I'm posting here because I am not sure which would be the propper forum. Please feel free to move this thread to the correct forum if necessary.
I have a basic small ofice network setup that consists of-
- An Option GlobeSurfer II broadbnd modem ethernet wired to a
- Netgear WNR3500L router with stock Netgear firmware.
- 1 x network printer ethernet wired to the router.
- 1 x Win XP PC ethernet wired to the router.
- 1 x FreeNAS box ethernet wired to the router.
- 5 x Win XP PC wireless (n) to the router.
When setting up the router, all defaults were accepted with the only changes being the SSID and security option to WPA2-PSK (AES) with a very secure Passphrase.
All is working well with all PC's linked together and all having internet, printer and NAS access.
My goal now is to be able to have remote access to my NAS via the internet with my Win XP notebook when away from the office. This needs to be done with only the modem, router and NAS box turned on (all other office PC's turned off).
I have done a lot of reading on other sites about this but only got more confused. I suppose my first questions are:
- Can I acheive my goal with simplicity using the stock Netgear firmware?
- If not, what would be the recommended router firmware?
Speedtest.net speeds of 3Mb/s down and 0.5Mb/s up are considered exceptionally fast where I live.
Another day of study on this subject and I think I am getting a grip on it.
It looks like that it "may" be possible to achieve my goal using just the modem, router with Netgear firmware, and FreeNAS box turned on, but not with relative simplicity. I am now tending towards using a VPN server/client arrangement.
FreeNAS does not include VPN software and it looks like there is nothing available that can add VPN to FreeNAS. This will mean flashing something like Tomato with VPN onto the router, setting the router up as a OpenVPN server and my Win XP laptop up as a OpenVPN client.
Am I on the right path?
What do you want to do with the remote access copy files, access the web interface?
With the original fw you just have to forward the appripriate ports(e.g. 21 for ftp) to the freenas
You just need vpn if you want to access your network as if you were directly connected to your local lan.
There are probably two options that would be acceptable to me, one preferred and the other just acceptable.
Here are some examples of what I would like to do on my laptop when out of the office:
All the data that I would want to access is stored on my FreeNAS HDD.
Option 1 (Preferred)
I have access to my FreeNAS HDD via the internet such that I –
start OpenOffice that is installed on my laptop HDD
connect to my FreeNAS HDD
open an .odt file that is stored on my FreeNAS HDD
modify the .odt file
save the modified .odt file back onto my FreeNAS HDD, and
close OpenOffice.
Is this something like VPN?
Option 2 (Acceptable)
I have access to my FreeNAS HDD via the internet such that I –
copy an .odt file from my FreeNAS HDD to my laptop HDD
start OpenOffice that is installed on my laptop HDD
open the .odt file that was previously saved to my laptop HDD from my FreeNAS HDD
modify the .odt file
save the modified .odt file onto my laptop HDD
close OpenOffice, and
copy the modified .odt file that was saved onto my laptop HDD to my FreeNAS HDD.
Is this something like just using port forwarding?
With either option, I would need reasonable security such that my FreeNAS HDD and any files in transit over the internet are secure from outsiders.
Option 1 can also be done without VPN. You could do it in the following way:
1. run openssh-server on the freenas box
2. forward port 22 to the freenas box
3. get winscp(e.g. Winscp Portable), configure the connection to your router, configure winscp prefered editor for odt file under "Options->Preferences->Editors"
4. use winscp to connect to your router's ip (will be forwarded to the freenas box)
5. in winscps explorer view click edit *.odt file, modify the file, save it, winscp will automatically copy save it on the freenas box
Transfer is of course secured.
I still have not been able to sort out remote access to my NAS box. After much thought on this, I think I have realised my problem.
My modem is a GlobeSurfer II router/modem. I have the wireless router component of this modem set to off, however I think it is still operating as router, not just a plain modem.
Next step is to configure my modem/router to allow access to my WNR3500L.
I am now thinking of shying away from having a dedicated NAS box. I will look into attaching two USB external HDD's via powered USB hub to my WNR3500L and use them as my NAS.
Will report back later.
Great post! It's very nice. Thank you so much for your post.
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Kong,
You are the man(?)! That was the solution that I needed as well. Thanks for your post.
all this trouble to use open office? for christ sake, just use windows (remote desktop connection), or just use drop-box, and use the real ms office if you have any real work to do. otherwise, why spend so much trouble on this setup? nas is for sharing media, not spreadsheets. anyway, you did land on a good solution for nas storage, but that's trivial. ridiculous post.
Joshnyc, I didn't know that you can securely access a HDD attached directly to your router via Windows remote desktop connection with all computer on the router's network turned off.
Please explain how this is done?
For security reasons, drop-box is not an option.
Have not used MS Office for years. Do businesses still use it (very few that I deal with)?