Networking for dumbs... (or noobs) :)

[ecapdeville]

Hello...

At home I have a Powemac G4 400mhz running in OSX 10.4.11 which is used as a file and printer server.

This machine is connected by wire and wiressly to other 5 macs running from 10.3 to 10.6 (even a G3 with OS 9.2.1).

The use at home is ok and works fine, but now I want to access files outside home. I get internet by an ADSL modem which at the same time works as a router and a wireless transmiter (a Linksys router that the telephone company provides and I dont have a static IP).

As I told before, I would want to reach my files (I run a photo collection with Aperture) outside home and maybe a FTP server to get files from costumers... What should I do?

I have used all my knowledge in basic networking to get the computers running together but it stops there... I hope you can help me.

Thank you so much,

Eduardo.

 

[belvdr]

Check your upload speed first. With some connections, you may not even get 1Mb upload, and will result in very slow transfer speeds.

After you accept the performance issue you'll likely see, you'll need to register a dynamic DNS hostname with a service such as dyndns.org (it's free). Then you need to forward the file sharing ports on the router to a static IP'ed machine hosting the files.

Keep in mind that once you share those files to the outside world, anybody can try to access them, not just you.

 

[ecapdeville]

Thankyou for the answer...

So my hardware and internet infraestructure are quite "small" ahhh

If I would like to have that service what should I buy?, which type of Internet connection do I need? and of course...is it really expensive?



Eduardo.

 

[belvdr]

You'd need to investigate what is available in your specific area. In my area, I'd have to go with a multi-thousand dollar/month business line. In some areas you can get a 100 megabit line with several megabit upload for $100/month.

One option, if you trust it, is to host your data online somewhere.

 

[icyderguru]

At first you need to tell us how large your files you need to use are.

If those are only a few Megabyte in size you do not need a better Connection.

You can share your files 2 ways:

a) Go to System Preferences ---> Sharing ---> File Sharing ---> Select the things you want to share ---> Press Options and select how you want to share it (AFP, FTP or SMB)

Then you need to forward the ports used by AFP, FTP, SMB from your router to the mac the files are at so example port 21 to 192.168.1.44 (they should be: FTP 21, AFP 548, SMB 139). Or just set 192.168.1.44 (whatever your internal ip might look like) as DMZ and all ports should be forwarded to 192.168.1.44.

b) Buy a VPN Router (or setup a linux distro with pptp) and set up pptp at your home, afterwards you can connect through pptp to your home and it will look like as if your machine at work would be at your home.

 

[belvdr]

At first you need to tell us how large your files you need to use are.

If those are only a few Megabyte in size you do not need a better Connection.

You can share your files 2 ways:

a) Go to System Preferences ---> Sharing ---> File Sharing ---> Select the things you want to share ---> Press Options and select how you want to share it (AFP, FTP or SMB)

Then you need to forward the ports used by AFP, FTP, SMB from your router to the mac the files are at so example port 21 to 192.168.1.44 (they should be: FTP 21, AFP 548, SMB 139). Or just set 192.168.1.44 (whatever your internal ip might look like) as DMZ and all ports should be forwarded to 192.168.1.44.

AFP and SMB will still be slow just browsing the share.

b) Buy a VPN Router (or setup a linux distro with pptp) and set up pptp at your home, afterwards you can connect through pptp to your home and it will look like as if your machine at work would be at your home.

If you're going to recommend VPN, why would you suggest PPTP? PPTP offers no security whatsoever.

Additionally, a VPN tunnel adds more overhead which could possibly cause it to run slower than being unencrypted.