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So is it possible to store content locally and access it remotely.

S

Sully151

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 2, 2013
13
0
to store movies, photos, music and such not on my macbook pro and then access them remotely (like from out of town) without carrying an external HD with me?

I haven't had a Laptop for ten years, so I really don't know how to or if I can do such a thing.

THanks
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Technically yes with wifi however. You'll need some kind of cloud service with amazon prime or google drive. Some use drop box. I don't use any of that because I'm an engineer and I made my own stuff. I have my own cloud infrastructure.

Sully151 said:
to store movies, photos, music and such not on my macbook pro and then access them remotely (like from out of town) without carrying an external HD with me?

I haven't had a Laptop for ten years, so I really don't know how to or if I can do such a thing.

THanks
Click to expand...
 
An alternative to having cloud storage is using a router that allows you to connect to your home network from the internet. If you are looking for something user-friendly, I have had good experience with Time Capsule (but all Apple's routers support that feature).
 
Sully151 said:
to store movies, photos, music and such not on my macbook pro and then access them remotely (like from out of town) without carrying an external HD with me?
Click to expand...

You can use a cloud service such as Onedrive, Google Drive, Amazon, Copy, Box or Dropbox etc - most have free allowances enabling you to sign up and try them.

These services require you to keep a copy of the files on your MBP/laptop and enable a backup copy to be kept "in the cloud" as well as being able to sync the files to other devices.

Or you can have your own server at home (say an older Mac-Mini - I use a 2007 model) and keep your files on it as a shared facility - meaning other machines you allow can access them - possible here to only download those files you want when you need them.

BUT the route you desire, where the files are not kept on your MBP/laptop will mean you require access to the remote machine to access any of your files so you WILL need either a cellular data, cable ethernet or WiFi connection to the internet to access your files. Even when you do, don't think you can painlessly download any files you wish, if you want to browse say 50 of your photos you may have quite a wait to do so and it may be quite expensive if done on a cellular connection.

Better to keep a local copy of the files you use most often and need/want to access regularly on the MBP/laptop and keep the seldom-used files on a USB drive at home or carry it with you depending on your needs.

Personally I'm the other way and carry a copy of almost everything I possess (except for my movie collection), so 500GB of photos, another 100GB of music etc, hence I have a 1TB HDD onboard for carrying it, then I use a Mac-Mini at home and iMac at work to sync with and Time Machine backup to. 3 copies in 2(min) different locations 30Km apart for security.
 
I wonder if you'll be violating any of your ISP's terms by streaming movies from your home computer if you try to do what you're thinking.

A more manageable may be using some sort of cloud storage, but even then I wonder how feasible and costly it may be.
 
Oh and disk space is way bigger and cheaper then you possibly remember, you may find you don't need to worry about this much if at all.
 
So let me see if I get this.

If i want to use a cloud service and this is my only computer, then all the movies and such will already be on the computer.

Same with a Time Capsule.

So if I do not want all of these photos, music and movies on my computer, I should have an external drive I carry around to plug into my mac.
 
Pretty much, you should have two externals, one for your data and one to backup your internal drive AND your external data drive.

The MBP you are looking at, what drive does it have fitted?

Mine originally had a 320GB in 2011, now has 1.1GB onboard, as I said you may not need to push your data to an external, you might be worth just choosing or fitting a bigger internal and having an external backup.
 
Sully151 said:
So let me see if I get this.

If i want to use a cloud service and this is my only computer, then all the movies and such will already be on the computer.

Same with a Time Capsule.

So if I do not want all of these photos, music and movies on my computer, I should have an external drive I carry around to plug into my mac.
Click to expand...

There are many fairly easy solutions to store your files on a network drive in your home, and access them remotely.

With a Time Capsule you can use Back to my Mac. There are also solutions from other manufacturers, like WD My Cloud, which also offers cloud storage and backups.

Like maflynn said, you need to check your ISP allows you to stream files from your home.
 
laurihoefs said:
There are also solutions from other manufacturers, like WD My Cloud, which also offers cloud storage and backups.
Click to expand...

Just on the WD solution, I wouldn't touch that solution, a family member has one and it has been quite unreliable, requiring many restarts. I have also received the apologies from the WD CEO regarding his apologies for the interruptions in service (even though the cloud sits at your house, WD servers are required to access it)
 
simonsi said:
Just on the WD solution, I wouldn't touch that solution, a family member has one and it has been quite unreliable, requiring many restarts. I have also received the apologies from the WD CEO regarding his apologies for the interruptions in service (even though the cloud sits at your house, WD servers are required to access it)
Click to expand...

That's good to know. I thought you could directly access the NAS, but this would actually rule WD out for me too.

Does Back to My Mac rely on Apple servers for authentication?
 
laurihoefs said:
That's good to know. I thought you could directly access the NAS, but this would actually rule WD out for me too.

Does Back to My Mac rely on Apple servers for authentication?
Click to expand...

I believe so, its the only way for a number of devices on random and changing parts of the internet to find each other. Searching and broadcast can work on a local LAN but not on the wider internet.

The only other way I can think of is have your file server sat at home behind a static ip and use a vpn to access it.

But again, do you have enough content to make this necessary?
 
While it's possible to do this a lot depends on how good a internet connection you have at your destination. I have found it very hard to stream video on most hotel and other public connections. I keep all my media files on a NAS at home and copy over what I might want while traveling.
 
When I travel I use two resources - (1) a disk drive attached to my router and an static IP address, which is cheaper and more reliable to me than any cloud storage service, and (2) one or two high-speed SD cards like the PNY StorEDGE (for my 2012 rMBP) or Transcend JetDrive Lite (for my 2013 rMBP).

Work data goes on my local drive, and fun stuff goes on my SD cards - those two brand/models are essentially flush and don't stick out so much and they're fast enough for music and movies.
 
simonsi said:
I believe so, its the only way for a number of devices on random and changing parts of the internet to find each other. Searching and broadcast can work on a local LAN but not on the wider internet.

The only other way I can think of is have your file server sat at home behind a static ip and use a vpn to access it.

But again, do you have enough content to make this necessary?
Click to expand...

It is possible to share disks over WAN which would essentially require Account Setup on the AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule. Then the OP would use the global IP to connect via the Finder "Connect to Server" menu.

Back To My Mac on the other hand uses Apple's servers.
 
Altemose said:
It is possible to share disks over WAN which would essentially require Account Setup on the AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule. Then the OP would use the global IP to connect via the Finder "Connect to Server" menu.
Click to expand...

Sure but that is quite open security-wise and would require a standard port exposed which I would always be concerned about, hence the vpn suggestion. Agree it would work though :)
 
simonsi said:
Sure but that is quite open security-wise and would require a standard port exposed which I would always be concerned about, hence the vpn suggestion. Agree it would work though :)
Click to expand...


Back To My Mac is by far the more secure option but I figured I would throw the other options in there.
 
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