What do you use for file management on FreeNas volumes?

[devnullius]

I just discovered something... What do you use to do file management on FreeNas volumes? Should I really do it through CIFS, with all its problems?? I thought it would be easy enough to browse a volume :)

 

[pirateghost]

What kind of file management? I use NFS or CIFS for the most part. Sometimes I just SSH into the server and run wget. Not sure what management needs to be done.

 

[devnullius]

What kind of file management? I use NFS or CIFS for the most part. Sometimes I just SSH into the server and run wget. Not sure what management needs to be done.

Just a file explorer / browser, without the need for network :)

 

[Ericloewe]

without the need for network :)

That tends to defeat the purpose of Network-Attached Storage.

 

[gpsguy]

Not necessarily.

Someone with a Windows server might RDP to the server and rearrange files via Windows Explorer, rather than do it from their workstation.

That tends to defeat the purpose of Network-Attached Storage.

devnullius just got her FreeNAS server up and running and is in the process of copying her data to it.

She may not realize our choices on FreeNAS are limited to doing stuff from a client machine or SSH'ing into the box and doing it locally from the command line.

 

[Tenek]

I used to have Midnight Commander on FreeNas 7x. After Jails were introduced it is recommended to install anything like that in Jails. But I never tried.

 

[Ericloewe]

Someone with a Windows server might RDP to the server and rearrange files via Windows Explorer, rather than do it from their workstation.

I have done that on occasion. Some context is useful, @devnullius.

With that out of the way, SMB provides server-side copy starting with 2.something. Windows Explorer supports this starting with Windows 8, though Windows 7's robocopy (I think it's robocopy, at least) supports this, too.

Server-Side Copy will only work within datasets.

 

[devnullius]

Context? Cleaning up and starting over XD
I know I can remove the full volume, though I was looking for a 'local' explorer - it could have been in the GUI. But you guys are right, a Network AS... Of course, my folders should be shared by default. I couldn't find a solution, so I started to wonder... Surely, somebody else thought it was convenient to work locally on your data. I liked the Midn. Commander tip. I might look into that.

And maybe it helps if I tell you guys I've been working with 'puters over 25 years, including FreeBSD in 1996. I might have my own way of doing things and I certainly have to figure FreeNAS out to get a good grip on it, but I do understand some basic concepts ;-)

I have done that on occasion. Some context is useful, @devnullius.

It's the only way I do it (Remote Desktop). Explorer just can't handle network shares and IO very well. Therefore tools like robocopy. I'm an old fox, hard to change some routines :)

I had to look up server-side copy (https://wiki.samba.org/index.php/Server-Side_Copy)
Client Support
Windows

• Windows Server 2012 and later: via Windows Explorer or Robocopy
• Windows 8 and later: via Windows Explorer or Robocopy
• Windows Server 2008: via Robocopy only
• Windows 7: via Robocopy only

For other tools, ask the respective vendor for SMB2 FSCTL_SRV_COPYCHUNK support.



Linux
The Linux Kernel CIFS client includes support for issuing SMB2 FSCTL_SRV_COPYCHUNK_WRITE server-side copy requests. This feature can currently only be utilised by issuing a special CIFS_IOC_COPYCHUNK_FILE ioctl, as done by cloner in the xfstests Git repository. Attempts to plumb Copy-Chunk server-side copy support into the cp --reflink code path were rejected.

 

[devnullius]

Ok... I feel like installing a jail with midn. comm. will still only work by going through the network shares...? For if everything is in its own sandbox, they cannot move outside of the jail and reach other volumes and folders directly?
"It is important to understand that any users, groups, installed software, and configurations within a jail are isolated from both the FreeNAS® operating system and any other jails running on that system" (https://doc.freenas.org/9.3/freenas_jails.html)

Just thinking aloud ;p

 

[pirateghost]

Ok... I feel like installing a jail with midn. comm. will still only work by going through the network shares...? For if everything is in its own sandbox, they cannot move outside of the jail and reach other volumes and folders directly?
"It is important to understand that any users, groups, installed software, and configurations within a jail are isolated from both the FreeNAS® operating system and any other jails running on that system" (https://doc.freenas.org/9.3/freenas_jails.html)

Just thinking aloud ;p

You need to read about adding 'storage' to your jail....

 

[devnullius]

Ok, I'll first have to learn a bit more about jails then :) For example, am I *forced* to enter network credentials and IP stuff? For this will be a jail without an OS that can actually use that IP address. Right? :)

 

[pirateghost]

Ok, I'll first have to learn a bit more about jails then :) For example, am I *forced* to enter network credentials and IP stuff? For this will be a jail without an OS that can actually use that IP address. Right? :)

You can let your jails use dhcp.

I don't understand why you say a jail is without an OS since it's a freebsd install....

 

[devnullius]

Ok I probably need to read up; I thought a jail was just a sandbox for a program OR an OS to run in... When only running an app (midn. commander), I don't expect that app to receive IP info...? But I'll study up first before spamming the forum even more ;-)

Devvie

 

[pirateghost]

Ok I probably need to read up; I thought a jail was just a sandbox for a program OR an OS to run in... When only running an app (midn. commander), I don't expect that app to receive IP info...? But I'll study up first before spamming the forum even more ;-)

Devvie

A jail is a container. It houses basically an entire OS within it's confines. Think of it similar to a virtual machine. It's essentially just another computer on your network. Get the concept of single application out of your mind for the sake of understanding a jail. (Even docker containers that are marketed as containerization of applications uses networking). Don't think of it as your midnight commander app getting an IP address... Think of it as a virtual machine with direct access to your storage if configured....

A freebsd jail is freebsd. You don't run another OS inside it.

 

[devnullius]

I have done that on occasion. Some context is useful, @devnullius.

With that out of the way, SMB provides server-side copy starting with 2.something. Windows Explorer supports this starting with Windows 8, though Windows 7's robocopy (I think it's robocopy, at least) supports this, too.

Server-Side Copy will only work within datasets.

Example of why I want to work locally: https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...ax-slow-file-copying.41638/page-3#post-269317

 

[devnullius]

I guess I can't install X-Windows ('graphical **ix') in one of them jails and give that system access to folders / shares outside the jail?

 

[Linkman]

I'm a newbie, but pretty sure that X would have access to whatever pool storage you mounted on the Jail.

 

[devnullius]

Well - skip details; can I install X-Windows in a jail?

 

[pirateghost]

Well - skip details; can I install X-Windows in a jail?

And how would you access the GUI?

 

[devnullius]

Xauth EXPORT magiccookie $DISPLAY still a thing? :)

But remote desktop / RDP would work too - or a unix equivalent