Can you make a Mac Mini home photo server?

Question

Can you make a Mac Mini home photo server?

Hello Apple Community,

My question is, is it possible to turn an old Mac Mini (2012) into an Apple Photos home server?

My idea is to sign into the Mac Mini with my Apple ID, and place the Photos library in the: Machintosh HD / Users / Shared folder with Read/Write permissions for everyone as well as enable File Sharing.

As a test, I created a Photos library in my MacBook Pro's (early 2015, OS 10.13.2) Users / Shared folder and imported one photo. I quit Photos and from my wife's MacBook Air (2017, OS 10.13.2 with my Apple ID signed in to share current and last years photos over iCloud) connected to my MacBook Pro's Shared folder over WLAN, and opened the Photos library. From her computer, I created a duplicate, made some adjustments and clicked "finish." Quit Photos from her Air, went back on my Pro, opened the Photos library in the Users / Shared folder and voila! I could see the duplicate with edits done to it!

Am I asking for trouble by doing this on a large scale? We have a 250gb library on a 1tb USB 3.0 external drive backed up via TM on to another 1tb drive. I would like to plug in the drive to the Mac and connect it to our 1gb Ethernet and that way, we both can access the whole library over our WLAN or LAN, make changes, edit, delete with our own laptops?

Thoughts welcome!!!

Happy New Year,

RIck

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch,Early 2015), macOS High Sierra (10.13.1), null

Posted on Jan 4, 2018 12:21 PM

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Answer 1

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Jan 4, 2018 12:35 PM in response to Chicago ExPat

Am I asking for trouble by doing this on a large scale? We have a 250gb library on a 1tb USB 3.0 external drive backed up via TM on to another 1tb drive. I would like to plug in the drive to the Mac and connect it to our 1gb Ethernet and that way, we both can access the whole library over our WLAN or LAN, make changes, edit, delete with our own laptops?

Yes - Photos is not a multiuser program and needs to on a local drive with a fast wired connection

Where is it safe to store a Photos Library? Requirements for the external drive

The only safe way to share a library among multiple users is using iCloud Photo Library

LN

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Answer 2

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Jan 4, 2018 2:01 PM in response to Chicago ExPat

You do what you want -it is your computer and your photos

the answer is still the same

Photos is not a multiuser program and needs to on a local drive with a fast wired connection

Where is it safe to store a Photos Library? Requirements for the external drive

The only safe way to share a library among multiple users is using iCloud Photo Library

Your question os specifically addressed in the link I have posted twice

And Apple advises against storing the Photos Library on a network share as well, just like previously for iPhoto Libraries and Aperture Libraries.

This is documented in: Sharing photo libraries among multiple users - Apple Support

Connect an external USB, FireWire, or Thunderbolt drive which has enough free space to contain the library.
Be sure to choose a locally mounted drive. Storing your library on a network share can lead to poor performance, data corruption, or data loss.

LN

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Answer 3

Jan 4, 2018 1:40 PM in response to LarryHN

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the response, but maybe I wasn't clear or I am refusing to admit defeat 😉, because I just tried with our two laptops, with one having the external drive containing the Photos Library in it and was able to "connect" to it. I say "connect" because it wasn't a true connection to an external drive connected to another computer, but rather, connecting to the other laptop with "remote management" clicked. Here is what I did on my laptop:

1.Allowed Remote Management and File Sharing on my computer.

2. Read/Write for Everyone allowed in the Photos Library.

From my wife's computer:

1. command K "connect to server."

2. select my MacBook from the list.

3 click on "screen sharing"

4. from here on I can access the external hard drive, open up the library with Photos on my computer, and do what I want and see everything. We have AC WLAN and gigabit Ethernet so speed is fast (faster than an 100mbit down and 20mbit up internet connection to the cloud).

Now if I connect the 1tb drive with the Library to a Mac Mini and set up the Mini like I did my laptop, remotely accessing and managing the Mini with different laptops should get me where I want to be, correct? Is there anything I should know? Recommendations?

Thanks for letting me chew your ear off!!

-Rick

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