[jhogarty]

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Mac Mini As A File Server
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In case you haven't seen me around the forums
I am a recent convert. I have replaced the
family PC with a 20" 2.0Ghz iMac. And I have
replaced my main workstation with a Dual 2.5Ghz
G5 PowerMac.

I still have two Windows based desktops, a Windows
based laptop and a SuSE (Linux) server. The two
Windows desktops I need to keep for certain software
that only runs on that platform, and are not used
often. But I was considering replacing my SuSE server
with a Mac Mini.

My current server is used for:
File Server
Print Server
Fax (modem attached)

As far as the Fax goes, I am using HylaFax to accept in-bound
calls. I then have a CRON job that converts the TIFF files to
PDF files. I would like to do much more with this but lack
the knowledge. For example I would like to receive an email
notification when a Fax is received. I think I have seen a few
Fax apps for the Mac that will probably work.

Can the Mac Mini handle the same tasks as my current server?
My printer can use either a parallel or usb connection. I'd like
to continue having home directories on the server and shared
directories, but be able to secure with permissions.

I would most likely add more storage to the mini as my current
server has 80gb dedicated to data.

Oh, and I would really like to run this as a headless unit. My
office is a mess and I have a big, ugly, Dell Tower for my server.

Thoughts/Suggestions?

Thanks,

J.

[jhogarty]

Wow, no replies. Maybe I need to be the guinea pig and test this out?

J.

[capuchin]

Yes, this is all do-able. My only thoughts are that you're going to spend a lot of time dinking around setting permissions, and that you're *definitely* going to want to boot the mini from a firewire drive, with a partition for data. The mini is a great little computer, but day in day out thrashing of that 4500rpm notebook drive is going to beat it to death in short order.

[OogaBooga]

^ What he said.

[jhogarty]

Good point capuchin. I guess I could load up and configure the mini with the stock drive. Once everything looks good, copy that to an attached FW drive, partitioned for OS and Data, and then boot of the FW drive.

J.

[Dave Hagan]

Nah...for a small network it will work fine. People have been messing with OS X Server for testing purposes on PowerBooks going back many years. You don't necessarily need to get OS X Server if you're just doing file sharing for 10 or less users. You could even get the 10 user version of OS X Server, but that's pretty expensive at $500. My suggestion would be to max the RAM. You could boot the device from a desktop firewire drive, which will make seek times a little faster, but I wouldn't get too outrageous.

[mportuesi]

I use a Mini (1.42, stock 80GB drive, 1 GB RAM) as a home server and as my own personal workstation. I'm running stock Mac OS X 10.4.2 (personal, not server).

The Mini serves two users, six machines, and three platforms (Mac, Windows, Linux). It does:

- File serving (NFS, SMB, AFS). All my files are network accessible.
- Print serving. I have a cheapo Brother black-and-white laser printer connected via USB. The Mini does print sharing and postscript RIP for all client machines.
- Household music server. Done via file serving, and by running SlimServer. An external 160GB firewire drive holds the iTunes music library.
- Web proxy. The Mini runs Privoxy to provide ad filtering for all the machines in the house.
- Backup server. Other machines can store data on the Mini. The Mini runs a nightly backup task to backup data to a second drive.

It works fantastic for all these roles plus my normal web/email and light website development. Though I have two firewire drives, I still boot off the internal drive. If you hit the server often, you might want to make a firewire drive the boot device, like other people have suggested.

The Mini is the perfect machine for a light-duty server. It makes no noise, and I can leave it running continuously without consuming a lot of power. It can serve Mac, Windows and Linux clients, and its Unix heritage means it can run most well-known server software.

[power142]

First, if you care about your data, you'll use a RAID setup - either using the OS X built-in software RAID or an external hardware RAID unit.

The Fax sharing built into Panther and Tiger can probably do what you want without extra software. Just go to System Preferences, Print & Fax, Faxing. Printer sharing can be enabled in the same place.

File sharing is easy enough in client too, but for more complicated setups, OS X server makes it easier to use directory services such as LDAP. Probably overkill for what you want, especially at $500

Your mini will run perfectly in a headless environment - you might want to set up remote desktop / vnc so that you can manage it over the network though.

[jhogarty]

Thanks for the input. I didn't really want to go to OS X Server at this point as I'm only serving about 5 machines.

I am looking for good looks and a quiet machine. Think this will work out well. I hadn't thought about using two external drives (ie. mirror) but I may consider that.

I post again once I acquire and test this out. Thanks again,

J.

[power142]

The most disappointing thing with using external drives on a mini is that they typically make more noise and take up more space than the mini does

Good luck!

[jhogarty]

I'm looking at the stackable Lacie drives - getting two 160GB and going RAID-1.

The only negative thing I see is that I have to have additional power for each drive. I'd love to have a headless unit with 1 powercord, 1 ethernet and 1 analog line.

Oh well, it will still be nicer, and smaller than my Dell Tower. And probably quietier. I'll do a write up when I get it done - sometime in September.

J.

[power142]

That's a great idea - let us know how you get on. I'm interested in migrating my file server from a MDD G4 (noisy) to a mini if it works out well. If you have a healthy budget, this might be another option:

http://www.wiebetech.com/products/RAIDTech800.php

This has hardware RAID1 built-in, so your computer just sees it as a single drive and doesn't have to do the RAID work itself.

[sniffer]

Originally Posted by capuchin

The mini is a great little computer, but day in day out thrashing of that 4500rpm notebook drive is going to beat it to death in short order.

How much does it matter? As long as it fits for the task it should be perfect out of the box. If you are concerned you add three year AppleCare in the purchase. And even with or without a notebook drive you still probably have to maintain a backup-plan just in case. A regular hard disk doesn't guarantee you anything either.

[jhogarty]

power142 - thanks for the link. That is a bit more than I want to spend right now. I think I'll test out the mini with two of the Lacie drives (RAID-1).

Probably get that started in early September and will do a write up of some sort. I'm sure there are other people who might want to give this a try.

J.

[power142]

That'll look kinda neat... I might follow you on this one, so let us know it goes!

Does anyone know if those Lacie units can have their drives swapped out? I have a nice big, fast drive sitting around doing nothing, so I figure for $119, I could get the 80gb version and perform surgery

[jhogarty]

I believe they sell a Mini Stack (not Lacie) without a drive: Mini Stack

I like the way the Lacie looks a little better. Has that small gap for airflow.

J.

[capuchin]

BUMP:

I've been running a stock 1.25 mini as a home file, print, NAT/DHCP server for about a week now, and it's working beautifully. I'm using OS X Server 10-Client, Retrospect Workgroup, and Timbuktu to administer it. It sits silently in a well-ventilated closet and has so far exhibited a single problem. I have backup to a pair of very quiet mirrored 200GB FW drives.

As soon as I get through with fighting with my current ISP, I'll be setting up web/mail/chat etc on the box. For a small network, it's unprecedented bang for the buck.

[JoshuaZ]

The Mac Mini would be great for your needs. If I had some cash I would totally use one as a server.

[OreoCookie]

German c't magazine had a server project with a Mac mini. They tried several different configurations: a media server (complete with TV card and surround sound), a file server, etc. It'll be a great machine for home/so ho needs. After all, a Cobalt (now Sun) Cube is nothing else.

[jhogarty]

And with Apple's new try it program, Try Mini how could I go wrong?

Definately in my September acquisition plan.

J.