I have a Mid 2010 Mac mini Server (listed on my signature) that I'm currently using as my main (only) Mac. On it I'm running the client version of Snow Leopard as I have no use for Snow Leopard Server running on it and needed to migrate my old machine to it. I am currently using the two hard drives as a RAID 0 and have a single 1TB volume on which I run the system. Don't worry, I am well aware of the increased risks, which is why I have a Time Machine back-up drive always connected.
The plan from the get-go was to have this eventually be the Mac that is responsible for storing the things that I don't need to take with me all of the time (i.e. video editing project data, disk image back-ups of movies and software, etc), and to get a 15" MacBook Pro that would have my iTunes Library, iPhoto Library, finished video projects, all of my documents and various Photoshop files, locally saved e-mails, and y'know, the rest of my digital life. Both computers would have Time Machine back-ups and functionally, the MacBook Pro would have the things that I use daily and have a regular need for with the Mac mini Server would have all of the things that I am fine being without for any given length of time but might want to access at some point to copy to the MacBook Pro. The Mac mini Server would also function as the computer I'd use when I wanted to sit at my desk and not be anywhere else. I also currently have a Windows 7 (Home Premium, 64-bit) tower that I primarily use for gaming (also in my signature). Sure, it has a web-browser and can easily have iTunes or Thunderbird and an instant messaging client so as to be more of a comfortable machine to use at my desk, but while I have the Mac mini for a lot of that, I can have the Windows machine be used for gaming.
I just got my Dad (who, opposite of me, is dual-platform with more of an emphasis on Windows over Mac) a Windows Home Server box that I built so he can remotely log into it, back up his tower, store and access files remotely, etc. He has Time Machine on his Mac mini, and he has the Windows Home Server box for both backing up his XP tower and centralizing (and backing up) what he doesn't need on it. Everything I've seen about Windows Home Server has me convinced that, like the XBox, maybe Microsoft doesn't suck at everything.
So long story short, while I likely won't need my MacBook Pro to be backed up by anything other than a standard external hard drive via Time Machine, is there any way of customizing either Snow Leopard Server or client or even the Lion Developer Preview (and presumably Lion by that token) to have functionality similar to that of Windows Home Server? I figure that my 15" MacBook Pro, when I get it, will blow the Mac mini Server that I have out of the water in terms of hardware muscle and that aside from having a computer to use when I'm at my desk (which my Windows 7 box is more than able to serve as), it won't serve a purpose that the MacBook Pro won't be better at in every way. Is there anything one can set up for Mac OS X that gives me a similar functionality? I'm fine if it's not as intuitive or as user-friendly as WHS, though I'd prefer it to be easy to maintain and set up in case I need to do it all over for any reason.
The plan from the get-go was to have this eventually be the Mac that is responsible for storing the things that I don't need to take with me all of the time (i.e. video editing project data, disk image back-ups of movies and software, etc), and to get a 15" MacBook Pro that would have my iTunes Library, iPhoto Library, finished video projects, all of my documents and various Photoshop files, locally saved e-mails, and y'know, the rest of my digital life. Both computers would have Time Machine back-ups and functionally, the MacBook Pro would have the things that I use daily and have a regular need for with the Mac mini Server would have all of the things that I am fine being without for any given length of time but might want to access at some point to copy to the MacBook Pro. The Mac mini Server would also function as the computer I'd use when I wanted to sit at my desk and not be anywhere else. I also currently have a Windows 7 (Home Premium, 64-bit) tower that I primarily use for gaming (also in my signature). Sure, it has a web-browser and can easily have iTunes or Thunderbird and an instant messaging client so as to be more of a comfortable machine to use at my desk, but while I have the Mac mini for a lot of that, I can have the Windows machine be used for gaming.
I just got my Dad (who, opposite of me, is dual-platform with more of an emphasis on Windows over Mac) a Windows Home Server box that I built so he can remotely log into it, back up his tower, store and access files remotely, etc. He has Time Machine on his Mac mini, and he has the Windows Home Server box for both backing up his XP tower and centralizing (and backing up) what he doesn't need on it. Everything I've seen about Windows Home Server has me convinced that, like the XBox, maybe Microsoft doesn't suck at everything.
So long story short, while I likely won't need my MacBook Pro to be backed up by anything other than a standard external hard drive via Time Machine, is there any way of customizing either Snow Leopard Server or client or even the Lion Developer Preview (and presumably Lion by that token) to have functionality similar to that of Windows Home Server? I figure that my 15" MacBook Pro, when I get it, will blow the Mac mini Server that I have out of the water in terms of hardware muscle and that aside from having a computer to use when I'm at my desk (which my Windows 7 box is more than able to serve as), it won't serve a purpose that the MacBook Pro won't be better at in every way. Is there anything one can set up for Mac OS X that gives me a similar functionality? I'm fine if it's not as intuitive or as user-friendly as WHS, though I'd prefer it to be easy to maintain and set up in case I need to do it all over for any reason.