Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Option 7 on my list (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) is easily doable right now with existing technology and a little ingenuity. In fact, I have such a system running in my home today.
  1. THE EQUIPMENT
    1. a mid 2011 Mac mini (hereafter referred to as server) running Catalina (that started life with a Fusion drive but now has a 500GB SSD and a 2TB HD internally)
    2. two external HDs
    3. three printers
    4. scanner
    5. a plethora of Home devices
    6. all connected via USB 3.0, TB1, and ethernet.
  2. CONFIGURATION
  3. MANAGEMENT
    • Since the Server is both remote and headless, I use Screens 4 on either my Mac or IPad to manage the Server but Finder on the Mac is almost as good.
  4. DEVICE ACCESS
    • Printers appear on my Local Area Network (LAN) as bonjour devices and can be attached using System Preferences > Printers & Scanners on the Mac just as if they were physically connected. On the iPad I have to use an app appropriate to the specific printer
    • Disk Drives require logging onto the server but after that they are just another drive albeit a touch slow.
If you don't have a Mac mini lying around, they are available used on ebay for under $100 in a configuration adequate to the task.

My head is still spinning from your configuration! I can't begin to comprehend all that.

And what I definitely don't have is any need for anything like it. My next printer will work wirelessly, and that and AirPlay are the extent of it.

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire