Help with a Home Server Setup with Remote Access

[TheRealJeff]

Hey,

I need some help/advice to setup a home server. Disclaimer: I'm pretty new to the server terminology, so bear with me :)

 

I'm a student with a laptop I use at school and a desktop I use for heavier loads such as gaming and CAD work. Switching and managing file versions between both devices is tedious at best so I need a better solution to this, which would be a home server. I would also use it for long term storage of media (photos, movies, documents, etc.). I believe in this case I would need a NAS (correct me if I am wrong) and/or set it up as a FTP server. For the build, I would get an older PC and kit it out with a few TB of NAS grade HDDs.

 

Now assuming I get this setup up and running, is it even possible for me to access it from school, for example, to fetch some files I need for a class, or is it limited to my home network? How would I configure my server for me to do this? 

I have looked around and it seems people often suggest using FreeNAS or UnRaid for server builds, but I'm not entirely sure I understand their differences and use cases. Moreover, I have access to Windows Server Edition licenses, so I can use that if it is better for my situation or in general. I would need some help in understanding exactly what kind of configuration I need for my use case.

 

I appreciate all the help and advice! :^)

[Master Disaster]

What you run on the server is almost irrelevant, stick to what you're familiar with. If you have access to Windows server use Windows server.

 

To access it remotely you would need to create a VPN, nothing massively complicated. There's loads of good video tutorials on YouTube. Once you're signed into the VPN you're basically sat in front of the server from your remote location.

 

Please don't use FTP, it's about as secure as a blind security guard. SFTP is the way to go if you must use FTP but honestly there's no real need.

[Windows7ge]

The biggest problem I see here is the school will have likely setup a firewall to block you from reaching your server. You'd have to enable a VPN to punch though (even then some schools try to block VPNs too).

 

FreeNAS would work fine here. I'd explore your free options before paying for unRAID since what you want is pretty simple. If you're not afraid of the CLI you can look into something like ubuntu server and install the services you need.

 

EDIT:

Also make sure you use SFTP not FTP. There is a difference.

[AngryBeaver]

Is this server basically just going to be used for file storage then or are you planning to use it to run some of these workloads. If the first then you can just set it up pretty easy as just a remotely accessible file server or as suggest use a VPN to your home network. IF you are just looking for a storage solution though and since it looks like you probably are in school with the licenses available... then I would just use the 1tb of cloud storage you have on one drive. This would put it in the cloud and let you manage your files in an identical fashion without needing to spend a dime on hardware.

[TheRealJeff]

1 hour ago, Master Disaster said:

What you run on the server is almost irrelevant, stick to what you're familiar with. If you have access to Windows server use Windows server.

 

To access it remotely you would need to create a VPN, nothing massively complicated. There's loads of good video tutorials on YouTube. Once you're signed into the VPN you're basically sat in front of the server from your remote location.

 

Please don't use FTP, it's about as secure as a blind security guard. SFTP is the way to go if you must use FTP but honestly there's no real need.

 

1 hour ago, Windows7ge said:

The biggest problem I see here is the school will have likely setup a firewall to block you from reaching your server. You'd have to enable a VPN to punch though (even then some schools try to block VPNs too).

 

FreeNAS would work fine here. I'd explore your free options before paying for unRAID since what you want is pretty simple. If you're not afraid of the CLI you can look into something like ubuntu server and install the services you need.

 

EDIT:

Also make sure you use SFTP not FTP. There is a difference.

Sounds good! I'll make sure to use SFTP and figure out this VPN business. I may dabble in the Linux side of things as well, depending on the amount of time I can dedicated to this adventure. I appreciate the help!

1 hour ago, AngryBeaver said:

Is this server basically just going to be used for file storage then or are you planning to use it to run some of these workloads. If the first then you can just set it up pretty easy as just a remotely accessible file server or as suggest use a VPN to your home network. IF you are just looking for a storage solution though and since it looks like you probably are in school with the licenses available... then I would just use the 1tb of cloud storage you have on one drive. This would put it in the cloud and let you manage your files in an identical fashion without needing to spend a dime on hardware.

It would be for file storage and transfer. I would import the relevant files to my desktop for example to actually run my CADs.

Although I agree, doing this over could services would probably be easier and cheaper, I want this server setup so I can use it after I finish school and it's also just a personal interest of mine. I've been wanting to build and setup a diy home server for a while.

[Windows7ge]

29 minutes ago, TheRealJeff said:

Sounds good! I'll make sure to use SFTP and figure out this VPN business. I may dabble in the Linux side of things as well, depending on the amount of time I can dedicated to this adventure. I appreciate the help!

If you want to explore CLI here's a guide to get you started on File Servers.

 

[zer0signal]

6 hours ago, Windows7ge said:

The biggest problem I see here is the school will have likely setup a firewall to block you from reaching your server. You'd have to enable a VPN to punch though (even then some schools try to block VPNs too).

 

One solution that may work for the VPN, is too set it up using Port 443. 

I highly doubt the school would block access on port 443,  as it would look like normal banking traffic.

[Windows7ge]

5 hours ago, zer0signal said:

One solution that may work for the VPN, is too set it up using Port 443. 

I highly doubt the school would block access on port 443,  as it would look like normal banking traffic.

You've just inspired me to do some experimentation that I have not yet tested before.

[zer0signal]

11 hours ago, Windows7ge said:

You've just inspired me to do some experimentation that I have not yet tested before.

Let me know the results, but the only thing I could see that would prevent this would be if the schools used a white list of IP's/DNS that are approved, else drop.

But if we're talking College, I doubt that is the case...   

[Windows7ge]

8 minutes ago, zer0signal said:

Let me know the results, but the only thing I could see that would prevent this would be if the schools used a white list of IP's/DNS that are approved, else drop.

But if we're talking College, I doubt that is the case...   

At a college I attend they have a Apache web server that hosts student made websites. You can SSH into it from inside or outside the college network which is cool. However if you want to SSH out of the college network to a private server. Nope. Does not let you, so I wonder...

[zer0signal]

10 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

At a college I attend they have a Apache web server that hosts student made websites. You can SSH into it from inside or outside the college network which is cool. However if you want to SSH out of the college network to a private server. Nope. Does not let you, so I wonder...

Should work the same, if you changed your Home SSH server to run on port 443, you should be able to get in as well. 

Also you can run SSH at home on both 22 and 443 so remote access would be 443, while local home can still use 22 (block 22 external on FW). 

Then you could enable X11 Forwarding, and tunneling so you could RDP/VNC if you want as well inside your home network.

[Windows7ge]

3 minutes ago, zer0signal said:

Also you can run SSH at home on both 22 and 443 (2 Different IP's) so remote access would be 443, while local home can still use 22.

That's what I'd do or try. Leave the local port 22 then the public port 443.