09-18-2009, 04:02 PM

So I just bought a Mac mini to use as my all out entertainment hardware, but I want to set it up as a server as well where when I'm at school I can access the files and upload my websites and other files I work with at school. Also I guess I need to have a static IP address so I was also wondering how to do that. Thanks for the help in advanced.

09-18-2009, 04:45 PM

I would give it a manual IP address on your internal network. I would then set it up as an FTP server.

This makes that real easy:

PureFTPd Manager for Mac OS X

Do some port forwarding so when anything going to port 21 (FTP) hits the router's external interface it goes to the Mac Mini.

09-18-2009, 05:09 PM

Originally Posted by JBannister

Also I guess I need to have a static IP address so I was also wondering how to do that. Thanks for the help in advanced.

You can set a static IP for your internal network (anything behind your router) but how you get your external IP from your ISP is up to them. Either your provider assigns you a static IP or you get it through DHCP.

09-18-2009, 05:23 PM

Originally Posted by vansmith

You can set a static IP for your internal network (anything behind your router) but how you get your external IP from your ISP is up to them. Either your provider assigns you a static IP or you get it through DHCP.

Exactly. When you run the PureFTPd program it tells you what your external IP is. There is a million ways to get that info, but that is very simple. Mine hardly ever changes. If it does I just use logmein to log onto the machine and see what it changed to.

09-18-2009, 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by mdfuller

Exactly. When you run the PureFTPd program it tells you what your external IP is. There is a million ways to get that info, but that is very simple. Mine hardly ever changes. If it does I just use logmein to log onto the machine and see what it changed to.

Very true - it can change any time an IP has to be requested from your ISP which is something to note. To the OP, just note that if you get your external IP through DHCP, it may change. It won't change randomly - it will only change anytime your modem requests an IP which won't happen all that much.

09-18-2009, 05:49 PM

MD, those versions look like they don't run on Snow Leopard.

09-18-2009, 06:01 PM

If you don't need fine grained control, you can always set up FTP sharing through System Preferences > Sharing > File Sharing. Just make sure to click the "Options..." button as the file sharing defaults to AFP and not FTP.

09-18-2009, 06:04 PM

You can get a free domain from here: https://www.no-ip.com/

This way you can access your computer from anywhere using the domain name. A bit more simple than remembering an IP adress.

If you want a webserver up and running I recommend taking a look at: MAMP: Mac, Apache, MySQL, PHP

It was recently upgraded to work with Snow Leopard.

09-18-2009, 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by JBannister

MD, those versions look like they don't run on Snow Leopard.

Interesting. I am using it right now on SL.

09-18-2009, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by Strukt

If you want a webserver up and running I recommend taking a look at: MAMP: Mac, Apache, MySQL, PHP

While MAMP can get you up and running quickly, note what is listed as their philosophy (emphasis added):

MAMP was created primarily as a PHP development environment for Macintosh computer and should therefore not be used as Live Webserver for the Internet. In this case, we recommend that you use Mac OS X server with the provided Apache or a Linux server.