Possible to network wirelessly with three external HDs connected to a G4 tower?

[PaperQueen]

Hi all, and thanks in advance for helping me figure this thing out.

I just closed a business and switched career paths (a happy thing), which leaves a lot of usable hardware in my hands. Ideally, I'd like to set it all up as a wireless network that would (at least in theory) provide loads of backup storage. Knowing that I don't want to invest in any new hardware/software at this time, here's what I'd like to do...now please, tell me if it's possible/functional:

What I use in my home office and around the house:
PowerBook G4
MBP

At the center of my wireless network:
An older G4 Tower (no monitor; for storage only)
Airport Extreme
Cable modem
Two external hard drives I already own - firewire
One external hard drive I already own - USB
Is it possible to add these three external HDs to the network by connecting them to the ports on the G4 tower? Will they be visible/usable from the other computers in the house?

And...if the three external hard drives can be accessible via the ports on the G4 tower, will Time Machine work if I use the largest of the three as its target?

Forgive me if this is newbie kind of stuff. For someone who's been using Macs for over 25 years, I'm still tripping over my own toes on some of the network issues.

THANKS, OH GREAT ONES!

 

[pastrychef]

Yes, just go to System Preferences -> Sharing and check File Sharing on the G4 tower.

I'm not sure about Time Machine, though...

 

[PaperQueen]

Thanks for the help, pastrychef. I can see them now (whewy!).

Anyone have some insight on using Time Machine with this setup?

 

[CanadaRAM]

If it is runnning OSX, the G4 is only gonna want to share the User: Public folder on the boot drive. Look at Sharepoints (search www.versiontracker.com) to help set up sharing on other drives

 

[PaperQueen]

My hope is that I can "point" Time Machine to one of the external hard drives connected to the G4 tower via firewire. The tower's old enough that there's no way it could handle the size of the backups.

With Time Machine essentially bypassing the tower, cruising "through" it to the external hard drive, this should work...right...?

 

[CanadaRAM]

My hope is that I can "point" Time Machine to one of the external hard drives connected to the G4 tower via firewire. The tower's old enough that there's no way it could handle the size of the backups.

With Time Machine essentially bypassing the tower, cruising "through" it to the external hard drive, this should work...right...?

Don't think so. TM can't see the drive unless the G4 shares it.

 

[PaperQueen]

Aw, drats. Maybe someday.....

Thanks for the info, CanadaRAM!