Sajid Ansari
Level 1 (9 points)

Q: iPhoto Library on webdav disk

Hi Everyone,

 

I have put my iphoto library on my synolgy DS211-j NAS and it works beautifully when I connect to my NAS over my local network.  However, if I connect to my NAS when I am off my local network, and as a remote webdav disk, iPhoto gives me the error that I don't have the permissions to read/write to the disk.  I get the same error if I try to create an iphoto library to my NAS using webdav.  One solution I had was to VPN into my local network, and therefore when I am away from my local network, I can VPN into it and mount my network drives as a local network drive vs as a webdav drive.  Problem is that I don't want may mac pro running all the time which I would need to do to have it act as a VPN server.  I'd love any ideas to allow me to use iphoto on a webdav drive vs on a locally mounted network drive.  THANKS!!

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3), Dual 2.8 GHz Quad Core, 16 GB RAM

Posted on Apr 20, 2012 7:13 PM

by Sajid Ansari,Solvedanswer
Sajid Ansari Sajid Ansari
Level 1 (9 points)
A:

iPhoto 11.  I've heard that it must be on Mac OS formatted volume, but it works on a RAID formatted volume so long as the drive is mounted as a local share vs as a webdav share.  I wouldn't call it luck as I've read dozens of discussions with users who have their iphoto libarary on their NAS which are RAID formatted.  Anyway, I did a little research and noticed that my disk station also has the capibility to act as a VPN server.  So I ended up going the VPN route afterall to mount my network drive as a local drive vs a webdav drive, but was able to use my disk station as the VPN server instead of my Mac Pro.  Tested everything out on my macbook air tethered to my cell phone (to create a test environment where i am connected to an external network), connected to the VPN server, mounted my drive as a local drive, and was able to access my iphoto library stored on my NAS from an external network (in this case the network assocaited with my cell phone tethered connection).  skill not luck

Posted on Apr 20, 2012 8:43 PM

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Sajid Ansari

Q: iPhoto Library on webdav disk

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  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Apr 20, 2012 8:28 PM in response to Sajid Ansari
    Level 10 (85,673 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 20, 2012 8:28 PM in response to Sajid Ansari

    What version of iPhoto?

     

    Basically the answer is that the iPhoto library must be on a volume formatted Mac OS extended (journaled)

     

    If it works it is just luck.

     

    LN

  • by Sajid Ansari,Solvedanswer

    Sajid Ansari Sajid Ansari Apr 20, 2012 8:43 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Apr 20, 2012 8:43 PM in response to LarryHN

    iPhoto 11.  I've heard that it must be on Mac OS formatted volume, but it works on a RAID formatted volume so long as the drive is mounted as a local share vs as a webdav share.  I wouldn't call it luck as I've read dozens of discussions with users who have their iphoto libarary on their NAS which are RAID formatted.  Anyway, I did a little research and noticed that my disk station also has the capibility to act as a VPN server.  So I ended up going the VPN route afterall to mount my network drive as a local drive vs a webdav drive, but was able to use my disk station as the VPN server instead of my Mac Pro.  Tested everything out on my macbook air tethered to my cell phone (to create a test environment where i am connected to an external network), connected to the VPN server, mounted my drive as a local drive, and was able to access my iphoto library stored on my NAS from an external network (in this case the network assocaited with my cell phone tethered connection).  skill not luck

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Apr 20, 2012 10:34 PM in response to Sajid Ansari
    Level 10 (139,597 points)
    iLife
    Apr 20, 2012 10:34 PM in response to Sajid Ansari

    This article

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3252

     

    refers specifically to Aperture. But with iPhoto 11 both apps use exactly the same database file.

     

    Note:

     

    Storing the Aperture library on a network share can also lead to poor performance, data corruption, or data loss.

     

    Regards

     

     

    TD

  • by Sajid Ansari,

    Sajid Ansari Sajid Ansari Apr 21, 2012 1:25 PM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Apr 21, 2012 1:25 PM in response to Terence Devlin

    Well I wasn't really looking for people telling me that what I wanted to do couldn't/shouldn't be done (especially because it can be done easily with great advantages).  I do agree that accessing the library over a network driving using a VPN connection slows things down, but it's a great way to have access to all of my pictures when I'm away from my local network.  iCloud is another way to have access to all your pictures, but it's costsly and doesn't give very much space.

     

    For those interested in creating their own cloud, my solution above may be of interest.  With the solution I described, you can have ONE central library for all of your pictures, so when you connect your camera and upload to iphoto, it's automatically on the library stored on your NAS.  Similarly, for pics on the go with your iphone, you can store them on your free 5 GB icloud, and then move them over to your NAS at later time. 

     

    Like I said, the downside is that iphoto runs slow when the library is on NAS, so another alternative is to store a local library for importing pictures, and then upload to your library stored in your NAS when you're away from your computer.  It makes keeping all your pictures together a breeze when you have 6 devices.