Personal computing discussed

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random_task
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I think what I want is a file server, but I'm not sure

Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:28 pm

I'll start with a little background info: I just moved into the University of Arizona dorms about 2 weeks ago, but I'm going to be going home every once in a while on the weekends. My desktop is at the dorms, along with a recently acquired 4th hand tablet PC, but I kept my laptop at home (too heavy to bring to classes, too slow to replace my desktop).

What I want to do is be able to transfer files from a 160 GB external drive attached to the laptop over the internet to and from my desktop at the dorm. That way I'm not left with out of date files/music on my laptop or desktop, and they can be synchronized. I think that can be done if I set up my laptop as a file server?

Right now I have Windows XP on the laptop, but I've been meaning to put Ubuntu (actually, probably Kubuntu) on it, and I figure that would make a lot of this file server business easier.

Eventually I would like to be able to at least SSH into the laptop, or preferably (if it's possible/practical) to be able to see/manipulate my actual desktop as if I were there (the terminal is nice, but clicking on things is nicer).

So, does anyone know how to do this, or know of a good tutorial for this kind of thing? I saw a really great tutorial for doing this, but I cant seem to find it again... Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! :]
 
titan
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Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:39 pm

If you're switching over to Linux you can just use the SSH daemon that's included and started with most distros. SSH is as easy as telnet.

I know Gentoo includes SSH by default, and the most you have to do is start the daemon. Zero config. You may have to configure your router to enable port forwarding to your laptop. There are SSH extensions available for FireFox along with a multitude of dedicated clients. I got my client from ssh.com for free, but I can't find it now. Check out openssh.com to find some solutions.
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notfred
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Sat Sep 01, 2007 12:22 pm

Once you have Linux on the laptop, add ssh and then add rsync. You'll be able to run rsync over the ssh connection and it will only transfer what it needs to. If you didn't use ssh and just did something like scp over the connection then it will transfer everything, regardless of how up to date it is. This can get really slow over the internet!
 
random_task
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Sat Sep 01, 2007 1:12 pm

So, once I have SSH set up, can I use something like WinSCP to transfer file to and from the laptop?
 
Usacomp2k3
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Sat Sep 01, 2007 5:47 pm

random_task wrote:
So, once I have SSH set up, can I use something like WinSCP to transfer file to and from the laptop?

That's what I use. I have my web server actually at my fiance's apartment, and I ssh into it from my apartment or work or wherever to update my website etc.
 
notfred
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Sat Sep 01, 2007 8:04 pm

You can, but rsync is better as it takes a look at the differences between the two computers and only transfers what is needed, any form of SCP will transfer absolutely everything. Google around, there are lots of versions of rsync available now for Windows.
 
just brew it!
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Sat Sep 01, 2007 10:56 pm

notfred wrote:
Google around, there are lots of versions of rsync available now for Windows.

...or install Cygwin.

Once you've familiarized yourself with the Linux command line tools, you'll probably want Cygwin on all of your Windows systems anyway!
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tesmar
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Sat Sep 01, 2007 11:55 pm

just brew it! wrote:
notfred wrote:
Google around, there are lots of versions of rsync available now for Windows.

...or install Cygwin.

Once you've familiarized yourself with the Linux command line tools, you'll probably want Cygwin on all of your Windows systems anyway!


Seconded.
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Heiwashin
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Sun Sep 02, 2007 12:31 am

tesmar wrote:
just brew it! wrote:
notfred wrote:
Google around, there are lots of versions of rsync available now for Windows.

...or install Cygwin.

Once you've familiarized yourself with the Linux command line tools, you'll probably want Cygwin on all of your Windows systems anyway!


Seconded.


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bitvector
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Sun Sep 02, 2007 2:01 pm

Since rsync was mentioned, I'd like to put in an obligatory plug for Unison, which is like rsync but supports bidirectional reconciliation of differences (as opposed to rsync's unidirectional model). There's also an official Windows version.
 
CheetoPet
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Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:10 am

If both the client and the server are running Linux, sshfs allows you to utilize fuse to mount remote directories over ssh. Its just a simple mount command & then you don't need to worry about maintaining 2 copies of stuff.

If you are running ssh on an internet facing box, contemplate some basic sanity checks - disable root logins ( you can always sudo once you've logged in as a user ), remove obvious users / passwords from the system, and pinder chroot'ing the logins to minimize system access. Might wanna also read up on aide / shorewall to see if someone is active trying to mess with your box. Linux doesn't automatically make you hack proof.
 
jolt256
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Re: I think what I want is a file server, but I'm not sure

Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:53 am

random_task wrote:
preferably (if it's possible/practical) to be able to see/manipulate my actual desktop as if I were there (the terminal is nice, but clicking on things is nicer).


For this, you'll want to look up VNC. Ubuntu (at least the normal GNOME-based variant, I don't know about K/Xubuntu) lets you share your default desktop using VNC very easily (System->Preferences->Remote Desktop). The only catch is that 3D apps will not be visible over VNC. This only becomes a major hassle if the server is using Beryl for its desktop, as that makes EVERYTHING a 3D app, in effect.

If you need to see 3D apps remotely, you should look into TurboVNC. It's a little more complicated to set up and use, but it works quite well.

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