Accessing FreeNas Network Remotely

[K3rupt]

I have recently setup my FreeNas server and am looking for an efficient way to access it remotely

 

Home Network i have a mix of Windows and Mac Devices

 

Away from home i use a Mac

 

Being a FIFO Worker when studying it makes it easier than having to carry round portable hard drives and would be great to be able to access away from home

 

Im open to Subscription based VPN's if that would be a better option but i dont know where to start, i have had a bit of a read at PPTP VPN's but every website seems to just chase your Credit Card info before they give you a rundown...

 

Any help would be appreciated

[unijab]

Hosting your own vpn could be simpler depending how knowledgeable you are.

 

 

also...if your upload and download speeds at home arent fast enough, you'll have a bad time trying to use files at home remotely.

 

GL

[K3rupt]

Hosting might be a bit beyond capabilities for now, Any recommended websites? Or any that anyone already uses?

 

I have 60Mb Down and about 45Up so should be okay

[Mikensan]

Personally using nextcloud which you can mount SMB shares to as well. Very similar to google drive, but self hosted.

 

also FIFO - first in first out?

[Acedia]

If you plan to VPN to your home network to access your nas you need to set up your own vpn. No normal subscription based service will offer "Access to the devices at your home".

Stay away from PPTP since it's inherently unsafe.

[K3rupt]

Must not be a big thing in the states, Fly in Fly out for work 

 

Looks like its time to start researching Custom VPN's' then!

 

Thank you

[Mikensan]

12 hours ago, K3rupt said:

Must not be a big thing in the states, Fly in Fly out for work 

 

Looks like its time to start researching Custom VPN's' then!

 

Thank you

It might be, just not in my line of work I suppose - only knowledge I have of FIFO was from an accounting class I a long time ago lol. With nextcloud you won't need a VPN, just a web browser - food for thought anyway.

[dalekphalm]

On 5/13/2019 at 8:18 AM, K3rupt said:

I have recently setup my FreeNas server and am looking for an efficient way to access it remotely

 

Home Network i have a mix of Windows and Mac Devices

 

Away from home i use a Mac

 

Being a FIFO Worker when studying it makes it easier than having to carry round portable hard drives and would be great to be able to access away from home

 

Im open to Subscription based VPN's if that would be a better option but i dont know where to start, i have had a bit of a read at PPTP VPN's but every website seems to just chase your Credit Card info before they give you a rundown...

 

Any help would be appreciated

FYI Subscription based VPN's would not help you at all in this situation.

 

Subscription based VPN's create a VPN tunnel between your local device (say a phone or laptop), and the subscription service's server (Often located in a specific country, if using for getting around geoblocks).

 

You need to host your own VPN server on your FreeNAS box (or on your router).

[dalekphalm]

14 hours ago, K3rupt said:

Must not be a big thing in the states, Fly in Fly out for work 

 

Looks like its time to start researching Custom VPN's' then!

 

Thank you

I think FIFO is an industry term that people outside of the industries that use them likely just don't know about. I had to google FIFO, but I do recognize "Fly in, fly out".

 

FYI, Nextcloud, as suggested by @Mikensan is a good alternative to hosting a VPN server. The difference is in simply how much access/control you want. If you just want remote file access to download some movies from your server or something? Nextcloud is a great option, and a bit simpler to use and setup.

 

If you need to make changes to say, your FreeNAS settings, or access other things besides just files, then a VPN is the way to go.

[DeaconFrost]

I set up a FreeNAS box this weekend to test, and I thought I saw there was a Dynamic DNS section to add a host name.  Wouldn't this give remote connectivity?

[dalekphalm]

28 minutes ago, DeaconFrost said:

I set up a FreeNAS box this weekend to test, and I thought I saw there was a Dynamic DNS section to add a host name.  Wouldn't this give remote connectivity?

Yes, but you'd have to allow remote access via port forwarding first (since all Dynamic DNS does is associate a URL with your DHCP ISP assigned IP Address, and updates the link between the two every time your ISP assigned IP Address changes).

 

By allowing remote access to FreeNAS in this way, you're increasing your security risk. Doing so with a VPN allows for a much more secure connection.

[Mondfarmer]

On 5/14/2019 at 8:37 PM, dalekphalm said:

Yes, but you'd have to allow remote access via port forwarding first (since all Dynamic DNS does is associate a URL with your DHCP ISP assigned IP Address, and updates the link between the two every time your ISP assigned IP Address changes).

 

By allowing remote access to FreeNAS in this way, you're increasing your security risk. Doing so with a VPN allows for a much more secure connection.

Can you tell me which Ports I'd have to open to access a share remotely? From what i found it should just be TCP 445 but I can't connect from outside the Network

[dalekphalm]

3 hours ago, Mondfarmer said:

Can you tell me which Ports I'd have to open to access a share remotely? From what i found it should just be TCP 445 but I can't connect from outside the Network

Yeah but you do not want to forward 445 traffic. At worst, malicious traffic could spoof itself to make your Firewall think it's SMB traffic. And that's not even considering someone simply getting access to those network shares.

 

I can not in good conscience recommend that you port forward Network Shares. If you need to access FreeNAS remotely, do it properly and use a VPN connection.

 

Additionally you might be under Carrier Grade NAT (CGT) - it varies a lot as to which ISP's use it (mostly Cellular ones, but some larger ISP's have been starting to use it).

[Koolnerd7]

Anything ever come out of this thread? I'm trying to do the same thing for a simple photo storage server via nextcloud. I started a new thread in hopes of getting help. If anyone could recommend a solution or knowledge on setting up a VPN to access my freenas network that would be a huge help. I don't necessarily need a VPN if its not required, i just need the best way to connect to the server from away/off my home network.

 

This is the link to my thread. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.