Originally Posted by
nastravel
1) So the setup of using the Macmini as the server should work. Well basically I just want somewhere to STORE all my music/video/pictures so that any devices in my LAN can access it WITHOUT me turning on my IMAC 24/7. Therefore is Macmini server the ideal solution or should I use the time machine or a NAS?
if all you want to do is share files among multiple machines on a network, a nas is adequate.
time machine is an incredibly simple way to have up to date backups, and can also function as a nas (but with less space available for backups).
it sounds like a mac mini server is overkill.
2) My concern on the NAS is that it is not compatible with Apple/Itunes etc.
all nas devices are compatible, but some more than others. ideally the nas supports afp (apple filing protocol) but that's not an absolute requirement.
all you need to do is put your music, video and photos on the nas, then point itunes and iphoto to it and that's that.
and also what happens if I want to play MP4 format videos – understand Itunes does not use this format directly? Need to be converted?
itunes supports mp4 directly but there are some variants so you may need to convert.
3) Remote access is a plus where I can access these FILES. In terms of taking over and actually using the whole Imac (Assume this NEEDS to be switched on)or the Macmini Server. Well it is not essential but I wouldn’t mind IF the security setup is EASY and it is SAFE. I don’t understand things about ports config etc…. Also how do I setup VPN? Is this automatically configured in the Lion Server App?
if you use apple's airport routers (including time capsule), the imac can sleep and wake only when you try to remotely access it, and then sleep shortly after you disconnect.
another option for accessing files remotely is a
pogoplug.
setting up vpn is usually fairly convoluted. it's definitely not automatic.
4) The actual placement of the files and storage. What will be the most efficient way. So I should use the IMac as my main desk top, but where should the MUSIC files/photos etc. be stored? Will it make sense to store it on Imac, and then through the Time Machines app do a nightly incremental backup to the Mini Mac.
if you're just going to listen to the music or watch the videos, then put them on a shared hard drive. you'll want to back that up in addition to your desktop computer, but chances are it won't change that much, so you could just clone it when you add new music or videos (as opposed to hourly, as with time machine). if your network is gigabit, the speed impact will be minimal.
5) Network drive issue. Well I will have a DVR which can allows me to attach an USB Harddrive. It will record directly into the HD into MP4. So I want to see how can I set this up. Is there an actual Hardrive that has an USB port and a LAN port at the same time or dual USBports so that 2 devices can access it at the same time?
there are hard drives with both ports, or you can plug a hard drive into some routers, including an apple time capsule.