Mikedsouza

Q: Best storage to use for Mac Mini Server

Hi all

 

I have a Mac Mini that I want to start using a server around the house. Manage the other Macs around the house, centralised Time Machine, and also serve as a file server for the couple of Windows machines I have.

 

So it's a Mac Mini with 500gb of storage so I obviously need to add a lot more. Ideally I would like to build a 4 bay RAID 5 system but this is where I appear to be failing and need some help. I seem to have 3 options - Thunderbolt, USB or NAS.

 

Thunderbolt appears to be way too expensive and a lot of people say it's overkill for a home setup anyway

NAS seems to be the most cost effective way, but then does that negate the point of the Mac server anyway?

USB seems good but i can't find any decent USB enclosures, are there any that anyone would recommend?

 

Thanks in advance

Mike

Mac mini (Late 2014), OS X Server

Posted on Mar 16, 2016 3:06 AM

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Q: Best storage to use for Mac Mini Server

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  • by John Lockwood,Helpful

    John Lockwood John Lockwood Mar 16, 2016 4:13 AM in response to Mikedsouza
    Level 6 (9,324 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Mar 16, 2016 4:13 AM in response to Mikedsouza

    Sadly many would say that Macs are not appropriate to use as real servers for companies, however some do and for small companies they are perfectly usable. Obviously in a home situation the concerns over the suitable of a Mac as a server are totally different.

     

    While the most common choice for storage for a Mac server these days would be an external Thunderbolt RAID solution e.g. the Promise Pegasus R4 and R6 ranges, I would agree for a home situation a NAS solution may be more appropriate.

     

    A NAS can act as a general purpose file server for both Macs and Windows PCs, it would not require leaving the Mac on all the time, and most NAS devices do also support acting as a Time Machine backup server. However some people say that NAS based Time Machine servers are not sufficiently reliable and you should only use a genuine Apple solution such as either a Time Capsule or a Mac running Server.app and sharing a drive as a Time Machine destination.

     

    I would agree somewhat that NAS based Time Machine systems are not going to be as reliable as a genuine Apple one but I would also probably say that they are not completely useless either. I for example use a NetGear ReadyNAS as a Time Machine system and I am happy enough with it.

     

    By the way, for external storage there are additional options.

     

    • USB as you mentioned
    • FireWire is still possible although you may need a Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter, you can even still get a FireWire RAID solution
    • Thunderbolt like the Pegasus Promise system I mentioned
    • NAS - you could connect to it via NFS and 're-share' it via AFP via the Mac server
    • iSCSI over Ethernet to a NAS system, could be direct from a client or could then be 're-shared' via AFP
    • Fibre-Channel using a Thunderbolt to FDDI adapter and then have a Fibre-Channel SAN setup - very expensive and often used by Video editors
    • Possibly a Thunderbolt to eSATA adapter and then an eSATA storage solution
  • by woodmeister50,

    woodmeister50 woodmeister50 Mar 17, 2016 5:25 AM in response to Mikedsouza
    Level 5 (5,557 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 17, 2016 5:25 AM in response to Mikedsouza

    I repurposed my old 2010 Mini as a home server and works quite well.

    It is limited to USB2 and Firewire, but as a home server it works just fine.

     

    I am using it as a generic file server, central iTunes Home Sharing server,

    and update server.  All the external drives are USB2 connected via hub

    or directly attached.  It is also running and managing things with the OSX

    Server app.

     

    Since you list a 2014 Mini, it has USB3.  If you want to consolidate drives

    into a single enclosure, I would suggest the following:

    Dual enclosure:

    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MED3FR0GB/

    USB3/Firewire800, RAID0, RAID1,SPAD,JBOD

     

    Quad enclosure:

    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/M3QX2KIT0GB/

    USB3/Firewire800/eSATA,RAID 0/1/5/10

     

    OWC is a well respected supplier of Mac Products and thoroughly test Mac compatibility

    of the products they sell.

     

    They also have various other multibay solutions.