SMB, CIFS, AFS, ExpanDrive, MountainDuck...

[johnny9999]

I'm in the process of dividing up some of my iMac's tasks onto three MacMinis. Therefore it's going to be important that all Macs to each other as fast as possible. File transfer speed will be key, and likely I'll be transferring large files (greater than 1GB). I'm using desktop versions of the OS and standard desktop machines (not the server versions).

There will be 2 scenarios...

Firstly during the day, files will be created (written) locally on the respective MacMini - but then transferred to other MacMinis after the event. No special automated tools are used, just manually dragged and dropped by me. So read speed over the network between the 3 MacMinis is probably more important the write speed.

The 2nd scenario involves backing up large files from my iMac using ChronoSync to one of the MacMinis. So write speed is important here - but not so important given that it's overnight.

The limitation will be gigabit ethernet.

I've read that AFS is deprecated and that SMB is the way forward. But I'm confused on the version numbers. I think SMBv3 is the latest - does this come installed with MacOS as default?

I've got Mojave on my iMac, but the MacMinis can support Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur. So the question is which OS to choose for the MacMinis - which has the most stable file transfer implementation?

Final thought - Is it best to just map the shares natively using MacOS, or use a third party tool? For example Expandrive supports SMB/CIFS. I also notice a product called MoutainDuck (but not sure if that supports SMB/CIFS). I don't mind paying a little money for a 3rd party tool if it will be more robust than using the built-in connection. Whilst speed is important, it's imperative the connection be robust and persistent, given that the connections will be in use a lot of the time and for very large files.

Thanks

 

[hobowankenobi]

AFS...You mean AFP. But...yes, good to plan to not depend on it. AFP still works well with HFS+ drives, which means older Macs, with HDs.

File sharing via Finder is fine for what you need. No need to complicate, unless there is a specific feature you need. Not much difference in performance between SMB and AFP, and Finder is happy with both. And yes, there are a few tricks to map drives, including aliases all the way to third party tools.

Generally, Finder is solid for file transfers, assuming the network connection is solid. I do use a sync tool if I am moving huge amounts of data...for the log of any errors, as well as reconnecting and verification.

Yes, SMB 3 is the default.

Have you considered a sync tool so you don't have to manually drag files? Could be good to avoid versioning issues, not to mention running in the background continuously. Some allow syncing a specific folder, so you drop the latest version in and it syncs where you need (have mapped). You could even create sync jobs using Chronosync...it can do more than backups. Resilio has a good reputation too...many others out there.