is it okay or not to open files on network?

F

fuzz

Registered
I was wondering what y'all think about opening files over the network ...

Personally, I have always thought that it is not a good idea. For instance, say I want to open an illustrator file over the network so I launch Illustrator on my desktop and open the file on another computer. I'm concerned b/c say if I lose power and my files might become corrupted. Because of this I've taken precaution to always copy files or folders I want to work on to my desktop and work on it there even if I just want to open it up and see what's in it.

On the other hand, when I was at school working on renderings on an SGI, my files were all on the server. The files I worked on were over the network and I did not copy them to my local computer. Which is better?
 
Depends on the robustness (speed/latency/bandwidth) of your network and fileserver.

Bad networks/file servers make this a bad idea.

But if you've got good infrastructure and a file server the you are less likely to have what I call "versionitis"... That is multiple versions of a file and confusion over which is the right one.

Also this would be bad if you are at risk of multiple people trying to open/modify the same file from multiple workstations. That too could cause versionitis... and maybe even file corruption and data loss.
 
TommyWillB said:
Depends on the robustness (speed/latency/bandwidth) of your network and fileserver.

Bad networks/file servers make this a bad idea.

But if you've got good infrastructure and a file server the you are less likely to have what I call "versionitis"... That is multiple versions of a file and confusion over which is the right one.

Also this would be bad if you are at risk of multiple people trying to open/modify the same file from multiple workstations. That too could cause versionitis... and maybe even file corruption and data loss.
Click to expand...

what is considered a good infrastructure? I've 3 macs connected via a Dlink ethernet router. I suppose a pretty common home/small office set up. I don't particularly have a file server ... just a mac with a shared volume.
 
That should be fine - basically, you're doubling your risk or random failure, since either your mac, or the server, could crash, instead of just your mac. But it's still a very low risk...

Power failure during a write could hose the file no matter where it is. Opening over a network share would mean the writes would take slightly longer, so you're 'vulnerable' for a second or so more. But again, unless the power in your area is extremely flaky, it shouldn't be anything to worry about.

To protect against this sort of file corruption, make sure that you have file system journalling turned on on whichever computer actually houses the files. It's not infallible, but it helps a lot. That, and the usual precaution of making regular backups of important files, and you should be OK.

Regarding multiple people editing a file at once, try a test - open a file on one mac, then try to open it on another - does it succeed, or is the file locked on the second attempt? Does it make a difference if you open on two file sharing clients vs. one client and the mac that houses the file?
 
fuzz said:
what is considered a good infrastructure? I've 3 macs connected via a Dlink ethernet router. I suppose a pretty common home/small office set up. I don't particularly have a file server ... just a mac with a shared volume.
Click to expand...
Not sure how fast the switch/hub on the router is, but if all 3 machines support Gigabit Eathernet, get a switch/hub that supports that. If all 3 support 100 base T, get a switch/hub that supports that. Avoid 10 base T if you can.

Keep all of your machines on an internal network and don't let the traffic go out to the Internet and then back in via your router. If all of your machines are getting thier IP's via DHCP from the router, then you are already doing this.
 
scruffy said:
Regarding multiple people editing a file at once, try a test - open a file on one mac, then try to open it on another - does it succeed, or is the file locked on the second attempt? Does it make a difference if you open on two file sharing clients vs. one client and the mac that houses the file?
Click to expand...
I'd also reccomend doing this with several different file types/applications. Things like MS Word/Excel have their own propriatary way of dealing with multiple users editing one file. So try those plus other basic aplications like text editors, shareware, etc.

Also, if you have problems using Apple Personal File Sharing... consider trying Windows File Sharing... From a multi-user/locking point of view, I don't really know how the Windows File Sharing compares, but since you are testing anyway this would be another scanario to try.

(Folks used to say that Apple file sharing was "chatty" and network intensive. I'm not sure if that is still true of AppleTalk over IP, but if it is then the Windows File Sharing might just be less network intensive.)
 
Do it if you're going to take advantage of a single place for all your files - you can facilitate group activities, make backing up simpler, allow hot desking etc.
<rant>File sharing on Mac OS X is good (AppleTalk was chatty).
Your minimum network should be (100 Base T Ethernet and [router with] a) switch not a hub.
Best by far to set the file sharing Mac as a "server" (ideally left at the login prompt innit).
Worry about power - get a UPS - I'm out in Spain at the moment and the power has dropped out on average once a month. Back in the UK office we had local power issues too for a while (unusually - but almost worse for that).
Journaling (Mac OS X 10.3+ to be built in) is f***ing fabulous but not "everything-proof".
As for versionitis - it can be a problem - but there are old skool ways, built in application specific ways and new fangled clever ways to prevent this. Old skool - move the file into a folder called "in-progress" as you edit. Built in - many apps - particularly in my experience QuarkXPress [deep spitting sound] won't allow two users to open a single file (unless the f***wit stand-in working on the server keeps admin privileges on the account). New school: there's your Adobe Version Sync and CVS (still scares me - but should be common soon I reckon). </rant>
 
I don't really know about apple file sharing, but I find it hard to believe that anything could be more wasteful of network bandwidth than windows file sharing. I've gone through network captures generated by copying a single text file of maybe 100 characters - it's amazing.
 
General rule of thumb for me is to work on the file on my desktop because it's generally faster (though servers these days are getting quite fast) and then saving my versions to the server. Then if I crash I don't lose anything (keep saving regularly, of course).
 
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