Remote Sharing / Accessing FreeNas Out of the Office

[caryophyllene]

Our IT guy recently installed a FreeNas server in our law office. To access the directories remotely (which we need to do often) we must VPN into our network, then mount the drive on our remote computer.

However, this process seems archaic and has problems. The connection often drops, and it takes a long time for the folders to load and be viewable, despite the relatively small number of client folders.

Is there a simpler solution to access our files remotely (and securely)? IDEALLY, I'd like a GUI, web-interface.

Thanks!

 

[m0nkey_]

VPN really is the best and most secure option. Your IT guy did the right thing by making you connect via VPN.

 

[caryophyllene]

Anyway to connect to the VPN, but then view and edit the files located on FreeNas through a GUI instead of mounting the server drive and connecting through SMB?

When I'm connected through VPN, my MacBook slows to a crawl, and I constantly get a "spinning lollipop." It's super frustrating, and makes me want to get rid of the FreeNas, or just use the FreeNas as a backup drive only.

 

[m0nkey_]

FreeNAS doesn't have a built in file manager. You would need to some 3rd party software such as Nextcloud and then use it's external storage app to access your SMB shares.

 

[scrappy]

How about something like Transmit for Mac? You could use Transmit to connect to FreeNAS via SFTP over your VPN. I no longer use MacOS (Was still called OS-X when I last owned a Mac), but I believe Transmit, or something similar with a GUI for SFTP access should work for you.