Connecting MacPro 5,1 to newest Mini.

Ok, you good people convinced me to continue trying File Sharing. I did more tinkering with it, and so far It is working fine - both ways. The SMB services work well so far. I must have learned something I thought I knew but didn’t. Thanks.

Using Apple’s recommendation I connected the MacPro and the new Mini directly with Ethernet cable. The old machine has two ports, so no problem. The mini has only one ethernet port, and I will have to buy the Apple USB/ethernet adapter in order to have internet access on Mini also without manual cable switching.

Comment to Grant Bennet-Alder. You say “If I insist on making a FireWire connection…”. But if I use target mode, FW is the ONLY connection possible for the old MacPro.

Comment to MrHoffman: The old Mac Pro box isn’t just a simple “box”!! I have been doing all my work on it since 2013 and it is working just great for all my tasks, including APSF as long as I limit myself to High Sierra. I bought the Mini for the future, when my apps will require APSF with newer MacOS’s with newer browsers needed for the ever advancing internet. I just started getting used to it.

Forgot to mention: File Sharing works. But it is slow. My past experience with USB and Firewire cables is that any kind of communication between computers (one as target) is much faster. So, how about direct cable connection?

Thanks for all replies. My MacPro 5,1 is the last model (late 2012) before they instroduced the cylinder. It came with FW800 and USB 2 ports, and gigabit ethernet. Then I added USB 3 via PCI card, both types A and C. And all four bays have SSD’s (with different OS's).

With this set-up I never had to use File Sharing. Simply connect external drive (plain or with bootable volume) and be able to access ALL files without any adjustment in permissions. If bootable, was able to boot the externals using FW and USB 2 connections. Not USB 3, because the PCI loads later, and there is a driver issue. It was all easy, and fast enough for my needs. I was also able to boot Hi Sierra external with its APSF, and freely exchange all files between it and the Sierra volume on MacPro. No permission setting needed, and fast enough for my purposes.

Then came the latest Mini with its Catalina. File Sharing between it and the HFS+ Sierra works fine now, but I had to waste a lot of time setting the permissions. It is a pain, requiring frequent adjustment when new files are placed in various folders.

I tried the old fashioned way: boot from High Sierra volume on MacPro, start Mini in Target mode (it shows up as TB or USB disk), and then connect via cable: USB C male to Mini’s TB port and USB A male to MacPro’s USB 3 port. After 5 to 10 min wait, the mini showed up on my MacPro, its two volumes. But I couldnt move files at will, even those I created in normally accessible folders. I can copy those on Mini onto MacPro, but not vice versa. This setup just doesn’t work like things used to.

Sure, the mini is also connected to external fast storage SSD, and files exchange easily. But I wanted the same joy with MacPro, with its 4 bays full. But when I boot MacPro in target mode, it shows up as FW disk. Connecting Mini to USB 2 (native) or USB 3 (PCI) ports just doesn’t work. (Note: it worked partially the other way, with mini booted in target mode, and ONLY when using BOTH APSF volumes).

I was trying to save money and avoid paying for the two adapters: FW800 to TB2, and TB2 to TB3. From comments you good folks gave, this is the ONLY way I will be able to connect the two machines and exchange ALL files freely.

I realize Mini will see everything on MacPro, but only the APSF volume on MacPro will see the mini. Is that correct? The two adapters the ONLY way to get exchange of all files?

Thanks again for speedy and helpful replies.

I never liked File sharing, and know little about it. Grant’s comments explains a lot of the crap I had to put with this approach, especially with Catalina.

So, compared to MacPro 2012, current Mini is a beast, eh??

Yes, of course. But for years before, I have been coupling this MacPro to the ancient G4, and even the G3 from caveman days. Compared to them, this MacPro 2012 was a beast. But direct cable connection worked great: the big boy could easily handle the little guys easily: it could manipulate their files with ease. I didnt even try vice versa.

So, can’t this beast Mini handle the MacPro just as well? I mean, if properly connected, I should be able to see ALL the volumes and files on four SSD’s inside the MacPro, right? And it seems you guys are telling me that the ONLY proper connection requres two adapters (TB2 to FW800, and TB3 to TB2) and normal FW800 cable. Am I uncerstanding you correctly?

It seems the choke point will be FW800 cable, which will be somewhat slower that the Mac Pro SATA I/O.