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OK,  we're now ready to put all the pieces together and start running our own personal cloud using NoteShare.  My configuration assumes a very simple network set-up at home or inside a small office network.

Connecting the hardware
In my case, the AirPort Base Station (Extreme model) is directly connected to my DSL modem and acts as a simple router that manages the port mapping for my network.  Additionally, I have connected the AirPort Base Station to a gigabit switch box via Ethernet cable.  The Mac Mini (any dedicated OS X hardware system), which is running NoteShare non-stop, is also connected to this same gigabit switch via Ethernet cable.  This is the extent of the hardware and network connection I'm using to run my personal cloud.  You can certainly use a wireless connection between the AirPort Base Station and your system that is running NoteShare but I like the extra performance the gigabit Ethernet connection offers in this scenario even with the faster wireless networking.

IP address or domain name?
If you have a static IP address with your Internet service provider then you can skip this part if you like.  However, if you're like most DSL and Cable modem service users, your IP is dynamic and can change daily in some cases.  To avoid the hassles of always looking up to verify your Internet WAN address, you can subscribe to a dynamic DNS service that will provide you with your own domain name.  One of the popular sites for obtaining a free dynamic domain name is called DynDNS.org and they are a dependable service for using with NoteShare.    The purpose of having a domain name with DynDNS.org is that it will always maintain the latest IP address for your particular connection to the Internet; thus it's dynamic and hassle-free especially when using it with NoteShare.

A few last details before you start sharing
Since NoteShare uses the official port assignment of 8474, we need to make sure that the router knows where and what machine to send any arriving traffic to your dedicated NoteShare machine.  This is called port mapping and you only have to do it once unless you decide later to change your sharing machine.  Keep in mind, only one machine at a time on your LAN can share NoteShare to the Internet using port 8474.  It's one 8474 port, one machine for sharing to the Internet (no limitations sharing between machines on the same LAN).  Port mapping is detailed extensively on Page 11 of the Sharing Made simple documentation (NoteShare Help menu).  From NoteShare's Preferences, you can also use the built-in port mapping feature (works with AirPort base stations, Linksys and NetGear routers) to configure your router to send port 8474 traffic to your NoteShare sharing machine.    Finally, if you are running NoteShare as a dedicated service then make sure you have set your hardware preferences from System Preferences to not sleep or spin-down your system and hard drives. 

The personal cloud goes live
From NoteShare's File menu, open or create a new notebook.  Save it before you start to share it.  From the Sharing menu, select the Share Notebook command to set the Sharing settings for your notebook including the Space (public or private), a password for the notebook itself.  When sharing a notebook that is accessible from a remote NoteShare user (via the Internet); password security is required on either the Space or the notebook itself as baseline for secure, encrypted communications.  Once you're sharing, you can use the Email Park Mark command from the File menu to send to another NoteShare user that the shared notebook is live and available for remote access.  With the Sharing Monitor window open, you can set both alerts and the log to track and monitor NoteShare activity as remote viewers on your team open your shared notebook and begin working on it.  And just watch the productivity and creativity flow!

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