
I have a server set up with a single 2 Tb drive, and various laptops throughout the house (wireless connections, and not always turned on). Is there a "best practice" for getting multiple copies of my files onto the laptops? I understand pooling (not sure how to mount a remote share to a laptop; nor if it's a good idea), but I'm thinking rsync would be better (still not sure about running over wireless, but not sure what else is available).
The idea behind the multiple copies is that if the server ever goes kaput, I can still get everything immediately without having to prioritize fixing the server (right now, getting my kid to walk is my priority

I have a bunch of disks I could toss in and create pooling, but I'd prefer to have something physically separated. I have a desktop sitting elsewhere in the house; can I utilize it? That might sound silly, but I haven't seen anything referring to additional HDAs within a household.
Is there something I can set up with networking to have it sleep and wake "as needed"? And not to sound insane, but can I utilize a server at another household (my parents, for example ... whom I'd love to set up an Amahi server for them)?