3 Macs all using the same storage drive?
Discussion
Is there a way to have 2 or 3 Macs access the same storage device with WIRES! We need to store large amounts of video and have it accessed by more than one machine. WIFI access too would be handy but it needs to be wired most of the time for speed. Right now we are swapping SSD drives back and forth between devices which seems a bit old fashioned!
Dave. said:
If your router has a usb socket, plug the SSD into your router.
Won't be fast, but it'll be better than swapping it about and less likely to drop it.
I want faster than over wifi (I have a 12T NAS drive already......this is for 2T that sits on my desk and I need to dive into fast and often with multiple machines.Won't be fast, but it'll be better than swapping it about and less likely to drop it.
As others have said NAS would seem the obvious choice, if the Mac's are hardwired I assume you could just plug the SSD into the router again as mentioned, I guess this is a speed issue?
How much data are we talking, do you have any cloud storage, OK not local but all machines can access the web right?
How much data are we talking, do you have any cloud storage, OK not local but all machines can access the web right?
What speed do you actually need? How are the PCs connected to the network?
Any decent NAS ought to max out gigabit ethernet (around 100 megabytes/s). Obviously the PCs and the NAS will all need to be connected to gigabit ethernet to achieve that.
For shared storage faster than that it all starts to get a bit expensive. You'd probably want 2.5 or 10gig network and a decent NAS box, such as QNAP TS-932PX-4G.
Any decent NAS ought to max out gigabit ethernet (around 100 megabytes/s). Obviously the PCs and the NAS will all need to be connected to gigabit ethernet to achieve that.
For shared storage faster than that it all starts to get a bit expensive. You'd probably want 2.5 or 10gig network and a decent NAS box, such as QNAP TS-932PX-4G.
There's not many choices, if NAS is apparently too slow , I suspect full fibre will be too costly, so you're left with DAS , eg directly attaching.
There's some USB4/Thunderbolt enclosures that offer up to 40Gbs with multiple ports, which should be faster enough, but unless all computers are in the same room, you'll be trailing wires.
There's some USB4/Thunderbolt enclosures that offer up to 40Gbs with multiple ports, which should be faster enough, but unless all computers are in the same room, you'll be trailing wires.
Dave. said:
Why are you moving huge files around on a regular basis?
Can't you keep them on each Mac and synchronize back to the nas?
Might help us help you if you tell us what you're actually doing, rather than us guessing and you saying it's a s
te idea? 
I have many GB (TB) of data - movie clips mostly...on a central storage drive. Both macs need to dip into that drive to pull clips onto their harddrive for projects. Can't you keep them on each Mac and synchronize back to the nas?
Might help us help you if you tell us what you're actually doing, rather than us guessing and you saying it's a s
te idea? Right now we are taking it in turms to plug into the drive witha USBc lead....I want a drive that 2 can plug into ! (If such a thing exists!)
A decent nas with solid state drives using ethernet with a decent router will work for you. You can get 2.5 or 10 gigabit.
It's going to cost you but it's definitely possible.
I remember seeing linus tech tips talking about how they did their setup and they have a whole bunch of people doing exactly what you're talking about. I don't think they got an off the shelf solution though. From what I heard the wd drives are good but not the nas so much, I just got myself a synology and it's been great but much more entry level.
It's going to cost you but it's definitely possible.
I remember seeing linus tech tips talking about how they did their setup and they have a whole bunch of people doing exactly what you're talking about. I don't think they got an off the shelf solution though. From what I heard the wd drives are good but not the nas so much, I just got myself a synology and it's been great but much more entry level.
A well spec'd NAS and networking hardware is what you need
I support a lot of media production companies and they are working on 4K video all the time - Data speed isn't an issue with a well spec'd setup
That will depend on your budget too of course
A NAS with SSDs and M.2 Cache drives will be more than fast enough.
10GB Fibre to a multi Gig switch or if you really need full fibre 10GB network from end devices to switch also
If you have that much data, I would also be worried about how its backed up on a daily basis - Again many solutions for this too
I support a lot of media production companies and they are working on 4K video all the time - Data speed isn't an issue with a well spec'd setup
That will depend on your budget too of course
A NAS with SSDs and M.2 Cache drives will be more than fast enough.
10GB Fibre to a multi Gig switch or if you really need full fibre 10GB network from end devices to switch also
If you have that much data, I would also be worried about how its backed up on a daily basis - Again many solutions for this too
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