What is the Smallest Mac Network Set Up

We are a two person office -two imacs on 10.6 and would like to know what the smallest, most efficient network set up between the two machines could be, including back up. Central data access is the issue.
a) We heard there are dedicated external hard drives that can be used by two machines at the same time. If so what are they called and how can you back them up?
b) We thought of buying a mac mimi as a server and use its hd as the communal network hd. Do we have to buy an extra screen to see what the mini is doing and also do we need a router as an interface?
If someone can give us a hint, would be much appreciated
best,
fred
Message was edited by: softlimiter

There are a lot of ways you could tackle this one; which way you go will depend on what your full needs are, such as:
How much shared storage do you anticipate needing?
Do you need backups of that data, as well as backups of the iMacs?
Do you need more controlled shared access to files than simple peer-to-peer file sharing allows?
Do you need any of the services that OS X Server provides?
The new Mini server would certainly be a viable option as a simple file-sharing and backup server. (I would dedicate an external drive on the Mini for use with Time Machine to back up the Mini and the iMacs rather than using one of the internal drives.) OS X Server can be run "headless" via a networked computer with the provided Server Tools. A new router would not be necessary, providing you have a free port on your existing router or switch to connect the Mini to.
Another option would be an NAS device like the Drobo units to house your files. Relatively simple units with little setup. The downside is backups - I believe that most NAS devices run in RAID 1 or SPAN, so there's little fallback if a drive in the NAS unit fails. Still, this would be less expensive an option than a Mini server and extra storage..
Food for thought.
-Douggo

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