Home User benefit from OSX Server?

[canuckle]

Hi all,

If this question has been answered already feel free to point me to the thread

My question is as stated in the title...is there a benefit to a home user to run Server? Here's our ecosystem...

Backbone/shared:

• 
  100 MB/s cable internet/isp with webspace and 10 email addresses
  Linksys/Cisco E4200 router, segregated 2.4 & 5 Ghz wireless with guest network
  Shared HP 3 in 1 Office Jet 8500
  Apple TV (2nd gen)
  G-Tech 4TB G-RAID Thunderbolt Hard Drive

My gear:

• MBP 2011
• New iPad
• iPhone 4

Wife gear:

• iMac 2012 27"
• iPad 1
• iPhone 4S
• Windows 7 desktop
• Windows 7 Laptop

Our day to day usage is mixed business and personal, she has a small office at home, works in sales, and has several lines she represents. The W7 desktop will be repurposed soon as a Home Theatre PC, but she will need to retain the laptop for some propriatary software purposes.

She is an amateur photog and takes 100's of pics weekly, currently backed up via Time Machine from iMac to G-Raid (Raid 1 mirrored) but I think we need a better storage/backup solution.

So that's our situation. Any thoughts? All help/opinions appreciated and welcomed!

Mike

 

[deconstruct60]

My question is as stated in the title...is there a benefit to a home user to run Server? Here's our ecosystem...

The key issue is where are you proposing to run OS X Server? There is ...

[*]MBP 2011

[*]iMac 2012 27"

Both of which appear to be client primary machines. (i.e., looks like want a set up where both you and the wife are working on Macs at the same time).

Making the MBP the server node would seem to have problems since it may "leave" sometimes.

Tasking the iMac with server duties on top of the client duties can work if both client/server workloads are light enough not to swamp the iMac. However, it has issues and there could be hiccups in the application performance for the user on the iMac at times.

The W7 desktop will be repurposed soon as a Home Theatre PC,

If you were dumping the W7 desktop box for a Mac Mini then perhaps yes. The mini as a HTPC+OS X server would likely work.