For the last 2 weeks I’ve been trying to get serious about setting up a file server for my home. My wife and I are both on Macs, and I want us to have a single files server to store family pictures, videos, music, financials, etc… That way I have a single location to back up instead of trying to create backup schedules for each machine. Also, with the move to Leopard, I could use Timemachine for each of us.
I’ve used Ubuntu in the past, and I think it is a good choice. So I’ve installed Ubuntu Server and have been trying to partition and share drives, but it has been painful. There is plenty of documentation for setting up Samba shares, but why would I want to use a system for facilitating windows file sharing connections? I could go with NFS, but that has been especially painful. I found Netatalk, which utilizes AFP, which is native on the mac. However, now I can’t see all the drives…and don’t know why.
I just don’t understand why it has to be so difficult. Linux and open-source are great resources. I embrace them, but it needs to be easier. The distribution needs to come with an installed file sharing implementation and cleaner instructions. I’m pretty techno-savvy, and I’m having a hard time setting this up. If a typical home user decided to do this, I can’t seen them getting past the first day. It’s just frustrating…
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