iTunes sharing across home LAN

cejones · 11-10-2003, 05:58 PM

I have an eMac and a B&W G3 networked in my house using a Linksys router...

Both systems are running Panther...

The G3 has the huge harddrive and I want to keep all my MP3 files on it... In iTunes on the G3, I imported all the MP3s and organized them into playlists....

From the eMac, I mounted the G3 harddrive, and then replaced my local iTunes folder inside my Music folder with an alias to the Music/iTunes folder on the G3.

When I opened iTunes on the eMac, I see all the files and the playlists... so I know part of it worked... but when I click to play the song, iTunes tells me it can't find the song... Even though the G3 harddrive is mounted and I can use the Finder to go to the MP3 files...

I eventually would like to set up iTunes so when I add new MP3s on the eMac... they get saved on the G3. I assume I do that by turning on the iTunes option to save files to Music Library...

Any ideas ?

cudaboy_71 · 11-10-2003, 09:44 PM

youre making it too hard on yourself.

on the b/w G3 simply open the prefs on itunes and go thru the sharing tab. its pretty simple.

then, on the emac open itunes, check the prefs and make sure its looking for shared playlists. then a new playlist with the name you specified in the b/w's sharing prefs should show up on the emac.

click that playlist and you have access to every song/playlist that you've set up on the b/w.

i use this over airport in my house and it works great...even with two people pulling from the 'server' machine over wireless.

no need to mount network drives, create symbolic links, etc.

it just works.

cameranerd74 · 11-11-2003, 10:52 AM

I'll second cudaboy_71, you're making it way more difficult than it needs to be. Use the built-in technology already on your mac. ITunes probably isn't recognizing the alias in your case. An alias exists only in the Finder, not at BSD level. You're probably also running into some permission errors. Regardless, you don't need to mess with file sharing at all, just Rendezvous.

*IMPORTANT* If you're running firewall software (including Apple's built-in firewall) you have to open port 3689 or iTunes sharing WILL NOT WORK! Unless they found a way around this in Panther, I'm still on Jag.

cejones · 11-11-2003, 12:04 PM

Thanks for the info... I tried the builtin sharing function and it works fine...

Only problem I have with it:

I can't edit ID tags unless I am on the main server machine...

I can't add new MP3s to the shared computers playlists from the non-server computer...

The real reason I wanted to make the iTunes folder on the server machine linked to mt iTunes on other computers was so I could edit tags and expand the library from any computer in my house....

cameranerd74 · 11-11-2003, 12:17 PM

Okay, now I follow you. Sorry for the confusion. In order to add files to a different music library, you must first select it to be your default library in iTunes preferences/advanced. Go to iTunes, select Preferences from the iTunes menu and click on the Advanced tab. Then change your Library location. I've never tried to do that with a mounted network volume, but I would think it would work. You'll have to delete all your existing songs from iTunes (on the eMac), NOT the originals, just the iTunes reference. Highlight all your songs (on the eMac) and delete them. Bummer I know, you'll have to rebuild your playlists. Then, (after you change your library location in iTunes prefs/advanced) go to File - Add to Library. Select the iTunes Music folder on the mounted volume and Viola. You'll probably also have to modify the permissions on that dir so it's no longer owned by the admin of the G3, if you want to be able to rename files. In fact I would first move the iTunes library (on the G3) out of ~/Music and into /Users/Shared if you haven't already. That will solve a lot of permissions headaches. You'll probably need SharePoints and BatChmod to do this right. Download them if you haven't already. They're free. www.versiontracker.com Again, I've never tried this with a mounted network volume, but it should work as long as the permissiions are correct. Make sense?

cejones · 11-11-2003, 01:13 PM

Yes.... Now you know what I am trying to do...

I think I follow you...

Let me tell you what I had tried first:

On the G3 server:
I moved my iTunes folder into the Shared directory..

I added all my MP3 files

I setup iTunes on the G3 with my playlists, etc...

On my eMac:

I deleted my Music/iTunes folder

I restarted iTunes and started with a fresh blank library.

I changed my default library on my eMac to point to the Shared/iTunes folder on the mounted G3 drive...

I quit and restarted iTunes

Viola! iTunes looks exactly like my G3 iTunes... all my playlists are there.. as are all my mp3 files...

Only problem.... none of the music plays. Says it can't find it...

Even though my G3 HD was mounted on the eMac and I can use the finder to go right to the MP3 folder.

BTW, I don't use iTunes to organize my files... I keep them in a separate folder with my organization... (Maybe this is one of my problems?)

For now... using iTunes sharing works... but eventually I want to get it setup so I can add music and edit tags from any computer in my house...

I will check to see if permissions on the G3 are setup wrong... I hope that solves it! Thanks for the info!

cameranerd74 · 11-11-2003, 01:59 PM

Do you have SharePoints? If not download it here:

http://www.hornware.com/

It allows you to set your permissions of shared dirs and pick specific dirs to share, etc. etc.

Do you have BatChmod? If not download it here:

http://macchampion.com/arbysoft/

It allows you to change permissions of a top level shared directory and copy to enclosed items. You might want to start out by changing the owner to nobody and group to none. Unless your machines share the same workgroup. It sounds like you're on the right track. Make sure the top level share dir (in your case /Users/Shared is set for read/write privledges. SharePoints makes this very easy. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

cejones · 11-11-2003, 03:27 PM

Awesome... thanks for the links... I will try it out tonight and let you know how it works out...

cameranerd74 · 11-12-2003, 04:19 PM

So how'd it go?

cejones · 11-12-2003, 05:26 PM

I got sidetracked last nightsetting up a webserver....

I'll let you know how it goes tonight...

Got another question: I run iTunes on my Dell laptop at work. Is there any way to access my shared music on my home computer with my laptop at work? I am obviously on a different subnet...

cameranerd74 · 11-12-2003, 05:45 PM

That's going to be tricky. ITunes sharing is based on Rendezvous technology, which I don't think is supported by SSH or Remote Access. I'm not positive of this though, maybe someone else knows for sure. Anyone?

cejones · 11-17-2003, 01:55 PM

I now have iTunes setup so my second mac accesses all the songs on the server mac and I can edit tags, etc...

It is much better than the normal Rendezvous sharing because I can set the columns the way I like it and they stay that way...

To get it to work, I had to make sure the privledges were set correctly on my server iTunes folder as well as all the music files. (I don't use iTunes to organize my music.)

Thanks for all the help. As for sharing my music at work... I don't think it is currently possible... So I setup an ftp server and just grab what I want anytime...

Not as nice as having iTunes setup like home, but it works...

Chris

cameranerd74 · 11-17-2003, 04:06 PM

Glad I could help.

11-10-2003, 05:58 PM	#1
cejones Prospect Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 9	iTunes sharing across home LAN I have an eMac and a B&W G3 networked in my house using a Linksys router... Both systems are running Panther... The G3 has the huge harddrive and I want to keep all my MP3 files on it... In iTunes on the G3, I imported all the MP3s and organized them into playlists.... From the eMac, I mounted the G3 harddrive, and then replaced my local iTunes folder inside my Music folder with an alias to the Music/iTunes folder on the G3. When I opened iTunes on the eMac, I see all the files and the playlists... so I know part of it worked... but when I click to play the song, iTunes tells me it can't find the song... Even though the G3 harddrive is mounted and I can use the Finder to go to the MP3 files... I eventually would like to set up iTunes so when I add new MP3s on the eMac... they get saved on the G3. I assume I do that by turning on the iTunes option to save files to Music Library... Any ideas ?

11-10-2003, 09:44 PM	#2
cudaboy_71 All Star Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: sacramento, ca Posts: 874	youre making it too hard on yourself. on the b/w G3 simply open the prefs on itunes and go thru the sharing tab. its pretty simple. then, on the emac open itunes, check the prefs and make sure its looking for shared playlists. then a new playlist with the name you specified in the b/w's sharing prefs should show up on the emac. click that playlist and you have access to every song/playlist that you've set up on the b/w. i use this over airport in my house and it works great...even with two people pulling from the 'server' machine over wireless. no need to mount network drives, create symbolic links, etc. it just works. Last edited by cudaboy_71; 11-10-2003 at 09:47 PM.

11-11-2003, 10:52 AM	#3
cameranerd74 All Star Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 794	I'll second cudaboy_71, you're making it way more difficult than it needs to be. Use the built-in technology already on your mac. ITunes probably isn't recognizing the alias in your case. An alias exists only in the Finder, not at BSD level. You're probably also running into some permission errors. Regardless, you don't need to mess with file sharing at all, just Rendezvous. IMPORTANT If you're running firewall software (including Apple's built-in firewall) you have to open port 3689 or iTunes sharing WILL NOT WORK! Unless they found a way around this in Panther, I'm still on Jag. __________________ I'm Microsoft Certified and I use a Mac... what does that tell you? Last edited by cameranerd74; 11-11-2003 at 12:34 PM.

11-11-2003, 12:04 PM	#4
cejones Prospect Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 9	thanks Thanks for the info... I tried the builtin sharing function and it works fine... Only problem I have with it: I can't edit ID tags unless I am on the main server machine... I can't add new MP3s to the shared computers playlists from the non-server computer... The real reason I wanted to make the iTunes folder on the server machine linked to mt iTunes on other computers was so I could edit tags and expand the library from any computer in my house....

11-11-2003, 12:17 PM	#5
cameranerd74 All Star Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 794	Okay, now I follow you. Sorry for the confusion. In order to add files to a different music library, you must first select it to be your default library in iTunes preferences/advanced. Go to iTunes, select Preferences from the iTunes menu and click on the Advanced tab. Then change your Library location. I've never tried to do that with a mounted network volume, but I would think it would work. You'll have to delete all your existing songs from iTunes (on the eMac), NOT the originals, just the iTunes reference. Highlight all your songs (on the eMac) and delete them. Bummer I know, you'll have to rebuild your playlists. Then, (after you change your library location in iTunes prefs/advanced) go to File - Add to Library. Select the iTunes Music folder on the mounted volume and Viola. You'll probably also have to modify the permissions on that dir so it's no longer owned by the admin of the G3, if you want to be able to rename files. In fact I would first move the iTunes library (on the G3) out of ~/Music and into /Users/Shared if you haven't already. That will solve a lot of permissions headaches. You'll probably need SharePoints and BatChmod to do this right. Download them if you haven't already. They're free. www.versiontracker.com Again, I've never tried this with a mounted network volume, but it should work as long as the permissiions are correct. Make sense? __________________ I'm Microsoft Certified and I use a Mac... what does that tell you? Last edited by cameranerd74; 11-11-2003 at 12:38 PM.

11-11-2003, 01:13 PM	#6
cejones Prospect Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 9	excellent Yes.... Now you know what I am trying to do... I think I follow you... Let me tell you what I had tried first: On the G3 server: I moved my iTunes folder into the Shared directory.. I added all my MP3 files I setup iTunes on the G3 with my playlists, etc... On my eMac: I deleted my Music/iTunes folder I restarted iTunes and started with a fresh blank library. I changed my default library on my eMac to point to the Shared/iTunes folder on the mounted G3 drive... I quit and restarted iTunes Viola! iTunes looks exactly like my G3 iTunes... all my playlists are there.. as are all my mp3 files... Only problem.... none of the music plays. Says it can't find it... Even though my G3 HD was mounted on the eMac and I can use the finder to go right to the MP3 folder. BTW, I don't use iTunes to organize my files... I keep them in a separate folder with my organization... (Maybe this is one of my problems?) For now... using iTunes sharing works... but eventually I want to get it setup so I can add music and edit tags from any computer in my house... I will check to see if permissions on the G3 are setup wrong... I hope that solves it! Thanks for the info!

11-11-2003, 01:59 PM	#7
cameranerd74 All Star Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 794	Do you have SharePoints? If not download it here: http://www.hornware.com/ It allows you to set your permissions of shared dirs and pick specific dirs to share, etc. etc. Do you have BatChmod? If not download it here: http://macchampion.com/arbysoft/ It allows you to change permissions of a top level shared directory and copy to enclosed items. You might want to start out by changing the owner to nobody and group to none. Unless your machines share the same workgroup. It sounds like you're on the right track. Make sure the top level share dir (in your case /Users/Shared is set for read/write privledges. SharePoints makes this very easy. Good luck, let us know how it goes. __________________ I'm Microsoft Certified and I use a Mac... what does that tell you?

11-11-2003, 03:27 PM	#8
cejones Prospect Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 9	excellent Awesome... thanks for the links... I will try it out tonight and let you know how it works out...

11-12-2003, 04:19 PM	#9
cameranerd74 All Star Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 794	So how'd it go? __________________ I'm Microsoft Certified and I use a Mac... what does that tell you?

11-12-2003, 05:26 PM	#10
cejones Prospect Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 9	sidetracked I got sidetracked last nightsetting up a webserver.... I'll let you know how it goes tonight... Got another question: I run iTunes on my Dell laptop at work. Is there any way to access my shared music on my home computer with my laptop at work? I am obviously on a different subnet...

11-12-2003, 05:45 PM	#11
cameranerd74 All Star Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 794	That's going to be tricky. ITunes sharing is based on Rendezvous technology, which I don't think is supported by SSH or Remote Access. I'm not positive of this though, maybe someone else knows for sure. Anyone? __________________ I'm Microsoft Certified and I use a Mac... what does that tell you?

11-17-2003, 01:55 PM	#12
cejones Prospect Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 9	iTunes at home works I now have iTunes setup so my second mac accesses all the songs on the server mac and I can edit tags, etc... It is much better than the normal Rendezvous sharing because I can set the columns the way I like it and they stay that way... To get it to work, I had to make sure the privledges were set correctly on my server iTunes folder as well as all the music files. (I don't use iTunes to organize my music.) Thanks for all the help. As for sharing my music at work... I don't think it is currently possible... So I setup an ftp server and just grab what I want anytime... Not as nice as having iTunes setup like home, but it works... Chris

11-17-2003, 04:06 PM	#13
cameranerd74 All Star Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 794	Glad I could help. __________________ I'm Microsoft Certified and I use a Mac... what does that tell you?