Best os for nas

[GraySenshi]

I'm wanting something where I can unplugged from a computer and plug it into the nas without needing to do a bunch on configuration and unplug it from the server and into my computer and not have to do anything painful. But I would like to be able to set up permissions and access away from home so port forwarding

I also was planning on having all my DVD/CD drives in the same computer

 

[Hardware Brad]

Just use home group and file sharing in windows.

 

[GraySenshi]

Will the home sharing work away from the place

 

[USAFRet]

I'm wanting something where I can unplugged from a computer and plug it into the nas without needing to do a bunch on configuration and unplug it from the server and into my computer and not have to do anything painful. But I would like to be able to set up permissions and access away from home so port forwarding

I also was planning on having all my DVD/CD drives in the same computer

Completely unsure of what you are looking for here.

This sounds like just a simple USB connected external drive.

 

[Hardware Brad]

Will the home sharing work away from the place

You can use windows remote desktop to connect to your PCs from anywhere as long as they are on and connected to the internet. All you need is the external facing IP address.

 

[Hardware Brad]

Link explaining Windows Remote Desktop --> https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17463/windows-7-connect-to-another-computer-remote-desktop-connection

Link explaining Windows Home Group --> https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17145/windows-homegroup-from-start-to-finish

 

[GraySenshi]

Basically I have a few different computers laptops and my phone I want to be able to have access to all my data at any point. The optical usage is only for my main system which has no ability to have optical drives connected

Also I was looking into free nas I just don't like the idea that the data isn't axesable from a nother computer. Say it goes down. I can't just plug it into a nother computer. Not sure but upgrading sounds like it could be a pain. also didn't know if you could use optical drives.

Also how would off site backups work say 3.0 backup the data put it in a storage unit take it back to the nas and plug it in or will I need to do something else

 

[GraySenshi]

O I use Remote Desktop all the time for maintaining the main computer I use but couldn't get the port forwarding to work on more then one

 

[USAFRet]

Basically I have a few different computers laptops and my phone I want to be able to have access to all my data at any point. The optical usage is only for my main system which has no ability to have optical drives connected

Also I was looking into free nas I just don't like the idea that the data isn't axesable from a nother computer. Say it goes down. I can't just plug it into a nother computer. Not sure but upgrading sounds like it could be a pain. also didn't know if you could use optical drives.

Also how would off site backups work say 3.0 backup the data put it in a storage unit take it back to the nas and plug it in or will I need to do something else

So you build or buy a whole second system. A dedicated NAS box, or some PC you assemble.
This box becomes the central repository. Any system in the house can access the data in it.

It stays on 24/7, always accessible.

I have a Qnap TS-453A for this. 4 x 4TB Ironwolf drives, RAID 5.
All of my Windows systems see all or parts of it as just another drive letter.
I can access it from outside if desired.
It runs a customized Linux OS.

Previous, my house server was a low end Windows PC, running 8.1 or 10.
Served the same purpose.

 

[GraySenshi]

I went and built a second pc for everything. It's not ideal CPU choice do to it's 100w tdp but it was free. And that's holding the 8 internal drives a couple 3.0 for backup and a couple optical drives

 

[USAFRet]

I went and built a second pc for everything. It's not ideal CPU choice do to it's 100w tdp but it was free. And that's holding the 8 internal drives a couple 3.0 for backup and a couple optical drives

So then Share a few of the relevant folders in it, map drive letters from your other systems...done.

For instance...from my main PC, it sees the entirety of the NAS box as the N drive.

It also sees a folder within that as the S drive. On my wifes system, that same folder is mapped as the S drive on her system. So there is common ground when we say...save it to your S drive. Points to exactly the same folder and contents.

The top level folder for backups is the Z drive, across all systems.

 

[GraySenshi]

And how would I enable forwarding

 

[USAFRet]

And how would I enable forwarding

'forwarding'?
As in port forwarding, to allow access from outside your house LAN?
That is done through your router.

The house server gets a static IP address. Something outside the DHCP range. Maybe 192.168.1.200,
Then, in the router config, you tell it any incoming traffic on port 9whatever) is directed to that IP address.
So your public IP is (today)...74.188.20.52. (this changes)
You designate port 1050 for the server box
74.188.20.52:1050 get shunted directly to the server box.


However..and this is a BIG however...
This box now accessible for you may also be accessible for me. And I may be evil.
You have to be really, really, really careful with accounts and permissions.

My NAS box gets several random login attempts per week. I've had it online since January, and several dozen, all failed, logins from around the world.
Russia, Portugal, Switzerland, Venezuela, etc, etc, etc.
All trying the default admin username/password. All failed, because that account is completely disabled.

 

[GraySenshi]

So what's the safest way to easily host the nas. I could do a home group for some stuff and a vm for hosting

 

[USAFRet]

So what's the safest way to easily host the nas. I could do a home group for some stuff and a vm for hosting

Inside your LAN is no problem however you do it.
It is the access from outside that is the issue.

Homegroup, VM, whatever...makes no difference. If you can access it from outside, maybe someone else can as well.

 

[GraySenshi]

True but different setups will be more secure

 

[USAFRet]

True but different setups will be more secure

How so?
A VirtualMachine is simply another "PC", encapsulated in a single file, running on some host hardware.
It can be whatever OS you wish it to be. Windows, Linux, whatever.

Homegroup would be even less secure.
Your externally accessible NAS box and your internal PC...all belonging to the same homegroup means that your internal PC's are also accessible from outside.

 

[GraySenshi]

Just as one might have a more secure way of doing things and permitions setup

 

[GraySenshi]

And not referring to vm just os wise

 

[Solandri]

Also I was looking into free nas I just don't like the idea that the data isn't axesable from a nother computer. Say it goes down. I can't just plug it into a nother computer. Not sure but upgrading sounds like it could be a pain. also didn't know if you could use optical drives.

Well, FreeNAS uses ZFS as its filesystem, so if it failed you could pop the drive(s) into any computer running FreeBSD or Solaris (which have native ZFS support) and access them. But could you access it directly from a Windows computer? No. That's the trade-off for a lot of the benefits you gain from ZFS - you can't access the filesystem from an OS which doesn't support ZFS.

Still, I think you need to understand that a NAS isn't a backup. A backup isn't just a duplicate copy of your data. It's offline and preferably offsite. Being offline means that the backup data can't be corrupted by malware or a power surge. Being offsite means it can't be destroyed by a flood or fire at your house. So even if you have a NAS (files accessible 24/7 over your network), you still need a separate backup. My NAS is backed up to an external RAID enclosure using the ext3 filesystem. So it can be read using Linux, Windows (with an ext3 driver), or OS X.

However..and this is a BIG however...
This box now accessible for you may also be accessible for me. And I may be evil.
You have to be really, really, really careful with accounts and permissions.

Yeah. If you want to access your NAS when you're away from home, the much safer way is to get a router which can run an OpenVPN server. The higher-end Asus and Netgear routers can, as can any router which you upgrade with 3rd party DD-WRT firmware. Then you install an OpenVPN client on the computer you want to use to access your NAS (usually a laptop).

Once you have all this set up (which is a fairly involved process), whenever your laptop is connected to the Internet anywhere in the world, you can connect to your home router via OpenVPN. That establishes an encrypted tunnel between your laptop and your home network, making it appear as if your laptop is in your house. You can access anything on your home network, including your NAS.

 

[GraySenshi]

My goal was to use the one computer at the house as a nas. Then have some exturanal drives I'll just plug into the nas do the backups unplug them and put them in storage as the nas keep running and hosting to where ever I may be wheather I'm at the house or out

 

[USAFRet]

My goal was to use the one computer at the house as a nas. Then have some exturanal drives I'll just plug into the nas do the backups unplug them and put them in storage as the nas keep running and hosting to where ever I may be wheather I'm at the house or out

Right.
And that is what has been described, in detail, above.

All we're saying is that allowing external access is a very tricky solution.
Get it wrong just once, and the entire contents of your NAS box, and maybe ALL the PCs in the house....is copied and distributed worldwide.

Internal access only? Go for it!