FreeNAS

[mrnothersan]

Hi

Thought I would post this here instead :)
I have ordered an ITX rig and am going to install FreeNAS on it. How would I configure FreeNAS so that I would be able to access all files on all computers in my house and more importantly how would I configure it so I can access my documents at school.

For example, the nas would be at home and if I am at school how would I configure it so I can access all the files stored?
I have a dynamic IP address.

Regards

[Pepp77]

First thing you will need is a dynamic DNS of some description - I found the free version of no-IP was fine for when I ran an FTP server from home - http://www.no-ip.com/

You will also need to ensure you setup your router to allow traffic in and to your NAS.

As for the Freenas setup itself - never used it so cant help at all with that.

However I might install a virtual machine on my home server and stick it on there to have a play at some point.

[Aaron]

I use no-ip as well.. It works well! Thats about as far as we got in the other thread :lol:

[mrnothersan]

You will also need to ensure you setup your router to allow traffic in and to your NAS.

Thanks for the rest of the info :D Very helpful.
How would I do the above?

Regards

[Aaron]

Your router may have a DDNS section. Sign up to No-ip and fill in the relevant details that your router asks for. You'll then need to tell the router to send the DDNS requests to the specific IP and port on your home network that corresponds to you NAS.. That should all be in the same bit of the router config..

[sibeer]

FreeNAS is pretty simple and the forums are good if you get stuck. The basic install guide on the Wiki will get you running in no time:

http://doc.freenas.org/index.php/Main_Page

Main thing I liked was running it of a small flash drive and just having the drives as storage. Personally though I soon found I wanted functionality that it couldn't meet. I would recommend setting it up as a Home Server to future proof it. WHS 2011 is only about £35 or Amahi is a great free distro built for purpose.

[mrnothersan]

FreeNAS is pretty simple and the forums are good if you get stuck. The basic install guide on the Wiki will get you running in no time:

http://doc.freenas.org/index.php/Main_Page

Main thing I liked was running it of a small flash drive and just having the drives as storage. Personally though I soon found I wanted functionality that it couldn't meet. I would recommend setting it up as a Home Server to future proof it. WHS 2011 is only about £35 or Amahi is a great free distro built for purpose.

I have WHS from MS Dreamspark and would consider Amahi.
Would I be able to configure it so I can access my files from school and all computers at home?
Would FreeNAS be able to do that or not?

Regards

[sibeer]

You can configure any of the three to do that, but there are many different ways. Personally I think the WHS method is easiest:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/connect.mspx

[scottmac]

One of the most difficult things I've found is getting the firewall settings right, you need to forward the correct ports on your home router/firewall. On a Windows LAN then file sharing is normally SMB, but you don't really want to be doing that over the Internet.

I've not used FreeNAS but have used openfiler which is a similar thing. On that network the Linux storage was mounted to a Windows 2008 Server using the iSCSI protocol, so it appeared local to the system. Then a VPN was setup for outside use.

However, if you look up iSCSI then the same could be done using and https://secure.logmein.com/products/free/ so no firewall settings or VPN to bother about at all.

[mrnothersan]

You can configure any of the three to do that, but there are many different ways. Personally I think the WHS method is easiest:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/connect.mspx

I can only get Windows Server 2008 or 03, is it the same with those?

[scottmac]

I can only get Windows Server 2008 or 03, is it the same with those?

I don't think they make it as simple as WHS.

[mrnothersan]

I don't think they make it as simple as WHS.

Sorry don't understand that :/

[andyn]

Sorry don't understand that :/

WHS = Windows Home Server = easy to set up and configure as a home file server.

Windows Server 2008 will expect things like Domains etc, which you won't want to bother with for home use.

[M4T VW]

I use dyndns as its the only one my netgear router uses. This way it dont have to use the no-ip client on the server. Its still free and easy to use.
I would use no-ip but was forced to dyndns due to the client not working on server 2003 very well.

[mrnothersan]

WHS = Windows Home Server = easy to set up and configure as a home file server.

Windows Server 2008 will expect things like Domains etc, which you won't want to bother with for home use.

Thanks for that.
Is there a free alternative?
Which would be better? Ubuntu, Fedora with Amahi or FreeNAS. As I said I would like to access all files from every computer and also from school.

What would be better to configure the OS to do the above?

M4T - Thanks for that, haven't decided which to use yet.

[Aaron]

You should probably look into your router config to make that choice, as you may only be able to use one!

[andyn]

If you do not have a great deal of linux sysadmin experience (and if you did, you wouldn't need to ask) FreeNAS will be simplest to set up, as it has a single management interface which should guide you through the setup of shares etc.

If you go for a standard unix distro that can work fine too, but you'll have to spend time learning about the individual applications which FreeNAS normally manages for you (e.g. Samba, the widely used linux implementation of windows 'shares').

[web]

Just thought I would add, I use FreeNAS and it's very good for a free piece of software. Windows Server is good but FreeNAS was so much simpler to set up

[Plan9]

Stick with freeNAS (and make sure you use ZFS as your filesystem!) and use SFTP to transfer your files.

Just make sure you run SFTP on a none standard port (to prevent opportunists with IP scanners) and have a longish user name with a hard to guess password.

However, you may well fine (in fact almost certainly find) that whatever method you go for (aside having a HTTP download portal) will be blocked by your schools firewall.

[mrnothersan]

Stick with freeNAS (and make sure you use ZFS as your filesystem!) and use SFTP to transfer your files.

Just make sure you run SFTP on a none standard port (to prevent opportunists with IP scanners) and have a longish user name with a hard to guess password.

However, you may well fine (in fact almost certainly find) that whatever method you go for (aside having a HTTP download portal) will be blocked by your schools firewall.

Thanks for that :)
Is it possible for somebody to tell me how I would do what I intend to do? (either by explain or link!)- Access the files from home and school. I will see about school's firewall

[Plan9]

Thanks for that :)
Is it possible for somebody to tell me how I would do what I intend to do? (either by explain or link!)- Access the files from home and school. I will see about school's firewall

SFTP works like regular FTP except over a a secure channel (SSH tunneling, if you're interesting to know the jargon). Because of this, it's safer than regular FTP.

To use SFTP, you'll need a compatible FTP client (Filezilla is free, cross platform and does the job well).

To assign a non-standard port, the easiest way would be to do this on the router. Most routers that support "port forwarding" - which pretty much all routers should do - will allow an incoming and destination port to be entered. Thus if you select a different incoming port (eg 2200 - but it can be pretty much anything) to the SSH destination port (22 IIRC), you've then mapped your SFTP to a non-standard port.

As for the firewall, I'm pretty certain that SSH/SFTP will be blocked. You may be stuck with regular FTP which isn't perfect (as it sends login credentials in clear text so anyone eavesdropping will gain your user name and password), but it might be "good enough" for what you're trying to achieve.

Failing all that, FreeNAS might have a web portal for downloading files. If this is the case then simply forward port 80 on your router and then just use your schools web-browser as you would with any other download website on the planet

[mrnothersan]

SFTP works like regular FTP except over a a secure channel (SSH tunneling, if you're interesting to know the jargon). Because of this, it's safer than regular FTP.

To use SFTP, you'll need a compatible FTP client (Filezilla is free, cross platform and does the job well).

To assign a non-standard port, the easiest way would be to do this on the router. Most routers that support "port forwarding" - which pretty much all routers should do - will allow an incoming and destination port to be entered. Thus if you select a different incoming port (eg 2200 - but it can be pretty much anything) to the SSH destination port (22 IIRC), you've then mapped your SFTP to a non-standard port.

As for the firewall, I'm pretty certain that SSH/SFTP will be blocked. You may be stuck with regular FTP which isn't perfect (as it sends login credentials in clear text so anyone eavesdropping will gain your user name and password), but it might be "good enough" for what you're trying to achieve.

Failing all that, FreeNAS might have a web portal for downloading files. If this is the case then simply forward port 80 on your router and then just use your schools web-browser as you would with any other download website on the planet

Okay great...If I have any problems tomorrow I will let you know :D

Lastly, what is the best way to do the following?
My ITX rig is going to be in the attic...what is the best way to access it from a normal computer? Remote desktop, Teamviewer etc? As it is going to be running FreeNAS, please consider that.

Regards

[andyn]

Okay great...If I have any problems tomorrow I will let you know :D

Lastly, what is the best way to do the following?
My ITX rig is going to be in the attic...what is the best way to access it from a normal computer? Remote desktop, Teamviewer etc? As it is going to be running FreeNAS, please consider that.

Regards

I think FreeNAS has a web-based frontend for management and configuration. As such, you should just need a web-browser. You won't normally need 'desktop-type' access, I don't think.

[mrnothersan]

I think FreeNAS has a web-based frontend for management and configuration. As such, you should just need a web-browser. You won't normally need 'desktop-type' access, I don't think.

Okay,
If I do ever want to access desktop, what is the best way?

Just preparing! :D

So it looks like FreeNAS is the best way to host files that I can access on all computers at home (and maybe school)??

[mikeyuk3]

I think you might find this useful:
http://revision3.com/systm/freenas

[mrnothersan]

I think you might find this useful:
http://revision3.com/systm/freenas

Thank you, I am going to watch it now!! :D
EDIT: I hope I am getting the right version from http://sourceforge.net/projects/freenas/files/FreeNAS-8.0.1/. I am downloading "FreeNAS-8.0.1-RC1-i386.iso".

[Lorem-Ipsum]

Okay,
If I do ever want to access desktop, what is the best way?

Just preparing! :D

So it looks like FreeNAS is the best way to host files that I can access on all computers at home (and maybe school)??

Desktop??? LOL. FreeNAS afaik is command line based with a webgui. If you need a "Desktop" then ssh is as close as you'll get really.

[mrnothersan]

Desktop??? LOL. FreeNAS afaik is command line based with a webgui. If you need a "Desktop" then ssh is as close as you'll get really.

Okay, no problem.
Can somebody explain to me if there is actually a way at all that I will be able to access this stuff at school?

Also, how would I access my files at school?

I have a Linksys WAG120N router and in the settings can't seem to see a Dynamic DNS option.
Why would I need to configure No-IP, DynDNS?? Am a bit confuzzled! :D

[Lorem-Ipsum]

Okay, no problem.
Can somebody explain to me if there is actually a way at all that I will be able to access this stuff at school?

Also, how would I access my files at school?

I have a Linksys WAG120N router and in the settings can't seem to see a Dynamic DNS option.
Why would I need to configure No-IP, DynDNS?? Am a bit confuzzled! :D

From the internet side no-one can see what is behind your router. You need to open a channel through to the server (called port forwarding).

Also as your IP can change you need a service like DynDns that can give you a connection to your router through a web address whatever your ip address is so you don't have to check your ip every day.

EDIT: Your router does have a dynamic DNS client. Not sure what it is though.

EDIT2: http://screenshots.portforward.com/Linksys/WAG120N/DDNS.jpg

[mrnothersan]

From the internet side no-one can see what is behind your router. You need to open a channel through to the server (called port forwarding).

Also as your IP can change you need a service like DynDns that can give you a connection to your router through a web address whatever your ip address is so you don't have to check your ip every day.

EDIT: Your router does have a dynamic DNS client. Not sure what it is though.

EDIT2: /snip

Thanks for that.
I have found the Dynamic DNS in my router settings thanks to your picture!
The options that I have to use are either DynDNS.org (http://www.dyndns.org) or TZO.com (http://www.tzo.com). Which one would you recommend out of those 2? Are they free or not?

Am I right in saying that this is what will happen -

I will configure a DNS client (Dyn etc) and port forward so that I can access the server either with my external IP or an address such as server.yourdomain.com and then I will be able to access the files from FreeNAS's web interface?

EDIT: How would I set FreeBSD and DynDNS so that it updates the IP when it changes?

Regards

[mrnothersan]

Just been watching a few FreeNAS videos by the FreeNAS team
For windows it says you have to connect using smb:// and then the IP of your server.

How in windows would I connect? Where would I add the network in Windows?

[M4T VW]

EDIT: How would I set FreeBSD and DynDNS so that it updates the IP when it changes?

Regards

DynDNS like i said...
You signup to dynDNS and then put your username/password into your router config.
Then when your IP changes your router updates your dynDNS account with your new IP so you can allways connect with it.

[Lorem-Ipsum]

Just been watching a few FreeNAS videos by the FreeNAS team
For windows it says you have to connect using smb:// and then the IP of your server.

How in windows would I connect? Where would I add the network in Windows?

smb:// is the linux/UNIX way of making windows shares. You can simply browse for them in the "network" part of explorer as long as you have set it to the same workgroup.

EDIT: As you are opening smb up to the world XD....... make your passwords very very long and watch out for bruteforce attacks. May seem like paranoia.... but its possible.

[mrnothersan]

Will be going up in the attic to plug everything in tomorrow!

[gmunday]

to be honest mate i think this is a bad idea...

opening up your machine to the internet could be bad

It will get brute force attempts all the time, so make sure you do use long passwords etc..

Also why would you actually want to access your home computer from school?. i'm pretty sure most school networks block non standard ports too (as i do IT work in some schools in this area).

Also any bandwidth increases at the school would be noticed and would probably try and block your home ip mate.

having a nas for home use is great ( i have a couple), but no way would i put them in my dmz! or make them available at all to the outside world.

[Aaron]

Agreed.. I would keep my own personal files well and truely in my own network, and just use Logmein or something for remote access to the network from the outside world..

[M4T VW]

Personal files? We are talking history homework here, Not customer & account data:lol:

[Aaron]

Even so, I wouldnt want to leave something that open.. Once someone finds a way in, they'll just see getting to the next stage as the next challenge.. I wouldnt want to risk it..

[PeterStoba]

Surely a pen drive would be much cheaper and alot more secure? Even Dropbox

[Plan9]

smb:// is the linux/UNIX way of making windows shares. You can simply browse for them in the "network" part of explorer as long as you have set it to the same workgroup.

Technically SMB is the name of the protocol. It's an IBM thing to so it really doesn't have much to do with Windows outside of the fact that MS have adopted it as the primary protocol for file and printer sharing.

Linux / UNIX just use smb:// because it's uniform with the other protocol handlers (eg HTTP(S):// FTP:// etc). You could actually add smb:// to the protocol handlers (assuming it's not there already as file:// is)

The only real *nix / Windows differences (aside file permissions, which can be spoofed anyway) are the direction of the slashes and the fact that Windows SMB servers aren't case sensitive with their files, unlike their POSIX counterparts.



EDIT: As you are opening smb up to the world XD....... make your passwords very very long and watch out for bruteforce attacks. May seem like paranoia.... but its possible.
Opening SMB up to the whole world is a very bad idea.
SSHFS, SFTP and NFS via SSH tunneling is (in my opinion) the only safe methods for shared file systems.

[andyn]

Agreed, plus any decent college network or whatever are going to block SMB internet traffic anyway, so it won't work from most places even if you do open it up.

Use FTP/SFTP or a web-based view of the file structure.

[Bigian88]

Surely a pen drive would be much cheaper and alot more secure? Even Dropbox


+1 for dropbox

[andyn]

A pen drive / drop box are a solution to a different problem though, surely? To use those you need to know in advance which files you want to share, and you can only have as many shared as you can fit in your dropbox account or on your pen drive. Neither solution is going to give you access to your entire file server from wherever you happen to be.

[Bigian88]

A pen drive / drop box are a solution to a different problem though, surely? To use those you need to know in advance which files you want to share, and you can only have as many shared as you can fit in your dropbox account or on your pen drive. Neither solution is going to give you access to your entire file server from wherever you happen to be.


There in lies human thought:

"I have a Math lesson today"
*drags and drops maths homework into usb stick/dropbox*
~problem solved~

:lol:

[Plan9]

There in lies human thought:

"I have a Math lesson today"
*drags and drops maths homework into usb stick/dropbox*
~problem solved~

:lol:

To be fair, course work (or rather Office documents) takes up next to no space. He could easily store all of his course work on one USB key (even a cheapy smaller capacity one)

He'd just have to make sure he keeps copies on his home computer in case the pen drive brakes / gets stolen.

[PeterStoba]

How much electronic homework does the kid get? I know I never got that much, and the stuff I did was through a website (no documents required).

What else could you need to access that's at home? Nothing necessary for education anyway, that's for sure.

[Plan9]

How much electronic homework does the kid get? I know I never got that much, and the stuff I did was through a website (no documents required).

What else could you need to access that's at home? Nothing necessary for education anyway, that's for sure.

we didn't even have the internet when I did my GCSEs. Count yourselves lucky.

[mrnothersan]

Is there a way that you can make it so that your internal ip doesn't change? For example, it always will stay on 192.168.1.102?

[Lorem-Ipsum]

Yes. Either use a static IP address or set that mac address as static in DHCP so it get the same address from your router.

[Pepp77]

Is there a way that you can make it so that your internal ip doesn't change? For example, it always will stay on 192.168.1.102?

Yep two ways, either statically assign it on the PC itself, or if your router allows you can assign an IP address to a MAC address via DHCP reservation, so the PC always receives the same IP address via DHCP.

I prefer the latter if I can use it; as I do on my current DIR-615, but I have just installed DD-WRT on a newer DIR-615 and that oddly doesnt include it.

[mrnothersan]

Yep two ways, either statically assign it on the PC itself,


How would I do that? It's ubuntu :)

[Pepp77]

How would I do that? It's ubuntu :)

First google result

http://www.ubuntugeek.com/change-ubuntu-system-from-dhcp-to-a-static-ip-address.html

Second google result

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/change-ubuntu-server-from-dhcp-to-a-static-ip-address/