\\Home, \\Home on the Range
Where the folders over SMB work
Let me preface this with saying: servers are beautiful things.
File sharing across different computers? Incredible. Built-in version control? Superb. Ability to leverage the greater internet of things to run an office-worth of hardware from a single laptop? Sublime.
Getting files from a Mac to a Windows computer over LAN? Nightmare.
Heading Back to Tennessee, Jed
My partner’s dad runs a construction company out in Nashville. His office is a small-ish farm home on 50 acres of centuries-old trees and tall, lush grasses, through which 2 rivers, a handful of horses, and a small army of cows roam. There’s nearly no car traffic on the single-lane road to get there, the closest store is a combination dollar store/gas station, and at night, the stars and constellations are truly boundless. Having just landed on a flight originating in Brooklyn, my first few moments on the farm were as they usually were: relishing the fresh air, trying to identify tall prairie grasses, and bewilderment at the number of bluebirds whizzing past between tall oaks.
I spent the last weekend on this sprawling oasis in a too-dark room without any overhead light, running back-and-forth from at-home-office to office trying to get a local file sharing network set up for a man who’d much, much rather be out on his buggy traversing his homestead (as would I).
File Sharing is File Caring
The big task for the weekend was to set up an at-home server system to allow anyone in the office to easily share and store files in a common, safe place. I assumed this would take me all of half-an-hour, maybe a few hours at most, and would be as much wading through menus as it would be trying to find a place for the actual server to live kick-and-stumble-free. In preparation for the weekend, my partner found an absolutely incredible spreadsheet put together by the folks (though I think it might just be folk) at r/MiniPCs, and decided upon buying a Mac Mini with an external SSD to host a local server.
The process wound up being… involved.
File Sharing Across Operating Systems is Not File Caring
As with 72-ish percent of the world, my partner’s dad used several Windows laptops for day-to-day operations, including printing, invoicing, and receiving + editing massive 2+ gig architectural files using programs with black-and-red UIs straight out of 2005. I (mistakenly) assumed sharing files between computers, at least on a local network, would be a breeze: I initially set out to make a server capable of totally remote access, but due to security concerns and only a few day’s worth of prep time, we elected to keep things safe and local.
I personally adore Mac Mini’s, and have spent tons of time writing shell scripts for them, routing OSC between them, and paying the usual creative technologist dues of trying to get them to be the end-all solution for all things computing. Setting up the Mac up was a breeze and took no longer that 15 minutes, with its sensical menu structure and extensive built-in LAN file sharing capabilities.
Setting up the other Windows computers, however, was a Biblical test of patience. First, I needed to investigate SMB, or Server Message Block protocol, so as to access files on a different operating system sharing the same network. I also had to enable file sharing and discoverability, which itself involved all sorts of menu crawling across both Windows 10 and 11, each with uniquely frustrating Control Panel quirks that turned a 2 minute task into a 2 hour one. Not only that, after a good few hours researching whether or not I’d have to ask a man in construction to have to enter code in the Windows Command Line anytime he wanted to review a building plan, I found out I did build a functioning system that was kind-of working, but only on one of the 3 different Windows laptops I was configuring the server for.
Oh Server, Where Art Thou?
Several more hours of YouTube tutorials, in-depth Stack Overflow dives, and inconclusive Windows support threads lead me to my final answer: go the the File Explorer and just type in the name of the Mac Mini.
It worked. After 2 days of headbutting a wall in search for the right Command Line prompt or debating whether the ethernet cables we had were faulty, I learned the only thing between me and success were two backslashes and a word.
All of this to say: I build servers now? So, if you need one, just reach out? I think?
I also have to do this all over again for my own server, which I intend to host on a Raspberry Pi (I finally got a Raspberry Pi!). So, uh, pray for me.
Anyways!
That’s that for the week! Definitely less of a microblog and more of an old-fashioned macroblog (mesoblog?). I keep alluding to work and collaborations that have yet to be released to the public yet, and I swear they will be, and the moment they are you will hear about it here.
Also! My work for Parsons got featured in Fast Company! Look at this nifty screenshot!
As always, be sure to check back here every Friday for my latest ramblings, and enjoy the weekend!