[Mr Ti]

Hi,

Hope some Mac gods can help me?

I have 4 PB users who need to access remotely files stored a mac mini in their office.

How would you do this?

They may need to access the mini at the same time, it is on a dsl connection, but does not have a static ip

If software purchases are needed it is not a problem.

Cheers

[seanc]

Hi,

I'm not a mac god, but i'll put out a few hints in case they turn out to be helpful!

1. Hard wired network with a simple network hub, connect it up, and if apple lives up to it's expectations you should be able to connect as simple as that! You may need to set up static ip addresses if you have no dchp server, and maybe dns for internet of you don't have any dchp. I have only got two apple computers one on 10.3.9 and the other on OS 9 so I can't say how well plug and play mac networking works (beetween os x), but considering windows and mac networking works successfully plug and play.... mac plug and play should be even better!

2. Airport, if the mini has airport then it should just be a case of swirching it on, you would probably need a wireless router - doesn't have to be apple. I don't know whether you need a wireless router to just connect the computers together with airport but I would assume you do. Depending on what type of internet connection you have, you could buy a wireless router with a modem built in.

I'm not sure what type of modem/network connection you would get/have but you should be able to plug the modem into the hub, although it may need some settings to be changed, your isp or modem manual should be able to help, or tell me what type of modem you have, and a bit more detail on what type of network you would use, and i'll see whether I can find out how it would work and how to set it up. Again depending what type of modem you buy it may double up as a hub but it will probably only have four connections, so you may need a hub with it.

Hope this helps, if you want any more info just ask!

Sean

[ghporter]

A little clarification would help. You're saying that there are four users who need to access files on the mini, but the users are not in the same location where the mini is? Am I correct?

If I am, "this sounds like a job for Timbuctu." Netopia's Timbuctu is built for remote file sharing securely from just about anywhere. I don't remember whether it handles keeping the remote clients up to date on the perishable IP the mini has, but that's usually not a real problem either-lots of apps are available to publish (or notify a private audience) of changes to dynamic IPs. Take your pick.

[Mr Ti]

To clarify,

4 users need to connect to a mac mini that is effectivley a file server. The mac mini is in an office that is wireless.

They come into the office and connect to the mini wirelessly for shared file access, and the wireless router for internet access. Email is local per machine on pop accounts, it is only file sharing to the one mini that is needed.

When they are out the office they need to be able to access the files on the mini, more than one user will need to access the mini at the same time.

Hope this clears up any grey areas.

[Mr Ti]

forgot to add, the 4 users accessing remotely will not all be in the same place, ie they will all be working from their own home.

Cheers

[TCPport22]

I am going to ASSuME that all of the remote PBs have an Internet connection. That being the case, you can always use the built-in FTP server. This has security implications though, as FTP transmits everything in clear text. There are secure FTP options available, but I am not sure if the desktop version of OS X includes a secure FTP server (or a SSH server for that matter.) A Google search on secure ftp server for Mac OS X should return some valid solutions.

[TCPport22]

I poked around, and what do you know, the ssh server (sshd) does come with the desktop version of OS X. secure ftp (sftp) runs as a part of ssh. This solution will require a little reading and configuring on your Mini, but it offers encrypted file transfer, and it is FREE.

More info can be found at:

sshd man Page

Explanation of sshd config file (see subsystem for sftpd)

Once the server side is set up on the Mini, the PBs should be able to use most any modern FTP client to do the sftp file transfer.