OSX LION SERVER on Mac Mini for a home media server?

Would a Mac Mini with Mac OS X Lion Server be a good alternative for a home multi media movie server?
Has anyone done this?
If so please give advice or success stories vs. HP Home Media Smart Server (i added a link to the HP server)
http://www.hp.com/canada/products/landing/mediasmart/ex.html
I would really rather use a Mac product but not sure what Apple offers and if it will do the same or better than the HP Media Smart Server.
Again, any advice would be great.
Cheers,

It would make a great server. Bonus over Apple TV for example is that you have access via both wired ethernet and wireless. Plus if you load tools from XBMC, Firecore and others you have a significant media server. Cost is right too.
Many people are doing this - google mac mini media server or other for more info.
Total downside to any windows based system - dealing with constant anti-virus, major security hassels, lack of true media integration and PITA to update, etc.
You should be aware that Lion Server is not ready for prime time - it stil has significant issues if you are migrating from SNL 10.6.8. If you buy an apple fresh Lion Server mac mini you should have no problems.
You'll probably be pleased.

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Mac Mini for the Home

Hello,
This question has been posted many times all over the internet but the responses are not specific to what I need to know. I have a MBP 2010 that is my main workhorse for everything. I was thinking of adding a Mac Mini to my network to host iTunes so that when I take my MBP away from my network I can still stream media from iTunes. I also do not want to worry about having to remebert to turn on my MBP if I decide to stream from iTunes. Basically, I want a dedicated iTunes server.
The price of a Mac Mini is not cheap and I could build a windows platform to handle the iTunes service but I do not want to deal with cross platform issues.
I want to know what other things can I do with the Mac Mini besides have it host my iTunes library. I have a drobo fs and was going to hook that up to it for storage.
I have been reading online that I can access shared folders with the Mac Mini so I can still access the drobo from my MBP. I might want to host my own website later and thought that was a cool feature of Server.
I dont have any other Macs in my ecosystem. Could I access the Mac Mini remotely and share files that way if I want to. I am thinking if I get the Mac Mini I can off load some contnet off my MBP and some tasks to the Mac Mini. Im not sure what else I can use it for. I guess Im asking how can I get the most out of a Mac Mini?
Sorry if this thread is sort of inconsistent with asking for help. I went into the Apple store to take to someone about it and they were fixated on my Drobo thinking that it could do all the work that I wanted to do. They had no idea of what a drobo was.

OS X Server does address iOS devices through Profile Manager. I'm not versed on that because I don't use it.
Yes, with VPN you can share files and Screen sharing remotely when not on your Local Area Network (LAN).
A Mac Mini can be "the brains" if that's what you want. I use my Mac Mini as a home server. I keep files for Macs and PCs on it so those computers don't have to store them on their local computer. I use VPN so I can access files when away from my LAN. I have a USB 3.0 drive I use with the Time Machine service to back up my MBP Retina over the network. I have my iTunes files on the server and use iTunes Home Sharing to share THAT iTunes library to all computers on the network.
I purchased the base model ($599) which I feel is inexpensive for a home server. It has the base RAM of 4GB which works perfectly for me since it's not using CPU/Memory resources like my Retina does which is my day-to-day computer.

LDAP and NFS mounts/setup OSX Lion iMac with Mac Mini Lion Server

Hello all,
I have a local account on my iMac (Lion), and I also have a Mac Mini (Lion Server) and I want to use LDAP and NFS to mount the /Users directory, but am having trouble.
We have a comination of Linux (Ubuntu), Windows 7 and Macs on this network using LDAP and NFS, except the windows computers.
We have created users in workgroup management on the server, and we have it working on a few Macs already, but I wasnt there to see that process.
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It would make a great server. Bonus over Apple TV for example is that you have access via both wired ethernet and wireless. Plus if you load tools from XBMC, Firecore and others you have a significant media server. Cost is right too.
Many people are doing this - google mac mini media server or other for more info.
Total downside to any windows based system - dealing with constant anti-virus, major security hassels, lack of true media integration and PITA to update, etc.
You should be aware that Lion Server is not ready for prime time - it stil has significant issues if you are migrating from SNL 10.6.8. If you buy an apple fresh Lion Server mac mini you should have no problems.
You'll probably be pleased.

Using Mac Mini as a home music server

Hi,
I own an unused 2009 Mac Mini and some 800G of music (in Apple Lossless format). I was thinking of upgrading Mac Mini's internal HD to 1TB, download my Music into the Mac Mini and wire it to one of our 2 Hi-Fi sound systems.
As we also own a SONOS system, the music could then be played wirelessly into different locations within our house, including another Hi-Fi sound system.
The other pieces of hardware we own are :
- One 2010 Mac Book Pro w. Mountain Lion (350 G / 8 G of RAM)
- One 2011 Apple TV
- One Ipad 2 (64 G)
- Two Iphones 4S (16 G)
- 3 other Ipods
Of course, we would like the music to be available from all these devices as well, especially to be able to manage our Iphones/Ipods from our MacBook Pro (where agenda, contacts, pictures... resides under two different profiles - and two Itunes/appstore accounts)
I am asking here in order to validate :
Q1 - Is that this is a workable architecture, or I am mistaken in this design ?
Q1.1 - Would it be more efficient to put the music library on an extarnal drive lwired to the Router and access it from all devices ?
Q1.2 - Will access from the other devices will be best acheived by granting read/write privileges to the users on the Mac Pro on the Mac Mini (so Mac Pro Itune can point directly to the remote library), or by sharing the music library via music sharing ?
Q2 - would I need a special server OS on the Mac Mini ?
Here is a schema.
Many thanks for your input.

iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
do not confuse moving your whole folder and library with moving just media files as in
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Quick answer if you let iTunes manage your music: Copy the whole iTunes folder and all its subfolders and files intact to the other drive. Start iTunes with the option key held down and guide it to the new location of the library.
If your whole iTunes folder + library files is already on the external, simply start the other computer's iTunes with the option key held down after the drive has mounted.

Using a Mac Mini as a File/Media server with different accounts

I recently bought a new iMac and decided to use my G4 Mac Mini as a media/file server and backup server.
One of the decisions I can't figure out is how to organize all of my files and user accounts. I especially would like to be able to access them from either my iMac or my Powerbook. Also, I'd like to be able to use the iMac as the main iPhoto and iTunes machine.
So here's my ideal situation:
On the Mini create a user account for each media/user type: Music, Movies, Photos, Backup and then on the other Macs automount each user.
But I can't because once you connect to a mount via Finder you always connect via the same user. (is there a way around that?)
So I guess I can do it all under one user account, but then all of my configurations require subfolders which I was trying to avoid. It also means that if I give my kids access to one set of media, they get access to all.
Is there any way to create a more segmented Media Server? Is there any reason to or am I just making this too complicated?
Thanks
Cabal
iMac; Mac Mini;Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.5)

One more important detail. I have external HDs connected to the mini as well. While testing the single user method, I realized I couldn't mount those external HDs. Could be because I set the media user to a Standard User. But I still find that odd.
One way I did find to solve my ideal situation is to use Windows File Sharing instead of Personal File Sharing. By editing the smb.conf file I can share specific directories under specific users.
But surely the best way to network on a Mac is not using Samba is it?
Cabal

Lion server on Mac mini server stop responding to ssh and VNC (other services like mail, ical works well)

Lion server on Mac mini server stop responding to ssh and VNC (other services like mail, ical works well)
Version is Lion server 10.7.4
When I attach a monitor to it, I saw all the buttons and menus stopped responding too. I can only push and hold the power button on the box to shutdown.
It only started happening recently.
Anyone has any clue?
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Found that the second hard drive is broken. I have to go to the apple store to have it replaced.
I had to press the power button to turn the server off for several times, then the broken hard drive went disappeared. After that, I had to disable the Spotlight. Then the server went back to work normally.
Now I made a CCC copy of the primary hard drive, and would like to have the server run on the external raid disk (connected through thunderbolt). Does anyone have previous experience with it? Any expectable drawback or issue with this setup?

Lion OS on Mac Mini Server?

I recieved a Mac mini server from my brother with Snow leapord server installed. I have a copy of regular Lion that I would like to install as I dont need the server capabilities. Every time I try it tells me that I need to buy the lion server part from the app store. Some of the other posts I've found basically say you shouldn't have bought a Mini Server if thats not what you need, but thats not a solution.
Does anyone know how to install a regular copy of Lion on a Mac Mini Server without buying the server app which I would not use anyway? Thanks for the help.
Ben.

Can you wipe it and install Snow Leopard on it? That should give you an easy upgrade path to Lion. That would suck if having Snow Leopard server locked you in to only a Lion server upgrade.
When you say you have a copy of Lion what do you mean? You have it on a flash drive? Its download only but there are ways you can burn it to DVD or install on a flash drive.

Which Mac mini for home server, Aperture & HTPC

Hi,
I'm buying a Mac mini for:
- home / small business server
- Occasional HTPC usage (will be hooked to my TV via HDMI)
- Occasional Aperture / iPhoto usage (minimal iMovie)
Which one is most suitable for this?
I was planing to go for Server version (with bumped up RAM to 8GB), but now I read about video card and I'm not 100% anymore.
I will NOT use it for 3D - gaming or similar tasks!
Thak you all for help!
Vasja

I went for the non-server dual core i7 with AMD GPU and am very happy with it. Do quite a bit of Aperture work and it never misses a beat (so far). I'm not a fan of integrated Intel graphics and wouldn't trust it for HTPC duties.
I'm not sure how many/much of the 'server' functionality you're going to be using as it sounds more like file transfer and other tasks that could be accomplished through normal Lion.
Unless I'm missing something I assume the two hard drives in the Mini Server are just as much of a pain to replace as the one in the non-server Mini so I didn't see the point of having a two hard disc Mini.
For your requirements I would definitely look at how much of the server functionality you really need to utilise, and if the answer is 'not much' I'd recommend the i5 or i7 non-server Mini with AMD GPU and some sort of NAS, plus a sensible offsite backup plan for your data.

Is OSX lion compatible with microsoft office for mac 2008

Can anybody out there please give me a definitive answer to this question: Is OSX Lion compatible with Microsoft Office for Mac 2008? The technical support people of both Apple and Microsoft could not provide me wth a useful answer to a question that must interest hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions. I don't want to download the new OS and then encounter nasty problems.

Yes. The only problem you could face, is if you want to reinstall MS Office 2008 on Lion - this is not possible, because the installer runs on Rosetta, which is no longer supported in Lion. But if you already have Office installed, there should be absolutely no problems.

How to instal Mac OS X 10.4 server on mac mini

I try to install mac osx 10.4 server on mac mini intel solo, but no success. Thanks for assistance.

You basically can't run Mac OS X Server effectively on an Intel machine at this time. There is no Intel-native version of it, and if you install the PowerPC modifications onto an Intel version of Mac OS X client, you can't update it.
(13890)

Mac mini wont connect to exchange server

i cannot connect my mac mini to my office exchange server. i was able to connect my ipad and iphone, but cannot figure out how to connect the mac mini using the same techniques. i unchecked autodiscover and still no luck

Hmm, the fact that that link didn't work may be thekey, here's that page anyway...
By Erik Eckel
October 25, 2011, 6:00 AM PDT
Takeaway: Erik Eckel addresses a common problem — trying to get Lion Mail connected to Exchange servers. Here are some tips for how to do it.
Many technology professionals become frustrated when connecting Macs to Exchange servers. The frustration typically results from a misunderstanding of Microsoft Exchange technologies. Here’s what Lion users and administrators should know.
Exchange Web Services is the key
When connecting a Mac OS X Lion system, the email server should be running Exchange 2007 or 2010. Microsoft Exchange 2003 does not leverage the newer Exchange Web Services (EWS) introduced with the 2007 platform. iPhones and iPads leverage ActiveSync technology, which is one of the reasons those mobile devices typically work with Exchange 2003 servers.
While there are workarounds for connecting Lion systems to Exchange 2003 servers, including leveraging POP3, IMAP or browser-based OWA technologies, those solutions are less secure and support fewer capabilities. Anyone considering such options should remember that Microsoftsuspended mainstream support for Microsoft Exchange 2003 in April 2009. Organizations still dependent upon Exchange 2003 infrastructure should already be planning if not implementing their Exchange 2010 migrations.
Connecting Lion Mail
Assuming an SSL certificate is installed, DNS A and MX records are properly configured, and the organization’s firewall passes the appropriate traffic, you can follow these steps to connect Mac OS X Lion’s Mail application to an Exchange 2007/2010 server:
Open Mail.
Click File and select Add Account.
Specify the user’s name in the Full Name field. Enter the email address and type the password associated with the user’s Windows/Exchange user account, then click the Continue button. Mail will search for the associated email server; users may have to click Connect if Mail reports it cannot verify the identity of the email server.
When the Incoming Mail Server screen appears, select Exchange from the Account Type drop down menu.
Within the Incoming Mail Server field, specify the email server, providing again the user name and password.
Check the Contacts and Calendars boxes if you wish also to synchronize those items, then click Continue.
If SSL is to be used, check the Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) box on the Incoming Mail Security screen and then click Continue.
An Account Summary will appear. Review the information entered to ensure accuracy, then click Create.
Connecting Outlook 2011
Microsoft Outlook 2011 users can configure the application to connect to properly configured Exchange servers by following these steps:
Open Outlook 2011.
Click Tools and select Accounts. If an account already exists, click the + icon and select Exchange. Otherwise, click Exchange Account from the Add an Account screen.
Enter the email address within the E-mail address field, then specify the authentication method. The most common method is likely the default user name and password configuration. Once you supply the requisite information, click the Add Account button (note Outlook selects the Configure automatically box by default).
If Outlook is unable to automatically configure the account, you will need to specify the server address, then click Add Account.
The Accounts screen will then appear. If additional settings must be configured, click the Advanced button. From the Server tab, you can override and update ports and change the server address, among other options. The Delegates and Security tabs, meanwhile, enable configuring delegate users, digital signing, and encryption certificates.

I want to install XP Pro SP2 on a Mac Mini from a 2003 RIS server.

I want to install XP Pro SP2 on a Mac Mini from a 2003 RIS server. Is this possiIble? How is it done?
The mac has 10.5 which has bootcamp to enable Windows install. I have created a partition but the bootcamp utility asks for a CD. I want to install a RIS build. The Mac has a option for network boot but this seems to only work with Mac Server. I assume the network adapter is not PXE compatible and so a boot disk of some kind will be needed to kick this off?.

Hallo, I installed the program as you said. Everything ok.
When i have to give my serialnummer, it is not accepted. Code is not valid he said
1160-4008-7475-7547-5706-0812
Op 21-sep.-2014, om 17:44 heeft Rikk Flohr <[email protected]> het volgende geschreven:
Hi, I want to install my lightroom version on a new mac pro. How do i get started. Can't find it on this site. Thx
created by Rikk Flohr in Photoshop Lightroom - View the full discussion
www.adobe.com
Hit the Download link at the bottom the page.
Hit Lightroom
Hit Free Trial
When you are done downloading, launch, and enter your serial number from your previous installation.
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Using Mac mini for storage

Hello Folks,
Quick question: can I use the mac mini for storage only? I have loads of movies, music and tv shows that I want to store.
How would this work if at all possible?
Alternative advice on EHD that I should rather use?
Thanks!
JDT

Yes, and target disk mode, or firewire over IP or setting it up as a file server are all possibilities. But given there are faster more capacious hard drives for less, I would get that instead unless there is some feature of the Mac Mini that a simple hard drive can't do that you need. I.e. Front Row, Media Central or other software can be used to see your data on a TV. An external hard drive attached to your desktop Mac together with an AppleTV can do the same thing but the media formats are more limited.

Snow Leopard Server Software - Mac Mini Copy vs Retail Copy

Hi All,
I recently purchased a mac mini server, with what I thought would be a SL Server license.
I've used the Mac Mini to run a Leopard server whilst our Xserve was out of action.
Now the xserve is back, I was thinking of installing SL on the Xserve and keep the mini running leopard until we migrate over.
When I tried to install SL on the Xserve, it gave me an error. I rang Apple, and the enterprise guy told me this wasn't possible, as the copy that came with the mac mini was hardware specific and just a restore copy of snow leopard server. Bottom line I can't install the Mac Mini version of SL on an Xserve, even though I have paid for a SL license in buying the mac mini!
Does anybody know if there is any real differences between the hardware specific software copy and a retail version. If there isn't I'll install a copy on the mac mini and copy it over to the xserve. I just want to be sure that I'm not getting a downsized version of software!
Thanks.

There are ways to extract the OS from the restore disk so you can use in other system. you will just have to do a little online search. but I think it will be illegal if you care of course... but it would probably be easier to just download a copy from rapidshare or something like that and use your key ..
As far as feature there is none between the restore and retail copy.

I've just installed Mac osx lion and my mac doesn't recognize (don't see) my audio interface. Focusrite Saffire pro 24 dsp.

I've just installed Mac osx lion and my mac doesn't recognize (don't see) my audio interface. Focusrite Saffire pro 24 dsp.
I had no problems on snow leopard.
thanks

Well I found my answer…
http://www.focusrite.com/answerbase/en/article.php?id=1159
At the time of writing, the following products arecurrently not working with OS X 10.7:
Saffire PRO 14
Saffire PRO 24
Saffire PRO 24 DSP
Saffire PRO 40
Liquid Saffire 56
Liquid Mix HD
Forté Suite
Scarlett Plug-In Suite
Focusrite is committed to providing support for ourproducts with the latest operating systems. We are currently working onproviding full support for our products with OS X Lion, and these will beavailable as soon as they are complete.
Please check this page regularly for the most up to dateinformation regarding OS X 10.7 Lion compatibility information.

OSX LION SERVER on Mac Mini for a home media server?

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