Accessing iTunes Across Networks

Suppose you are at work, but all your iTunes are at home, and you would really like to listen to them. Suppose it is the other way around, because your cable modem doesn't upload fast enough. Here's your salvation:

1. Download Network Beacon from ChaoticSoftware.
2. Go to this hint at macosxhints.
3. Skip the original hint, because it has some problems. Instead, search the page for "option works". You'll get to a long hint posted by ecammit.
4. Follow the instructions, but be careful, because there are 2 changes in the instructions. Both the changes are farther along in the discussion, but I'll put them here for ease of use:
• 127.0.0.1 should be used instead of 'localhost' when setting up the ssh tunnel. The latter doesn't work well.
• 4689 should be used instead of 3689 when the client wants to share also (this is in ecammit's next post).
5. Enjoy listening to your iTunes

Note that if iTunes isn't used for a bit of time, the tunnel will shut down and need to be reopened. To make life easy, put the following in your .bash_aliases file:
alias iTunesTunnel="ssh -f -g -L 4689:127.0.0.1:3689 -l username -N music_server_ip"
You need to substitute your own port number (for the 4689), user name, and music server's ip address.

After you do this, all you need to do is type iTunesTunnel in the Terminal, enter your password, and start listening again.