We have a MacPro 2014 model and a new iMac. The Mac Pro connects to a 6TB hard drive via thunderbolt, however we have to connect the iMac to it via ethernet which slows transfer rates. Is it possible to connect all 3 devices together via thunderbolt

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We have a MacPro 2014 model and a new iMac. The Mac Pro connects to a 6TB hard drive via thunderbolt, however we have to connect the iMac to it via ethernet which slows transfer rates. Is it possible to connect all 3 devices together via thunderbolt

We have a MacPro 2014 model and a new iMac. The Mac Pro connects to a 6TB hard drive via thunderbolt, however we have to connect the iMac to it via ethernet which slows transfer rates down. Is it possible to connect all 3 devices together using thunderbolt, either in a daisy chain or using a hub of some form?

Mac Pro (Late 2013), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Sep 11, 2015 8:30 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

lllaass

Level 10

210,417 points

Sep 11, 2015 8:42 AM in response to Paul Glucklich

You can connect two Macs via Thunderbolt.

Since the Mini has two thunderbolt ports you can connect the two Macs vi Thunderbolt and then connect the TB disk to the Mini's other TB port

http://www.macworld.com/article/2142073/connecting-two-macs-using-thunderbolt.ht ml

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Answer 2

Sep 11, 2015 8:38 AM in response to Paul Glucklich

we have to connect the iMac to it via ethernet which slows transfer rates down

Gigabit Ethernet provides "near Hard Drive" speeds. If you are not already using Gigabit Ethernet, you should be, and the jump to that speed and jumbo frames is not difficult or expensive.

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Answer 3

Sep 11, 2015 8:40 AM in response to lllaass

Hi Illaass Thanks for the fantastically quick response. I thought that may be the case, when I've read up on it I could set up one Mac as a Target disk, but this isn't what we really want. I just thought before I gave up just see if any of the experts on here had a way round it. Many thanks

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Answer 4

Sep 11, 2015 8:44 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Hi Grant, the main issue we appear to have is that the iMac can connect to the server no problem and transfer files to and from it, apart from in Photoshop. If he tries to save a photoshop file to the server it comes up every time saying you do not have authorisation to write to the disk. Have checked and rechecked the network access and the iMac is able to read and write files. We have another iMac and a MacBook Pro and they also have the same problem. Wondered if we could daisy chain them all together via Thunderbolt it would sort it out and speed things up.

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Answer 5

Sep 11, 2015 8:57 AM in response to Paul Glucklich

If these files are being written to a Shared directory, there may be a problem with Access Control Lists and the settings to "inherit" the enclosing-folder's permissions.

OS X Server: When saving files on SMB shares, the permissions might be changed so that only the owner can read or write …

Can't save to an OS X Server share point that allows write access - Apple Support

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Answer 6

Sep 11, 2015 8:56 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks Grant. I'll read up on these to see if we can sort out the problem. Many thanks again for your response. Much appreciated

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