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Q: Questions to Support Potential Home Use of OS X Server

Hi.

 

I am looking for a solution for our family to provide access to files and media (mainly photos and iTunes music, already have plex server for movies although issues with iTunes movies) from a variety of devices both within the home and away from the home and achieve strong back-up solutions. We currently use a MacBook Air, Mac Mini i7 (permanently connected to a standard TV and running as the plex server), 2x iPads, 2 x iPhones, LG Smart TV and our wired and wireless network uses an Apple Time Capsule, Airport Extreme and Airport Express. We also have 2x G4 Powermacs sitting in a cupboard gathering dust.

 

I have been considering the purchase of a Synology NAS to suit our purposes but wish to consider the option of using OS X Server before investing huge amounts of money into a Synology device, drives and back-up services.

 

We have somewhere between 1 - 2TB of files and media at this point in time (which is of course ever growing) plus time machine back-ups for the macs.

 

I have some initial questions regarding using OS X Server as follows:

 

1. Will it support file and media sharing both within the home and away from the home on iOS devices and macs?

2. Can it easily support the saving of photos taken on multiple iOS devices into one central photo library on the server which is then accessible to all devices?

3. Can the MacBook Air (which has a SSD of limited capacity) be used wirelessly within the home to view and edit photos stored on the server via Apple's Photo App?

4. If an iTunes product is purchased (music or movie) via an iOS device can this automatically become available via the server to all devices?

5. Is it straightforward to connect to the server remotely via an iOS device?

6. Is it straightforward to protect the server from unwelcome connection from 3rd parties?

7. Is there anything else I should be aware of?

 

All help and support is highly appreciated.

 

Pierre

Posted on Jul 27, 2016 9:55 PM

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Q: Questions to Support Potential Home Use of OS X Server

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  • by keg55,

    keg55 keg55 Aug 2, 2016 9:07 AM in response to dubai mac
    Level 6 (8,368 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 2, 2016 9:07 AM in response to dubai mac

    I have some initial questions regarding using OS X Server as follows:

     

    1. Will it support file and media sharing both within the home and away from the home on iOS devices and macs?

    2. Can it easily support the saving of photos taken on multiple iOS devices into one central photo library on the server which is then accessible to all devices?

    3. Can the MacBook Air (which has a SSD of limited capacity) be used wirelessly within the home to view and edit photos stored on the server via Apple's Photo App?

    4. If an iTunes product is purchased (music or movie) via an iOS device can this automatically become available via the server to all devices?

    5. Is it straightforward to connect to the server remotely via an iOS device?

    6. Is it straightforward to protect the server from unwelcome connection from 3rd parties?

    7. Is there anything else I should be aware of?

     

    I might be able to answer some of your questions. I use OS X Server for home use, but the services I use are limited.

     

    1. It will support file sharing for Macs at home and away. Which means you would need to setup the VPN Service in OS X Server and use either a static IP address or a Dynamic Host solution like NoIP on the Server. Once VPN'd in, your Mac can screen share and file share via Finder/Connect to Server and using the afp:// or vnc:// commands. As far as iOS devices, I don't know.

    2. I don't know of any Photos Service in OS X Server. You may want to use iCloud for your Photo sharing among iOS devices.

    3. Maybe, if you share the Server's Photos folder. But again, iCloud might be your best solution for Photo sharing with iOS devices and Macs.

    4. When purchasing iTunes music every Mac and iOS device that uses the same AppleID/password can receive a download of the purchase. If the music is purchased on the Server, you should be able to use Home Sharing in iTunes to share music from the Server. This is what I use for my household of music I want to share from my AppleID. Not all household purchases are stored on the Server since iTunes isn't used with multiple AppleIDs/passwords. Each Mac would need to be setup for Home Sharing. I'm not sure about iOS devices.

    5. Locally, I believe it's easy to connect iOS devices depending on the app you're using to connect. For example, with iTunes, iOS devices have Home Sharing capability. Or using a local WiFi printer to print from an iOS device.

    6. Protecting a Server should be the same as any Mac not running OS X Server. Someone would have to be on your local network or know VPN login credentials away from home. Guests who you want to share Server resources would need to be trusted Guests and given the login credentials.

    7. OS X Server, in my opinion, is very easy to use and setup. You can setup Users and Groups for all your Macs and I think iOS devices. I use the following Services:

    DNS service - local only use and not from outside my local network.

    VPN service - configured with a dynamic host address (e.g. somewhere.ddns.net) and enabled so I can access my Server with a Mac outside of my local network using a VPN network connection.

    Caching service - so I don't have to download OS X updates from each Mac. Whenever a Mac on the network downloads an update, it gets cached to the Server for other Macs to use. I'm not sure if this also applies to iOS devices.

    Netinstall service - to allow a Mac to connect to my local network via ethernet and install a version of OS X (e.g. Mountain Lion, Yosemite, El Capitan) over the network.

    File Sharing service - to share folders/files to all Macs on the local network.

    Time Machine service - to allow Macs on the network to back up to a central location.

    Open Directory service - to use/test network logins.