I can reflect on your home storage organization musings, as I am going through the similar experience. For about 5 years I relied on a ASUS barebone PC running Linux with couple HDDs shoved into it as my file server, running Samba and then atalkd. I chose barebone because I wanted thing to be as quiet as possible, as it sits in my living room. This was quite successful, but had a few drawbacks: not really silent, as fans would periodically come on in short bursts, and drives do get hot in there (especially old ones, especially when there was more than one). Also mt-daapd kind of sucked, especially when I got my AppleTV, which refused to see it.
What I wanted is a centralized iTunes library plus iTunes itself (especally after Apple Remote app came out for iPhone/iPod) - I have Airport Express with iPod Hi-Fi in my bedroom and wanted to be able to play music on it from my main library, but don't want to keep my or my wife's laptop running, streaming to Airtunes. To do that, I needed a computer with iTunes running. I tried to get iTunes on Linux running (with wine), which didn't work, so I abandoned it, not wanting to spend too much time on it. Necessary note - our home now is 100% apple environment, running Windows only in Vmware, when needed (which is almost never).
To cut long story short, about a month ago I decommissioned my Linux box and replaced it with a Mac Mini with two external HDDs - one on Firewire, another on USB. First disk is the main storage, while the second serves as Time Machine backup disk for built-in system disk and external media storage disk. I chose to use two enclosures rather than one hosting two disks to avoid the risk of a common element failure, such as SATA-USB bridge or power supply. I can't quite rationally explain my choice to use different interface (USB+firewire), but both enclosures have all three interface types (USB+FW+eSATA), and it "felt right" to do it. The external disk arrangement gives very good options to expand storage further, when needed - firewire can be chained, and there are two more USB ports available (and a hub can be used as the last resort).
I used WD AV hard drives, which are meant to be able to work 24x7 at highter than usual operating temperatures, and do have intelligent power management (meaning they change their rotation speed, depending on demand). All this is now lives directly inside my TV cabinet, as its footprint is very small and it makes very little noise. I am running iTunes on it (auto-login + start iTunes as login item), and can play music to my remote speakers, driving it from iPhone or iPod touch. I am also sharing the whole storage HDD for use from all other computers in the house for files, and mount it from my jailbroken AppleTV for playing movies. Oh, and I have my APC SmartUPS wired up to Mac mini via USB extension vable, so the thing can shut itself down if there's power outage (yes, mac mini and both drives get power from that UPS, too).
So far this arrangement worked for me beautifully. Apple Remote Desktop is perfect for remote management, it even shows you the post-logout screen when you're installing OSX patches/updates (it logs you out before running patch installation). File system performance I can't really complain about - with both Mac Mini and my desktop being on a GigE network, I routinely get throughput of about 40 Mb/s (which I think is limited by Firewire/USB speeds anyway). I find this pretty plenty for what we use it for (shared storage).
sfoskett
· 1 year ago
This sounds awesome! It's exactly the setup I've been dreaming of - and I think I might pull the trigger!
I'm getting about 5 MB/s to my NSLU2 setup - not great.
KendallK
· 6 months ago
You mention the fact that Apple's reliance on protocols like DAAP is worrisome, since it locks consumers into nearly all-Apple solutions. That's exactly why Apple does it. They want people to buy Apple and Apple only. Unlike Microsoft, the OS company that has a stranglehold on the business market, Apple is a Hardware company that makes it's own OS. They do this so that they can capture a segment of the population that appreciates easy-to-use solutions and slick design. Apple has taken a complicated beast of home media storage and made it relatively simple. I think you're right... the home server option may be on the horizon, but only when they get it dialed in to the point where you can teach your Grandma how to use it.
By the way... I love your blog. I'm an IT manager at a large non-denominational church. I love Macs (used them for media production for 15 years), and your info on updating mac-minis is giving me the leverage I need to install easy-to-use Mac computers in all of our meeting rooms, giving us a shared music library (hosted on our Xserve) and a dvd / presentation / youtube / whatever you need solution for presentations.
sfoskett
· 6 months ago
Thanks for posting your thoughts! I'm glad to help you!
Yes, Apple loves proprietary protocols for their core products. They lock us in and give Apple the ability to do whatever development they want without waiting for anyone. Smart!
I'm currently converting my home network to all-Apple, with iTunes as a server, AirPort Express as a player, and iPhone as a remote. Lock-in works! Hahaha!
All Comments
What I wanted is a centralized iTunes library plus iTunes itself (especally after Apple Remote app came out for iPhone/iPod) - I have Airport Express with iPod Hi-Fi in my bedroom and wanted to be able to play music on it from my main library, but don't want to keep my or my wife's laptop running, streaming to Airtunes. To do that, I needed a computer with iTunes running. I tried to get iTunes on Linux running (with wine), which didn't work, so I abandoned it, not wanting to spend too much time on it. Necessary note - our home now is 100% apple environment, running Windows only in Vmware, when needed (which is almost never).
To cut long story short, about a month ago I decommissioned my Linux box and replaced it with a Mac Mini with two external HDDs - one on Firewire, another on USB. First disk is the main storage, while the second serves as Time Machine backup disk for built-in system disk and external media storage disk. I chose to use two enclosures rather than one hosting two disks to avoid the risk of a common element failure, such as SATA-USB bridge or power supply. I can't quite rationally explain my choice to use different interface (USB+firewire), but both enclosures have all three interface types (USB+FW+eSATA), and it "felt right" to do it. The external disk arrangement gives very good options to expand storage further, when needed - firewire can be chained, and there are two more USB ports available (and a hub can be used as the last resort).
I used WD AV hard drives, which are meant to be able to work 24x7 at highter than usual operating temperatures, and do have intelligent power management (meaning they change their rotation speed, depending on demand). All this is now lives directly inside my TV cabinet, as its footprint is very small and it makes very little noise. I am running iTunes on it (auto-login + start iTunes as login item), and can play music to my remote speakers, driving it from iPhone or iPod touch. I am also sharing the whole storage HDD for use from all other computers in the house for files, and mount it from my jailbroken AppleTV for playing movies. Oh, and I have my APC SmartUPS wired up to Mac mini via USB extension vable, so the thing can shut itself down if there's power outage (yes, mac mini and both drives get power from that UPS, too).
So far this arrangement worked for me beautifully. Apple Remote Desktop is perfect for remote management, it even shows you the post-logout screen when you're installing OSX patches/updates (it logs you out before running patch installation). File system performance I can't really complain about - with both Mac Mini and my desktop being on a GigE network, I routinely get throughput of about 40 Mb/s (which I think is limited by Firewire/USB speeds anyway). I find this pretty plenty for what we use it for (shared storage).
I'm getting about 5 MB/s to my NSLU2 setup - not great.
By the way... I love your blog. I'm an IT manager at a large non-denominational church. I love Macs (used them for media production for 15 years), and your info on updating mac-minis is giving me the leverage I need to install easy-to-use Mac computers in all of our meeting rooms, giving us a shared music library (hosted on our Xserve) and a dvd / presentation / youtube / whatever you need solution for presentations.
Yes, Apple loves proprietary protocols for their core products. They lock us in and give Apple the ability to do whatever development they want without waiting for anyone. Smart!
I'm currently converting my home network to all-Apple, with iTunes as a server, AirPort Express as a player, and iPhone as a remote. Lock-in works! Hahaha!