I am NOOb

[Glove0001]

I just downloaded the latest version (9) for 32 bit OS. I used 7zip and win32diskimager to create the img on an 8 Gb Lexar thumdrive. I changed the boot order and turned it on. Everything looks fine except I am supposed to be able to access an interface. I tried option 1 to setup new interface and typed in 192.168.1.250/24. When I type this into a web browser, the page load bar starts but stops a quarter way in and nothing loads to the screen. This was supposed to be the easiest step. So was I given the wrong information or what?

 

[Mr_N]

you just type 192.168.1.250 into the address bar, also you may need to reboot freenas after you assigned the IP to the network interface...

 

[Glove0001]

Well thanks for the quick reply. Part of the mystery I faced was that this was supposed to be a no brained installation. So I went back to factory defaults and rebooted. It assigned an IP address and I successfully browsed to my new freeNAS. Thanks.

 

[Glove0001]

Okay. I want to set a static IP address so I can stop using a monitor to see what new IP address has been assigned. I logged into my router to check the IP address. It looks like I also need to set the subnet mask. Well I thought it would be easy to set up freenas but I don't know how much time I have to research everything to be able to know what everything means. So here it goes. I will ask a question in different ways so as to ensure that I am not being vague about my lack of understanding. In my router, it says Internet port: ip address (from my ISP) (not 192.168.... As well as the subnet mask. Is this the subnet mask of my ISP? Or is this the subnet mask of my router? What subnet mask do I use to set a static IP and what does this subnet mask attatch (what two things)? The subnet mask that was given was 255.255.252.0

 

[Mr_N]

are you trying to access the freenas box from your local network or make it accessible from the internet?

just watch this video: View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlSiN6DbVrI

 

[Glove0001]

Well I used the subnet mask for the router's Internet port and successfully set up a static ip. I rebooted and it gave me the ip I wanted. Now I just have to figure out how to actually use what I've set up.

 

[Glove0001]

I am trying to make it available from the Internet.

 

[Glove0001]

Well, I'm about half way through the video. Thanks! It should be at the front of every initial setup document.

 

[pirateghost]

Unless your freenas box is sitting directly connected to your modem and not a router, you should be using the subnet of your INTERNAL network, typically 255.255.255.0 which is a /24. You will likely have issues using a 252 when you attempt to use plugins/jails/ntp

If all you want to do is make it accessible from the internet ( not a good idea ), you need to understand these things.

This is basic networking. If you want to access a device from the internet that is behind a router, you need to correctly forward ports or change firewall settings.

 

[Mr_N]

And properly secure your freenas box in terms of access and permissions otherwise you'll give some random person a nice remote fileserver ;)

 

[Glove0001]

The video was good, but only gets the initial setup (whew, it is still a real confidence booster that it worked... so many times installing Linux and it just freezes once I try to use it. The best experience I had with Linux was a live Knoppix dvd I used to recover data from a bad hard drive.) Where's the rest of this guy's videos? I watched episode #338 so betting there's a bunch more. And I did set permissions to 777, but I'm not worried about anybody having there own server off of it. It's got limited RAM and I can't find sticks to replace it greater than 1GB each. And I turn the PC off when I'm not playing with it. But so I should not use the subnet mask of the Internet port (255.255.252.0)? Use /24 instead. Well, just a little update here, DynDNS is no longer free, but I am using freeDNS however it is not user friendly, albeit the domain name stuff seems pretty straightforward, I am still getting stuck on every last detail. Like which subnet mask and which IP address to use when redirecting my subdomain. Well I'll go back to wandering the Internet for clues for now. Thanks again.

 

[pirateghost]

You've said a bunch of words but have not actually stated what you want the end product to be.
WHAT do you want accessible over the internet?
The files themselves? The webgui? How will you be accessing the files over the internet?
WHAT do you expect the end result to be?

If you are confused on what your INTERNAL network layout, you really should not be making any attempt whatsoever to expose your FreeNAS box in any way to the internet.

So let's try and answer some questions and actually get a clear goal in mind shall we?

You likely have a 'router' (linksys, dlink, netgear, etc) that you use to connect from your network to the internet.
Your PUBLIC IP doesnt mean a damn thing within your internal network. Forget that you have one for a minute.
Considering your router probably handles all the DNS and DHCP services for your internal network, you are likely being given a 192.168.x.x address. 99.99999999% of the time, routers will default to a subnet of /24 or 255.255.255.0. Read about the basics of subnets HERE. If you want to get a little deeper into it: HERE.

In order to provide any services to your LAN (Local Area Network) to the outside world you need to familiarize yourself with what PORTS those services use. You cannot simply point at your public IP address (the one you keep referring to in this thread) and have access to whatever is behind your router. You have to 'punch holes' in your router and direct the traffic somewhere. That is the point of NAT devices, to protect your internal network and hide it from the outside world. It is up to you to learn how to expose services you want available.

As for redirecting your domain name whether its a free subdomain from somewhere or a top level domain, you simply point it at your PUBLIC ip address. You dont have to understand ANY of the subnetting of your public IP since that is controlled by your ISP. Need help finding your public IP? http://ipchicken.com will tell you what your public IP is. You dont need to understand the routes that it takes to get to your public IP, just tell some.domain.com to point to public.ip.address.here. That's it.

As for what ports to open? Well, you need to figure out what services you want exposed and figure out what ports they use. Honestly, you should not be exposing anything from your NAS to the outside world, but that is for you to discover on your own when bad things happen from doing so.

 

[Glove0001]

I just want to have my own cloud storage. So I don't guess I need access to the web GUI over the Internet.

The computer is junk to me. I followed some instructions off a MAKEUSEOF article on repurposing an old computer.

I do heed any warning however not to compromise the rest of my network by making unwise changes to the router. Thank you for the links provided, I will be progressing slowly and look at these links soon.

My hope is to practice with the junk computer and when more practical, set up a nice NAS with plugins and all of the nice features that i can actually use.

I have a lot of interest in learning everything, and greatly appreciate your input.

 

[pirateghost]

Cloud storage would require a plugin like owncloud. Have a look at the plugins section.

You aren't going to magically enable fileshares and have access to them from the internet. It requires careful planning and configuration. You should never share out a cifs/samba share over the internet. That's asking for trouble.

 

[Glove0001]

So by allowing all of the permissions, would somebody be able to access other devices connected to my router?

 

[pirateghost]

So by allowing all of the permissions, would somebody be able to access other devices connected to my router?

If you open your entire system (SSH, NFS, SMB/CIFS, etc) to the public internet you are welcoming someone in your open front door with a sign that says "I HAVE FREE STUFF, COME AND GET IT!"

It seems we see so many people come to these forums and they want a 'cloud server', yet they dont understand what that means.

Let's think about this for a second.

HOW are you going to access it from the internet? Via a laptop/phone/tablet using FTP, SFTP, SSH, SMB/CIFS, NFS?

WHAT protocol do you think you need?

Do you plan on putting valuable/personal information (pictures, documents, etc) on it to open to the outside world?

What does a 'cloud storage' mean to you? What do you think of when you say that phrase? Something like Dropbox? Have a look at OwnCloud, it will allow you to essentially host your own Dropbox/Box/Copy/etc solution.

If all you want is to keep devices synced up without using one of those proprietary systems that limit your storage abilities, have a look at BTSync, I hear it is quite simple to set up in a jail on FreeNAS (there is a post somewhere in these forums for it).

To me, 'cloud storage' is nothing but a generic term for a server sitting somewhere that I don't have access to. I have ZERO desire to access my NAS from the internet. I utilize VPN into my network when I need access to files on my NAS. You should look at a VPN solution instead of opening up your FreeNAS box to the outside world. Some routers will support OpenVPN services so you can connect to your network and it is like being on the LAN. Sometimes you have to set up a server (rethink that old hunk of junk you are using when you replace it. It might make a great VPN server or router box). I utilize Dropbox to keep my pictures synced across my devices, since all pics i take on my phone automatically upload to Dropbox, I use Google Drive for documents, notes, etc. I use Copy as a catchall file drop. For my personal/private stuff, I use BTSync.

Find a solution that works well for you. I can guarantee that opening up your FreeNAS box to the internet is going to result in bad things at some point in the future. Viruses, among other things will find their way in. It is simply not safe and extremely dumb to just open CIFS to the internet.

 

[Dusan]

You can even setup OpenVPN directly on FreeNAS. Here's a nice step by step guide: http://joepaetzel.wordpress.com/2013/09/22/openvpn-on-freenas-9-1/

 

[Glove0001]

Yeah no sensitive material would go on there. The hard drive was formatted to try and dual install windows and Linux. I guess there might still be something on there that hasn't actually been overwritten. It would take a lot of effort to decipher raw data like that though.

So, huh. VPN server. Sounds interesting. Well I wi close up the permissions next time I turn on the NAS. Thanks again!