor (and the 23" screen compared to my 13" MBA).

Have had a 2005 mac mini in the past, which I loved so hoping the experience will be similar with this one also.
 
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