FreeNAS - No Network Location (SOLVED)

[Boomermav]

Howdy Everyone,

I'm at wits' end on this one.  Been searching forums all day with nothing to show for it.  
I'm brand new to home servers, thought I'd give this a whack.  Deeply regretting my life choices at the moment.  And at this point I've got no idea what to do next.  As far as I'm aware, I've set my FreeNAS(11.2) server up properly.  I'm able to ping the static IP I set from other computers on the network successfully, and I can access the Web GUI just fine.  However, I can't see the NAS in windows explorer>Network, but I can see my router & modem just fine.  Can't force navigate to \\freenas_ip either.  I've tried all the sharing options, settings changes, and followed half a dozen guides I could find online, but still nothing.  

Obviously I'm missing something in the settings from the NAS, or more likely Windows 10. Probably something basic.  Anybody have any ideas?  Cuz I'll take just about anything at this point

Much appreciated.

 

-Boomer

[Olaf6541]

Do you want to access a SMB share? Did you set up one?

[phoenixflower]

Heya there Boomer,

so first thing with Windows 10 and networking.  Every time you make a major networking change you must logout and log back in.  Why, this is a good question for Microsoft.  Sometimes the Windows NT kernel will propagate changes, but that can take minutes (1 - 45 minutes).

 

Secondly, please make sure you setup your SMB share with the correct permissions.  You can do this by ensuring you have the SMB share on by going to Sharing -> Windows SMB.  At this point you should see your shares.  If you do not, then it's time to setup your shares.

 

At this point you should go back to Storage -> YourShare.

 

You should see something like a disk array with a key on it (hopefully it got attached) at the bottom of the screen.  Please ensure you have your username and password setup (FreeBSD does not do Open Shares by default nor do I recommend you do that with SMB)

 

Lastly, you will want to map a network drive by going to "This PC" in your File Explorer, right click the icon and then click "Add a Network Location" in the context menu.  I know, I know - you want Windows to find it by searching.  The more you ask of Windows 10, the more you will be disappointed.  It's great for AAA title games, but it's terrible for businessy or enterprisy applications.

 

I hope this helps you get on your merry Way with FreeNAS.  If you have any other questions feel free to post away and welcome to the LTT forum!

[Boomermav]

6 hours ago, Olaf6541 said:

Do you want to access a SMB share? Did you set up one?

Fair warning, I know far too little about this stuff than I probably should.  Woop!

 

I did set one up, but I'm not sure I configured the settings correctly.

 

4 hours ago, phoenixflower said:

Heya there Boomer,

so first thing with Windows 10 and networking.  Every time you make a major networking change you must logout and log back in.  Why, this is a good question for Microsoft.  Sometimes the Windows NT kernel will propagate changes, but that can take minutes (1 - 45 minutes).

 

Secondly, please make sure you setup your SMB share with the correct permissions.  You can do this by ensuring you have the SMB share on by going to Sharing -> Windows SMB.  At this point you should see your shares.  If you do not, then it's time to setup your shares.

 

At this point you should go back to Storage -> YourShare.

 

You should see something like a disk array with a key on it (hopefully it got attached) at the bottom of the screen.  Please ensure you have your username and password setup (FreeBSD does not do Open Shares by default nor do I recommend you do that with SMB)

 

Lastly, you will want to map a network drive by going to "This PC" in your File Explorer, right click the icon and then click "Add a Network Location" in the context menu.  I know, I know - you want Windows to find it by searching.  The more you ask of Windows 10, the more you will be disappointed.  It's great for AAA title games, but it's terrible for businessy or enterprisy applications.

 

I hope this helps you get on your merry Way with FreeNAS.  If you have any other questions feel free to post away and welcome to the LTT forum!

Thanks for the info, Phoenix.  

So I might be missing something with shares, but I did set one up.  God knows if it's properly though.  See image above.

Couldn't track down YourShare.  Your directions led me to Change Permissions with the same icon description.  

No Username/password options, so im probably looking at the wrong thing here.

 

So because my shares are all wonky right now, I doubt I will be able to Add a Network Location, but for the sake of knowing, do I navigate to \\freenas_ipaddress, or something else?

 

-Boomer

[phoenixflower]

Just now, Boomermav said:

So because my shares are all wonky right now, I doubt I will be able to Add a Network Location, but for the sake of knowing, do I navigate to \\freenas_ipaddress, or something else?

 

Enjoy, he's much better at explaining it then I am and he has visual aids!

[Olaf6541]

42 minutes ago, Boomermav said:

Fair warning, I know far too little about this stuff than I probably should.  Woop!

 

I did set one up, but I'm not sure I configured the settings correctly.

 

 

Thanks for the info, Phoenix.  

So I might be missing something with shares, but I did set one up.  God knows if it's properly though.  See image above.

Couldn't track down YourShare.  Your directions led me to Change Permissions with the same icon description.  

 

No Username/password options, so im probably looking at the wrong thing here.

 

So because my shares are all wonky right now, I doubt I will be able to Add a Network Location, but for the sake of knowing, do I navigate to \\freenas_ipaddress, or something else?

 

-Boomer

Don't worry, it's not that hard 

https://www.ixsystems.com/documentation/freenas/11.2/sharing.html#windows-smb-shares

 

A quick checklist of what you'll need to do:

- Create a new user in webgui of freenas (you'll login on win10 as this user)

- Assign a homefolder for this user

- Create a SMB share with the homefolders dataset as path (makes it easier to add multiple users)

- Activate the SMB service

- Add the network drive as \\ip\sharename

- Log in with the smb user credentials

 

Let us know if you have any issues during this steps, good luck!

[Olaf6541]

Oh and permissions in the windows share are handled in windows, not freenas itself. So if you go to your folder in windows explorer you can rightclick, security tab and change permissions there.

[Boomermav]

15 hours ago, phoenixflower said:

 

Enjoy, he's much better at explaining it then I am and he has visual aids!

 

14 hours ago, Olaf6541 said:

Don't worry, it's not that hard 

https://www.ixsystems.com/documentation/freenas/11.2/sharing.html#windows-smb-shares

 

A quick checklist of what you'll need to do:

- Create a new user in webgui of freenas (you'll login on win10 as this user)

- Assign a homefolder for this user

- Create a SMB share with the homefolders dataset as path (makes it easier to add multiple users)

- Activate the SMB service

- Add the network drive as \\ip\sharename

- Log in with the smb user credentials

 

Let us know if you have any issues during this steps, good luck!

Thanks so much for the references guys.  The NAS is up and running great on the network! WOO!

The step by step was a real help.  I'm gonna be honest I'm not sure what setting was goofing me up, but all I did was delete all my network settings/profiles and start from scratch.  Worked on the first try, so it was obviously something I shouldn't have messed with.  I'll keep studying up on everything and get back to you if I ever find why, but thanks again! 

 

-Boomer