ichase Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Greetings all, As a few of you know, I built a server a couple of years ago. Currently it has 1 60 GB HDD with a basic Arch Linux install with no GUI and a 2nd 500 GB HDD with my file shares. Using SAMBA 3 to share it out to the network and everything works great. All computers in the house whether they are Windows, Linux, VMs etc have full read/write access to the file shares. Now, here lies the conundrum. I am spending A LOT more time away from home and want to be able to access this server from OUTSIDE the network. I was thinking about options such as wiping the OS and going with a Linux server OS that would have tools to use to share internally as well as externally. I also understand I would have to set up port forwarding on my router to also be able to hit it. I know a few of you have linux based servers set up and wan't to know what options you use and what do you think is the easiest option to go with. Thanks as always, Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Well if you only use nix machines, then NFS is perfect for file sharing over the net or locally. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NFS Just make sure you use port forwarding on your router to specify the machine and port used so you can access outside your home network. Then you just connect to your external IP and your router forwards it to the specific machine, just like ssh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ichase Posted May 29, 2014 Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 Well unfortunantly there is a Windows only computer being used in this house and they require access to the file shares (which she has now). But then here lies a question, I will be needing to access this server remotely from a laptop that is of course running Arch Linux. Can I keep the current SAMBA configuration so that all internal computers continue to have access but also have NFS installed so I can access the shares from my laptop remotely? Have done some reading in the past and have heard great things about Ubuntu Server. Anyone had any experience configuring it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 You can use both samba (locally) and nfs (outside) with no problems. BTW Ubuntu Server is just a base Ubuntu install: Ubuntu has a server edition that uses the same APT repositories as the Ubuntu Desktop Edition. The differences between them are the absence of an X Window environment in a default installation of the server edition (although one can easily be installed including Unity, GNOME, KDE or XFCE) and the installation process... http://en.wikipedia....perating_system)#Ubuntu_Server There is no need to change distros just to run a server. Any distro can run a server. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ichase Posted May 29, 2014 Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 Well if I can run NFS in conjunction with SAMBA then there is my answer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Why not? As long as they do not use the same ports, services rarely conflict with each other. I am running ssh, nfs, samba (for tablet) and an ftp server from this machine alone. You can even use the same shares between nfs and samba at the same time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reynaldo Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 I'll recommend to check out OpenMediaVault distro based on Debian; works flawlessly and it doesn't require hard read, really userfriendly check out their interface demo.omv-extras.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Why not use OpenVPN so that you can have secure/encrypted access to your home network from anywhere in the world? One of the configurations in OpenVPN is bridge mode so that when you are away from home and connect with the vpn client you'll be connected directly to your home network's IP network address space. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Well if I can run NFS in conjunction with SAMBA then there is my answer Certainly safer than swiss cheese with a door SAMBA accessible out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 You can even use the same shares between nfs and samba at the same time. you can? which version of each? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 you can? which version of each? Yes, it is possible to share the same folder using both nfs and samba and the versions shouldn't matter. It has been a long while since I did this but you shouldn't have any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Yes, it is possible to share the same folder using both nfs and samba and the versions shouldn't matter. It has been a long while since I did this but you shouldn't have any issues. i tried it about a year, 18 months ago and the results were not pleasant. they didn't seem to know about each others file access or locks. so if anyone has the settings ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Sorry I do not as I have not used Samba in over a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ichase Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Why not use OpenVPN so that you can have secure/encrypted access to your home network from anywhere in the world? One of the configurations in OpenVPN is bridge mode so that when you are away from home and connect with the vpn client you'll be connected directly to your home network's IP network address space. After reading up on this, I am very much leaning in this direction. Now, if I could just find the time to wipe the main drive of the server and jump in. Just want to be able to easily share the files with rw access for all users and easily access it from anywhere in the world. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 VPN is an excellent solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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