Best and most cost effective way for mass storage?

[HE15MAN]

I would like to get a raid setup going on at my house. I currently have

2 Intel iMac's
1 Intel MBP
1 Mac Mini HTPC

I am in the process of making digital copies of all my music, movies, and photos. Obviously this is quite a memory hog. What is the best way to have all the files in one central location, and backed up.

I would like the files also though to be wirelessly accessible. Is that feasible ? Is there a way to have files on a remote computer, but show up in your aperture library/itunes library/ plex database etc?

 

[HE15MAN]

One more time

 

[John Doe 57]

One more time

Bumps. Posts that bring a thread to the top of the New Posts list but add no content to the thread (bumps) are not permitted. This applies not only to posts that say "bump" but to those with the intent to bump, e.g. posts saying "anyone?" or the equivalent.

More -> https://macrumors.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

Have you searched the forums to see if there are any relevant threads on this subject?

 

[Kingcodez]

Get a Wireless NAS

 

[Gav2k]

Buy a drobo s.

 

[bmcgonag]

Buy a drobo s.

If you don't have a PC lying around that would work with FreeNAS operating system (see their page for details on pc requirements), then you would probably be better off going with a Drobo attached to one of your systems.

 

[HE15MAN]

The drobo does seem nice, but their proprietary file system scares me.

 

[ipponrg]

You should look at better NAS solutions like Synology, Qnap, Netgear, etc.

The Drobo (based on reviews) has some performance and stability issues. It also is pricey for what you get with them.

 

[Doctor Doom]

Buy/steal and old mac (g4 or better), plug lots of drives in and connect it by ethernet it to your router and Bobs your uncle... File server and you can share all that lovely music through iTunes. You'd be giving an old mac a new job, and if anything breaks its cheap to replace.

To quote Biggie Smalls: Wreck it, buy a new one.

 

[HE15MAN]

Buy/steal and old mac (g4 or better), plug lots of drives in and connect it by ethernet it to your router and Bobs your uncle... File server and you can share all that lovely music through iTunes. You'd be giving an old mac a new job, and if anything breaks its cheap to replace.

To quote Biggie Smalls: Wreck it, buy a new one.

I would love to buy that or a Mac Pro. Something of that nature. But I am relatively new to Apple (2 years in) so I dont know a ton about their older products. What is SATA capable and prolly 4+ drive bays?

 

[HE15MAN]

Also, I was hoping to use FreeNas..Does that work on Apple towers?