Server related questions

Welcome to the fold.

I see we can add users to login to access the shared drive. Should we have an account for each user, or all share one account? If we all share one account or multiple people share an account does that cause issues with crashing or interrupting of file transfers?

For security reasons you should have an account for each person and unique passwords. Think the issue through. You have 5 staff members, Manny, Moe, Jack, Cagney, and Lacey. You create a single user account, freelance, and all 5 users use the user name and password. Then Manny leaves. How do you prevent Manny from accessing resources? You will need to change the password for the account and that will impact everyone. In addition, using one account means that you can not protect data based on user/group. Best practice: An account for each person. Use groups. Define permissions and setting at the group level unless absolutely not possible.

Is there a way to make sure when copying a file and the drive disconnects or something that none of the files being transferred or moved will become corrupt?

If only 🙂 The best tip is to disable sleep on your workstations and disable drive spin down on the server. But, there are always potential problems. Generally file corruption is rare on OS X but nothing beats a good backup.

The server is going to be running on a mac mini with 4GB ram and connected to a time capsule for storage. Is there specs for the machine that we should be looking at? We have about 20 employees who will be accessing the server to store, move, and transfer files between their machine onto the server from inside the office, as well as from home if they wish.

Hmm. "The mini is connected to a Time Capsule for storage." Are you suggesting that the Time Capsule is what you are using for file storage? If so, then server is not going to help very much. You should get a drive and connect it to the mini and then use that for your storage. Even your mini with 4 GB of RAM should be fine for a server running DNS, OD, and File Services. Remember that all servers are limited by the Ethernet connection. So even at 1000Base, the internal and most external storage is orders of magnitude faster than ethernet. RAM is easy to upgrade, Start with the 4 and if you need more it is easy to add.

Is there an easy way to run nightly backups of all the files onto another drive or HDD? For example at lets say 1am every night it transfers new/modified files to an HDD?

You have Time Machine. There is also Carbon Copy Cloner, Retrospect, and many other products to perform backup. But keep in mind that a complete backup strategy includes offsite. Make sure you are planning for replicating your data offsite to protect against disaster.

Reid

Apple Consultants Network

Author "Yosemite Server – Foundation Services" :: Exclusively available in Apple's iBooks Store

Author "Mavericks Server – Foundation Services" :: Exclusively available in Apple's iBooks Store

Author "Mavericks Server – Control and Collaboration" :: Exclusively available in Apple's iBooks Store

Of course. You can use:

sudo serveradmin list

This will give a list of all services that you can control. You will note that AFP and SMB are independent processes. To stop and start one or the other, use:

sudo serveradmin stop afp

sudo serveradmin start afp

sudo serveradmin stop smb

sudo serveradmin start smb

I'm thinking of getting Server OS which I once used back in late 90s. I currently use an external HD to house all our production files (we're a small graphic design studio). Would I need to get another computer or use an old one to be the server? I'm guessing yes but it's figured I would ask before making the investment.

Since Mavericks and Yosemite, I've noticed incredible lag working over the network which is why I'm considering getting a file server/OS. We have two full timers and sometimes have two freelancers in as well. I want to speed up work processes and communication with team members on specific projects.

Late 90! Ah AppleShare IP. We've come a long way since then.

In a small studio, you can get away with the current method of sharing files (external hard drive connected to a machine and shared out). However, the challenge comes when the machine sharing the drive needs to be rebooted. This knocks everyone off. Thus, the value in having a dedicated server. This devotes a device to providing just server offerings, allowing the workstations the flexibility to restart when needed.

At this point, Apple does not differentiate between workstation and server class hardware. Effectively the message is "We sell hardware. We sell software. One piece of software is called Server. Add it to our hardware and now you have a server." If you have older gear, just make sure it can run Yosemite. Have at least 4 GB of RAM (8 or more is better). Have adequate storage to house your business data. Implement a backup plan and periodically test it.

Next, regarding the lag. Do you know which protocol you are using to connect to the shared drive? If SMB, you might consider switching back to AFP. SMB has been particularly vexing. Also, you should review your network infrastructure. One of the easiest ways of getting the best possible performance is to make sure all devices are wired and that you are using a 1000Base switch. I am always amazed at how many 10/100 switches are still being used.

Reid

Apple Consultants Network

Author "Yosemite Server – Foundation Services" :: Exclusively available in Apple's iBooks Store

Author "Mavericks Server – Foundation Services" :: Exclusively available in Apple's iBooks Store

Author "Mavericks Server – Control and Collaboration" :: Exclusively available in Apple's iBooks Store

Thanks. The lag started when the cats died and Mavericks/Yosemite came in. Even worst, every time we reboot, all the sidebars go away so I have to manually add them back. At least once a day and oftentimes 2 or more. NEVER happened with the cats. Far as I know I haven't changed the protocol in years unless, of course, when I installed Mavericks/Yosemite it defaulted to SMB. Since the files are on an external HD, I don't believe any of the computers have file sharing on. Maybe the one the external is networked to. I probably don't have a router/switch/hub (what's the difference?) that's younger than 10 years old.

Ha! While I was typing this, the workserver just disconnected and the indesign file I had opened crashed. For the 2nd time since we opened at 9 am.

Apologies to the original poster for cutting in.

Ah yes. The disappearing sidebars. I have a wacky AppleScript process that sometimes keeps them. But sooner or later they disappear. Lots of posts on this but no real solution that I am aware.

And yes, the default protocol is now SMB. If you are connecting via the side bar or through a Finder window, you are connecting using Bonjour discovery and SMB. Disconnect from all the shares, then from the Finder go to the Go menu and choose Connect to Server... In the window that appears, enter the protocol and the address of the server. Ideally this is the fully qualified host name but an IP address will work also. Let's assume your server address is 172.16.8.4. In the Connect to Server... window, enter afp://172.16.8.4 and press Connect. Test this from one system first and make sure your file names, folder names, and access rights are all working. Test your speed. On a decent 1000Base wired network (client and server both at 1000Base) you should be able to write 500 MB every 7.5 seconds. You can use Disk Utility to create a 500 MB reference file for testing.

Router/Switch/Hub – A router routes traffic from one network to another. The router is required at the connection point of your LAN to your WAN. In complex networks, routers will link LANs to LANs. You should have one router and it is often your firewall. Hubs are dumb device that simply allow traffic to pass through them. Hubs really are not used much anymore as switch pricing is so low that it makes more sense to get a switch. Switches can be unmanaged but commonly are managed. This allows customization at the per port level. Switches also come in a variety of complexity or levels. Most are layer 2 switches but for advance networking needs you can get layer 3 switches. But all that is irrelevant for a network your size. You simply need a 1000Base switch that is reliable.

Thanks. I was on ebay checking the 1000Base switches and most are unmanaged. Almost pulled the trigger on a mac mini for the file server until I realized I would need a monitor. We've been imac based for eons now. I don't even have an old monitor laying around. Looking for a used laptop to fit the small shelf where the file server external HD is. I tried to see when the last time I purchased a hub and it's something like 2008 or earlier. Maybe a little infrastructure update is in order. I know I have a linksys router connected to modem.

Went to your website. Thought briefly of calling about services but probably overkill for what I need.

I would agree. This is too simple a process to need external help. Look at Netgear for affordable 1000Base gear. Pricing is not out of range. Buy new if possible.