We take a lot of pictures, and it would be very convenient for us if we were able to organize all of our pictures into one massive, remote "Aperture image repository." So, I got this idea to get a Mac mini server which could host all of our pictures, and possibly set it up to "replicate" (in whole or in parts) to several Macs via our local area network.
The basic goal would be to set this up so that several Macs can "connect to" and work with one remote image repository, without needing to have the files locally on their local harddrives. And possibly download selected images when needed.
I am familiar with programming and scripting for Mac OS X, so it is okay if the solution involves some light programming. I just wanted to check first if anyone here knows if this is something Mac OS X Server and Aperture can do "out-of-the-box?" Have any of you set up something like this, and if so, how is it working? Do you have any better suggestions on how to do this?
One other thing that I thought about was to set up a Git or Mercurial repository on the Mac mini server, and check all the pictures into that, and basically check stuff out on the separate machines locally when needed. This could work as well, but I'm afraid this solution might be a little bit "overkill" and add too much "headachey."
I don't own a Mac mini yet, so I can't play around with it to figure it out. The answers to this question will help me decide if we should buy a server or not. Oh, and I am aware of this question, which is similar, but I would like to know how well this would work with Aperture.
Thanks in advance!
Update:
I found this post on StackOverflow, talking about using Git as an image repo. Adding it here, for future reference.
Best Answer
The approach we have used is a simple shared folder containing an Aperture library. I can report that this solution is ok but fragile -- permissions on the shared folder need to be fixed every so often.
Dropbox would certainly work in your case, but I suspect that you'll need substantial storage space, which would be rather expensive. If cost weren't critical, though, Dropbox offers a very reliable way of replicating an Aperture library file locally while keeping the copies synced smoothly. Your solution of a GIT repository may be a labor-intensive way of re-creating what Dropbox is already offering.