Using a NAS to as iTunes server

I am looking to purchase a NAS to use primarily as a reliable (RAID-5) photo and music repository, to be shared amongst my family computers (6 PCs). Most of our iTunes library content was purchased from the iTunes store, and the rest ripped from CDs.
I see that several NAS devices claim to have built-in iTunes server capability, but do not really go in to exactly what that means. I am wondering specifically how this works with the digital rights management of iTunes Store purchased files.
Basically, I want to be able to run iTunes on any PC, purchase from the iTunes Store from any PC, have the content downloaded to the NAS, and be able to see that from any other PC, from which an iPod can sync.
Thanks in advance
--Michael

Hi - I've been working on the same project; in my case between pc's, a macbook, an NAS, and the Tivo series 3. Here's what I've learned so far:
- you can set up a library on an NAS through Bonjour; the NAS must be preconfigured with a Samba server and Bonjour enabled to be recognized by iTunes clients (I can confirm this works with the MacBook client without downloading the music files to the local hard disk but I have not built a playlist on the NAS yet)
- you can consolidate all your libraries from existing clients to the NAS, so that music you have purchased, encoded, etc. can all be put into one place with the same playlist info
- you can keep track of music encoded or purchased by any client by using a synch app like TuneRanger for Mac and PC (same software works on both); this will also periodically synch podcasts and other content as well
- you can play iTunes libraries and playlists on your home theater system through Tivo Desktop a local iTunes client (not sure if that will work with the shared NAS library yet but I'm working on it)
- you can install Bonjour on your PC as a download from Apple but it needs to be installed or repaired after every Java SE runtime install or update; Bonjour is included with any OS 10.4 or higher on the Mac
- you can synch iPods to the NAS through a local iTunes client; this definitely works with the MacBook but I have not yet attempted with a PC client
- I picked up the Cavalry 2TB NAS product that is now selling for $300; the doc set is not a literary masterpiece but it gets the job done in significant detail; the internal drives I got with this appliance are WD Caviar SE16
Give it a shot - what have you got to lose but hours and hours of TV!

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Can I use my 3G iPhone as iTunes server while using the free remote app from another iOS device

Can I use my 3G iPhone as iTunes server and use the remote app
with another iOS device

You should be able to set up numerous IMAP accounts on your iPhone with no problems.
IMAP will not sync contacts and calendars in your local copy of Outlook.

Recommended NAS solution for iTunes Server

I would like to get a NAS drive solution so I can have Itunes running without a PC/MAC running. What is the recommended vendor for NAS product that works well with macs
Once the new apple TV is out I would like the apple TV to stream from the NAS without having a computer on
Thanks in advance for your suggestions

I've been looking at the QNAP TS219P, which may be overkill for you. I've had issues streaming HD content (720 or 1080p) over wireless, less so with wired ethernet, but I'm still paranoid that the NAS is the slowest link sometimes.
If you check out smallnetbuilder.com you can see they compare different NAS boxes based upon their read/write speeds, you can even plot performance versus price. You need to make sure whatever NAS you get not only will support the read speeds of the video you plan on streaming (bitrate) but also whatever protocol Apple TV will use. Most QNAP's support iTunes servers, AFP (Apple's network protocol) and DLNA (a standard protocol for media servers). This is just what I've picked up in my research to purchase my own NAS box, although I wasn't considering Apple TV compatibility. I could be wrong, but if I had to guess, I think if you get a NAS with decent read/write/throughput (enough to at least match 720p and 1080p bitrates) and AFP/iTunes/DLNA support, you will be safe.

Questions about mac mini iTunes server, streaming to macbook pro, ipads, etc.

I'm thinking about getting a mac mini to work with my NAS as a iTunes server. I have a bunch of questions about this. I will have two iPhones, a few iPads, and a laptop that will be accessing the files. I have iTunes match. This is basically to keep an always on computer for hosting the music/movies. My questions are as follows . . .
#1 Are there any good, comprehensive guides to show you how to do this?
#2 Can the movies be accessed when not at home on the shared network?
#3 Can the iPads or the macbook pro download the shared movies to be stored locally?
#4 Back to #3, how will it work on my macbook pro with listening to music (I have iTunes match)? Say i go to library and I break out my macbook pro and I don't have internet. What happens if I download music while at home onto my macbook pro to listen to it when I go to the library? Will i start a new library on my macbook pro? How will that mesh with the home server when I come back.
#5 Is there a way to mirror files or folders? So something that I have on my macbook pro will also mirror on the home server.
Thanks for your help on this. I'll post any follow up questions.

seanfenton wrote:
1. I want to replace the Optical drive with a 2TB SATA. can I use this 2.5 inch?
I do not know if it is the same model number, but this one will work in your MBP:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/SEAGATE%20OWC/ST2000LM003M/
2. I want to replace the HD with a 128GB SSD 840. When I replace these drives, will my OS still be in tact? I have never done this job before.
No. You will have to format the drives in Disk Utility>Erase to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and then install the OSX by using the original install disks.
3.) I want to replace the ram sticks to max capacity. This is 2 2GB sticks, Correct?
No. An early 17" 2008 MBP will accept 6GB RAM with the following specifications: 200-pin PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 SO-DIMM. The best sources of Mac compatible RAM are OWC and Crucial.
4.) Most difficult...
I want to extend the monitor wirelessly to a projector. I thought about using Apple TV and Airplay. However, support for airplay is for MacBooks 2011 and newer. I thought of using a PS3 and the media server, but I think this brings on a format compatibility issue. (my library is so large I could not afford to convert all my movies to MP4.) So, how would you recommend I put my extended monitor with VLC player onto a projector?
Could I possibly connect the MBP to a Mac Mini as an extension? would this work natively? I would rather use a VGA cord than F with 3rd party app BS.
Cannot help you there.
5..) I want to Bypass iTunes this time around. I would prefer to use Finder and VLC to manage all of my music. I mostly play all my music on shuffle, so, could I create a playlist on VLC with all of my music and play it randomly? (im sure this is possible but i'd like to organize all my plans with confirmation.)
You are not obligated to use iTunes.
6.) Can i upgrade the keyboard to backlit? i've read that this is possible.
All MBPs have back lighted keyboards. Your either needs a NVRAM reset or a repair.
Ciao.

Time Capsule as iTunes server?

Hello,
I want to ask whether it is to use Time Capsule as an iTunes server - TheTime Capsule upload my iTunes library and run it through Apple TV without a computer. Is this possible? If not there is any product that would go to useiTunes as a server? thank you

The Time Capsule (TC) can perform as a Media Storage device, but it does not offer Media Server functions including performing as an iTunes Server. For that you would require either an iTunes Host device or a dedicated NAS device that has a iTunes Server built-in. An example would be the Western Digital My Book World Edition II.

Using an "iTunes Server" on a NAS drive for several users

Like many others I'm trying to make a single drive containing my iTunes media serve different iTunes users round the house.
Will the following work? Comments welcomed.
Currently my iTunes Media Folder and media live on my main PC. About 130Gb in total.
I'd like to get a NAS drive that has "iTunes Server" functionality and put this NAS drive on our home network. Then I'd like to move my iTunes media folder location into the 'iTunes Server' folder on the NAS drive. I'd also like to transfer all the data files associated with iTunes to the NAS drive. I believe with iTunes 10 that shouldn't be a problem and that I can contunue to use iTunes on my main PC as I ever did....it's just the media and data files will now all reside on the networked NAS.
Now I'd like to point all the iTunes on the other PCs in the house to the networked iTunes Media folder and the networked data files. Then presumably they will boot up and be able to access everything just like my main PC.
I understand that if more than one PC tries to edit the data files and iTunes media folder then corruption will inevitably result. I wondered if this could be prevented by using access rights management to all the networked iTunes files so that only my main PC can actually edit anything, add music, etc.
That way I hoped that I may manage the library successfully, create playlists as required and have all the other PC users enjoy my work but without screwing it up!
Maybe an iTunes data file can't be read by two instances of iTunes at the same time? Perhaps a second PC reading the data files can cause a corruption, if my main PC happens to be editing those files at the same time?
In essence I want all iTunes related files on the NAS drive. I want all PCs(with iTunes) in the house to have full read-only access to the music, playlists etc. However I would like my main PC to remain as the sole machine that administers the iTunes library and related files.
Looking forward to any help. Like others I've spent many hours trying to ascertain the best way to share a single iTunes media store around the house.
I know I could leave my main PC on and have the other PCs get at the content that way. However the power consumption of my desktop setup is not insignifcant and we will have a NAS drive running 24/7 anyway for other duties.
Hope that all makes sense.
Cheers
Geoff

I now realise that if what I propose will work then "iTunes server" is not required on the NAS. However if the iTunes Media Folder was placed in the "iTunes Server" on the NAS then other media players like the ROKU could access the files?
Geoff

How do i use itunes server with itunes match?

Hi all,
I am using itunes server on my synology NAS. On my desktop i've always used itunes with match. How can I combine the two? In other words, how can i use itunes match with itunes server?
thanx

I don't know if you've already solved it yourself, but I had this problem too. Try signing out of iTunes Store under 'Settings', then signing back in with JUST your iTunes user name, with no '.mac' or '.me' suffix. If, for example, your usual sign-in method is '[email protected]' try using 'joebloggs'.
Worked for me.

Home sharing problem: How can I connect a NAS iTunes server to Apple TV 2?

I have a NAS (network attached storage) that has an iTunes server and I can see the music that I have on that NAS when I open my iTunes on my computers. However, I was wondering if there is a way to add that NAS/iTunes Server to my Home Sharing and not have to turn my computer ON every time.

the short answer is no.
the itunes server on your NAS is a pseudo (fake) itunes instance.
you need a real instance of itunes (that has HomeSharing), and that means itunes running on a pc/laptop.
you can use your NAS as the storage location for itunes, but appletv cannot connect direct to the NAS.

I want to store my music files on a NAS (which has an iTunes server built in), but I'm not sure how this will affect my iPhone sync. Will I need a local copy of my music on a computer in order to continue to sync?

Hi,
I have an iPhone and I sync playlists to it from iTunes. (I have far in excess of 16GB of music/podcasts.)
What I want to do is permanently share my music library with all devices in the house, so I'm planning on buying a NAS server that has a built-in iTunes server. (I don't want to just use my computer to share and leave it on 24/7 because that is a phenominal waste of power.) That way all networked computers can just load the library under the 'SHARED' option in the left pane. However, this had me wondering about how I will continue to sync my music to my iPhone? I wondered if I will need to maintain a duplicate of the library on one of my computers, and then have my iPhone sync with that. Otherwise I'm not sure how it'll work.
Any help/comments/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Tom.

Incidentally, my first thought was to map a network share from the NAS to my computer, so that my music files appear on the Z: drive, say on my computer. I could then set up iTunes to store music etc in that folder, and to copy all new items to that folder. However, if I do that, all that'll happen is that on my NAS, the library file will become out of date as I add music to the collection but not to the index.

How can I sync my iPod with a NAS's (QNAP 212) iTunes server?

I have a Qnap 212 nap with 3TB HDD.
I'm using Windows 7 and iTunes.
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Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive: Apple Support Communities

ITunes Server on a NAS...I don't get it...please help!

Hello,
I currently have all my iTunes files (including the library file) on a small network drive. iTunes is set to point there for storing music and the library file, so any computer on my network can access the same library and info. All is well.
Recently, I started looking into getting a nice, big RAID 1 NAS for redundancy purposes, and I have come across some (like a D-Link and a Buffalo Linkstation Live) which claim to have a "built-in" iTunes server.
I guess I'm really confused as to what a built in server does that I haven't already set up myself with a network drive. I was just going to copy all my files on the new NAS, and set iTunes to look on that mapped drive for the library file and all the media files. So what does the "built in" server do on top of that? I can't figure out if this capability is something that should affect my decision to go with a particular NAS or not...please help!
Thanks

I have the FD GeForce 1TB NAS set up as Raid 1. When I check the "itunes server" option, it simply showed the library in iTunes under shared libraries. I think it also made a distinct share for the library, even though I had already made one. So I turned the option off. I have all of my music on a share called "iTunes". If I have other computers in the house I'm sure they will still be able to see the music since iTunes can search for shared libraries. In other words, I'm not sure what the "iTunes server" option does that you can't do on your own. I think it just makes it easier for some.
Now after reading some posts, I suppose that other users would have trouble writing to my itunes library over the network, especially if it shows up as a shared library. Maybe that is the point of an itunes server? I'm not sure I want anybody writing to my library.
On another note, how can you point your itunes library file to another drive? I moved all the iTunes files to the NAS, but each time I open itunes it recreates the library and .xml files on the macbook HD. If other users can't find the library file, will they be able to listen? So all of the iTunes system files are on my local HD, but I have an artwork folder on the local and NAS, but I'm not sure which one it is using, do you know?

Using a NAS as media server that can serve computeres and Apple TV directly

What is the best configuration (performance/price/robustness) to have one single scalable, “backupable” location to store videos and music that can act as a media server accessible by several mac and pc computers as well as several Apple TV within the same house (knowing that the Apple TV would access the location directly not going through a computer).

Not quite true. Apple TV can access NAS orginated stream if you share library. I have done this with GForce NAS. The problem is somwhere else. Sharing is limited to streaming music only at 128kbs. You can see all music on your NAS. NAS runs DAAP-MT server (linux based music streaming) for this which you likely need to enable manually (GForce NAS has this)
Another nasty limitation is that you cannot share stream movies from NAS.
That is the reason I have just bought Eee Box (PC with Win XP Home) and I hooked up number of USB drives with movies that I stream to Apple TV. This PC is very small and it takes very little power so, it can be placed in some corner (e.g. in kitchen when some appliances make noise anyway or in basement) and run 24x7. It will behave as NAS, but it will provide proper streaming of video (just install iTunes for PC on it). You do not need keyboard, mouse or monitor for this PC. I use Tight VNC to manage it remotely from one of my Mac computers... meaning Tight VNC service is run on Eee Box while Mac has built in VNC viewer that you can invoke from "Go to computer" window using following url:
vnc://ipaddress_of_eeebox
(BTW Tight VNC does not need viewer on any mmachine as it has built-in web interface for screen management - you just need to use browser on port 5800)
To stream to Apple TV you need to enter those keys that are displayed by Apple TV. You do this via VNC.

ITunes Server with D-Link DNS-323 NAS - not showing up in Shared list

Hi
I bought a DNS-323 to hold all my music. I am trying to get it working with iTunes.
I have enabled the iTunes Server function on the DNS-323, selecting which folder I want to use for music, and have allowed the device to 'refresh'. It then tells me it should appear in iTunes.
I have installed iTunes 10.2.1.1, but under Sharing, the only option that appears is Home Share. The DNS-323 does not appear in the list.
I have tried rebooting the NAS to no effect.
I've searched a lot on the subject and have seen that iTunes 10 causes issues with iTunes Server on a NAS device, but many people were saying that 10.1 fixes it. However, the threads then seem to go dead with no definitive answer.
Can anyone tell me where iTunes Server is still supported in 10.2.1.1, and if so if there are any suggestions on how to get the device to show up? ALL I get is the Home Sharing option under the Shared heading in iTunes. I tried iTunes 9.2.1 but had the same issue.
Thanks in advance
Dave

Hey Travis, mine only worked when I pointed to a folder with all music files: mp3, m4a... (all separated by artists folders)
After that, I could see my DNS 323 but I couldn't drag any songs to any playlists. I could also see some playlists on my DNS 323 but I couldn't modify them or add any.
I lost 3 days trying everithing but nothing worked. In the end, I clicked on the itunes "File" menu (Top left) and selected "Add folder to library" and I selected the folder with all my music. It must have taken 10 hours to import all the songs. It took me around 1:30 hours to rename over 300 songs (out of 1700) because they weren't properly named. They were all at the bottom of the list.
On my second computer, I cheated because I clicked on "Edit" in iTunes and selected "Preferences". On the "Advanced" tab, I changes the ITunes Media Folder Location and pointed to the one I created with the first computer. The music appeared (I didn't have to rename 300 songs again) and the playlists I had created were also there. This way, I only manage one computer and it should chage the other one.
I'm not sure what will happen when I add new songs but I had selected the music folder on the first computer so I hope they are added automatically. I think I might have to go back to the DNS 323 and do a refresh on the iTunes server to see new songs but I haven't tried it yet.
Hope it helps,

Using an iTunes Server

Does any one know how one can get apple support for iTunes 10 and its iTunes server issues or is there no support at all because it is free? !!!!
I bought the following: A NAS drive sold with an "iTunes Server" for that sepecific feature, I paid for 3 years iTunes Subscription and I bought an iTunes Airport Express device. I now find that after upgrading to iTunes 10 the client, while it happily connects to the iTunes server without complaining, will not present the library.
I can get no support from Verbatim who sold me the NAS drive with the "iTunes Server" feature because they simply will not respond and I can get no support from apple because as soon as i log into their support site using my support id and password, though the login is verified, the page indicates I have no order or repair.
Am I basically a fool for using free software (ie iTunes) and buying a NAS drive with an "iTunes" server when the NAS drive wasn't made by apple?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Message was edited by: hardya

Did any one have any thoughts on this?

Home iTune server using USB external hard drive

I have Mac and PC at home, and wish to set up kind of a NAS for backup and stream music. I read that with Airport Extreme, I can hook up any USB-enabled external hard drive to stream music through iTunes.
Do I need one with "iTune server" capability built-in (such as WD My Book World Edition), or any o'regular external hard drive will work?
Must I use Airport Extreme? Or any wLAN hub with USB connection?

hi - thanks for responding! I have comcast and have their modem. I hooked up the router with my laptop and went through the setup fine. Everything with that works ok. The USB drive is recognized on the web based utility program that you use to set up the router. However, no where on my computer can I find the USB drive or where to even set up that driver. The manual says that my router should be listed as a another computer in my network neighborhood and that I should be able to find the hard drive through that. It is not. Its only listed in my wireless connections. I talked to a rep at linksys for awhile. In the end, they just suggested unplugging it and plugging it back in......that didn't work! Does that help?

Using a NAS to as iTunes server

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