airport extreme ethernet network file sharing

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Level 1

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airport extreme ethernet network file sharing

I was inspired by this post at PixelBokeh that detailed how to use a Mac Mini connected to a large raid drive as a server that could share files b/w our 3 other iMac workstations via Ethernet. Here's the gear we're working with:

Lacie 5big RAID disk (connected to Mac Mini via Thunderbolt)
Mac Mini (11.2.6 w/ OS X Server App)
Airport Extreme (to connect Mini to other Macs via Ethernet)
2 x iMac Retinas (video editing stations 1 & 2)
1 x Mac Pro trashcan (video editing station 3)

In an ideal world, we would want to mount the Lacie as a network disk on our video editing stations to access some files without having to shuttle a bunch of little drives around.

Everything is plugged in, but I'm having a hard time with the networking aspect. How can I get the video editing stations to mount the Mac Mini via their Ethernet connection?

Mac mini, iOS 11.2.6, w/ OS X Server App

Posted on Mar 14, 2018 2:02 PM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

148,453 points

Mar 14, 2018 2:17 PM in response to Tuba!

First, you would need to enable your Mac mini to file share the Lacie drive that is connected to it by Thunderbolt. Second, you would then access this share from each of your other Macs.

Here's a few articles to help you get familiar with this feature:

How to connect with File Sharing on your Mac - Apple Support
9 ways to share files between Macs - Macworld
How to Share Files Between Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs on a Network - How-To Geek

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Answer 2

Mar 14, 2018 3:03 PM in response to Tuba!

For the moment you should turn off the wifi.

Or at the very least make sure wifi is below ethernet in the service order.

The setup for network in the article you quoted has a fair bit of detail. You should be able to get the drive shared and have it connect everytime you start the mac.

How to Automatically Connect to Network Drives in Mac OS X

There are probably better ways since you have server extension..

Mac Mini (11.2.6 w/ OS X Server App)

I am just not sufficiently familiar with the OSX server.. but there are lots of tutorials around to set it up properly so your Macs will use the home directory of the server instead of the local drive.

Tesserax will know more about that.. he may have missed you are using OSX server.

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Answer 3

Tuba! Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 14, 2018 2:53 PM in response to Tesserax

Thanks, Terrerax. I’ve enabled file sharing and can access the the Mac Mini via WiFi, but not Ethernet.

Since the Lacie has a bunch of video content, the WiFi connection is much too slow.

I’m trying to figure out which settings I can use to access the Mac Mini via Ethernet instead.

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Answer 4

Tesserax

Level 10

148,453 points

Mar 14, 2018 3:17 PM in response to Tuba!

Ah, LaPastenague did catch that I missed that you were running OS X Server. My mini's is running the Server app version on High Sierra in which Apple has moved most of the server services back into the native macOS operating system, including File Sharing. However, I don't think this will make any difference with what you are trying to do.

The key, as LaPastnague has pointed out, is that you may need to "force" the connections to use Ethernet when both wired and wireless connections are available.

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airport extreme ethernet network file sharing

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