using an old PC as a NAS4FREE AFP fileserver

[supernova777]

just tested my server with yosemite 10.10.3 (newest OS X?)
and it works great 
was worried it wouldn't be compatible.

[Protools5LEGuy]

just tested my server with yosemite 10.10.3 (newest OS X?)
and it works great 
was worried it wouldn't be compatible.

Last OSX is El Capitán!!! 

[supernova777]

yes but elcapitan is like a subset of yosemite isnt it?
like as in mtn lion was to lion..
at least thats what i figured because el capitan is actually part of yosemite..
the rock face i mean
the real place + object its named after

[chrisNova777]

still really surprised noone from the macos9lives community ever clued into this AFP file server goodness

using a PC as a NAS fileserver is an amazing solution for retro computer enthusiasts because it eliminates all the compatibility bullshit in one go, u dont have to worry about versions of USB, versions of FIREWIRE, resource forks etc because it just works.. and turns gigabit ethernet into a godsend... and you can mount the network share natively in macos9 and use it as though it was a drive inside the mac over the ethernet connection...  seamlessly bridges the gap between old + new systems, possibly the best thing i ever figured out

[smilesdavis]

nice, how to set it up?

[chrisNova777]

quick version of an answer to that is:
u need an oldPC i use an Intel Core2 with maxed out RAM; and a few hard drives...
it installs from a usb thumbdrive or a cdrom
then it boots to BSD(like Unix/Linux) and gives a command line interface for configuring the IP address etc then you access it remotely from a webbrowser to use the GUI

you enable which daemon services you want to serve the data from, FTP, AFP, Samba(SMB)
AFP server is the one that makes the magic happen with the macs.. native file support

whether you choose to use SATAII or SATAIII drives is up to your hardware...
but i can tell its nice + fast over gigabit ethernet will feel like a local SSD on your vintage mac
lets you mount the drive over the network on your desktop..

also the AFP server includes  "Enable Time Machine support" option