Shared Drive Solution

[iMi]

I am trying to come up with a solution that would allow two individuals who are not on the same network (two different states, for that matter) to share access to a secured hard drive where they can view and edit various types of documents and store data.

I use iCloud to maintain files across several devices. There is a way to collaborate by sending a spreadsheet, but there appears to be no way to create a shared hard drive.

I haven't used Dropbox but it looks like there may be a solution there. Not sure. Both users use macOS/iOS combination of devices, so compatibility would not be a problem.

Any suggestions?

 

[techwarrior]

Unfortunately, iCloud only allows files to be shared, not folders. We can hope for enhancements in 10.14, but don't hold your breath.

Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, etc allow folder sharing. Both users setup accounts on the services, install the desktop sync app, and login. From the web interfaces of these services, you can share a folder with an email address, make sure it is the address associated with the accounts. Now, any files in the folder will sync to both computers, and any updates will sync as well. If you subscribe to Office365, One Drive should already be available at no additional cost with a considerable amount of cloud space for each user.

If you have an Apple Airport Extreme or Time Capsule , you can share the internal and\or USB drive attached to the router and add both AppleID to the Back to My Mac list in Airport Utility. Users will need to enter their AppleID\Password, but you can do that with screen sharing so they don't have to give you their passwords. If it is a USB drive, it must be MacOS Journaled format. Users will be able to access it from anywhere on their Macs, it will appear in their Finder Sidebar.

Finally, a NAS like Synology or QNAP. It sits on your network, and users install a free desktop sync app like the cloud services above. You create accounts for them on the NAS, or join it to your Directory service and allow then access to the NAS with a Url like MasterAccountUsername.myqnapcloud.com and use their domain or NAS user account and password. Benefit here is, aside from the cost of the NAS, no additional\monthly recurring costs, and virtually unlimited capacity (limited by your Hardware budget).

 

[iMi]

Unfortunately, iCloud only allows files to be shared, not folders. We can hope for enhancements in 10.14, but don't hold your breath.

Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, etc allow folder sharing. Both users setup accounts on the services, install the desktop sync app, and login. From the web interfaces of these services, you can share a folder with an email address, make sure it is the address associated with the accounts. Now, any files in the folder will sync to both computers, and any updates will sync as well. If you subscribe to Office365, One Drive should already be available at no additional cost with a considerable amount of cloud space for each user.

If you have an Apple Airport Extreme or Time Capsule , you can share the internal and\or USB drive attached to the router and add both AppleID to the Back to My Mac list in Airport Utility. Users will need to enter their AppleID\Password, but you can do that with screen sharing so they don't have to give you their passwords. If it is a USB drive, it must be MacOS Journaled format. Users will be able to access it from anywhere on their Macs, it will appear in their Finder Sidebar.

Finally, a NAS like Synology or QNAP. It sits on your network, and users install a free desktop sync app like the cloud services above. You create accounts for them on the NAS, or join it to your Directory service and allow then access to the NAS with a Url like MasterAccountUsername.myqnapcloud.com and use their domain or NAS user account and password. Benefit here is, aside from the cost of the NAS, no additional\monthly recurring costs, and virtually unlimited capacity (limited by your Hardware budget).

Fantastic feedback. Thank you!

Would the last option, NAS storage, be the most secure option? It sounds exactly like the type of service we would need to setup. Is the setup relatively simple?

 

[techwarrior]

NAS is pretty straightforward to setup, it will take some time to do it right and to make the most of it, but it might also solve other needs. Here is a link to the Tutorial site for QNAP where you can find a lot of good insight into the possibilities.

If you go with an Intel CPU model, they support virtual machines on the platform, nice way to avoid extra hardware for hypervisor needs.

As for secure, QNAP NAS (Synology too but I am not as familiar) is on your network. It offers secure Web and application interfaces for remote workers, you can install a certificate for extra security, including Let's Encrypt. You can control network services to limit external access, while making sure all web interfaces are https. It sits behind your router, with only the ports you setup on your router allowing traffic to pass through to the unit.

As for user accounts, obviously there is an admin account, you can use Directory Services such as MS Windows domains, or Mac Server Directory Services to manage accounts and folder permissions, or create local accounts on the NAS.

Are you a small business? Or just a few independent users who collaborate?

 

[satcomer]

Sharing from Home is hit or miss on some ISPs in America! Some ISPs slow down or block OUTGOING data on home accounts. To get that access for someone overseas and get good OUTGOING rates should look at Business line from your ISP so you could get good outgoing shared data and good speeds!