Failure to detect server from PC or Mac

[LRBP]

First let me mention that I am new to both, server setup/management and Linux based systems. I successfully installed Unraid but have an issue. Neither my Windows 11 PC nor my Mac can detect/discover the server in the Network. In order to do the original Unraid setup, I was alble to plug in the server's IP address in the browser, but realize I will be unable to enjoy the benefits of having a server if the computers cannot detect it in the Network. I don't think the fact that the server is hard wired to the Network while the PC and Mac are connected via WiFi should be significant, but I wanted to state that just in case.

 

I have searched some of the threads here in the Forum, but while I've found some similar issues, I am yet to find the exact same situation addressed. Nonetheless, I have incorporated some of the suggestions offered, but still have the same issue. Any help will definitely be appreciated.

[Frank1940]

First, let's make sure that you have things setup for SMB access on your server correctly.

 

SETTING   >>>  Network Services    >>>  SMB      >>>  SMB settings

 

Make sure that you have things setup this way:

 

 

Second item.   Got to SHARES   and click on one of the shares that you want to connect to. 

 

Find the following section

 

Make sure that you have 'Exported' the share.  Now try to access the share.   Things may still not work.

 

If that is true, go to the first post in this link and get the PDF file down and use that to get your Windows client and Unraid server setup. 

      

          https://forums.unraid.net/topic/110580-security-is-not-a-dirty-word-unraid-windows-10-smb-setup/

 

Basically, Windows is often setup with all of the security features turn on.  It is usually quicker and easier to go down the security path then trying to turn everything off. 

[LRBP]

Thanks for your help. I've gone through all the suggestions in your message and as a result ended up changing quite a few settings. Unfortunately, the results are still the same. The server remains undetectable from either PC or Mac.

 

[Frank1940]

I am assuming that you have access to the Unraid GUI.  Go to    TOOLS   >>>   Diagnostics      The file will download to your PC.  Upload that file in a new post in this thread.

Edited February 28 by Frank1940

[LRBP]

Unconfirmed 62089.crdownload

 

Let me know if this works.

[JonathanM]

3 hours ago, LRBP said:

Let me know if this works.

Probably not, since that filename indicates a partial download instead of the full zip file.

[Frank1940]

54 minutes ago, JonathanM said:

Probably not, since that filename indicates a partial download instead of the full zip file.

If you rename it by changing the extension to .ZIP, you can open it. 

 

What concerns me is this in the syslog:

 

Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (46): chmod 0777 '/mnt/disk1'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (47): chown 'Administrator':'Domain Users' '/mnt/disk1'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL root: chown: invalid user: 'Administrator:Domain Users'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (47): exit status: 1
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (48): chmod 0777 '/mnt/disk2'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (49): chown 'Administrator':'Domain Users' '/mnt/disk2'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL root: chown: invalid user: 'Administrator:Domain Users'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (49): exit status: 1
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (50): chmod 0777 '/mnt/user/appdata'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (51): chown 'Administrator':'Domain Users' '/mnt/user/appdata'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL root: chown: invalid user: 'Administrator:Domain Users'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (51): exit status: 1
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (52): chmod 0777 '/mnt/user/domains'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (53): chown 'Administrator':'Domain Users' '/mnt/user/domains'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL root: chown: invalid user: 'Administrator:Domain Users'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (53): exit status: 1
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (54): chmod 0777 '/mnt/user/isos'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (55): chown 'Administrator':'Domain Users' '/mnt/user/isos'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL root: chown: invalid user: 'Administrator:Domain Users'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (55): exit status: 1
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (56): chmod 0777 '/mnt/user/photos'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (57): chown 'Administrator':'Domain Users' '/mnt/user/photos'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL root: chown: invalid user: 'Administrator:Domain Users'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (57): exit status: 1
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (58): chmod 0777 '/mnt/user/system'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (59): chown 'Administrator':'Domain Users' '/mnt/user/system'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL root: chown: invalid user: 'Administrator:Domain Users'
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (59): exit status: 1
Feb 27 05:14:26 ENGTRIAL emhttpd: shcmd (60): /etc/rc.d/rc.samba restart

 

As far as I know, this will probably render network access via SMB impossible! 

[LRBP]

Is there a way to correct it? I don't really understand the language enough to make sense of what you're pointing out, or to know what I did to cause it. Although, I must say it is refreshing to know there seem to be an identified cause to the issue.

[Squid]

Are you using Active Directory on your network?  Assuming you're not, then go to Settings, SMB settings and set enable SMB to be Yes (Workgroup)

[LRBP]

Yes, the enabling of SMB was done from Frank1940's original instructions, thanks though.

[Frank1940]

7 hours ago, LRBP said:

Yes, the enabling of SMB was done from Frank1940's original instructions, thanks though.

 

Just to be sure. This is the 'Enable' setting that @Squid was referring to---

 

[LRBP]

Yes, it is set to Yes (Workgroup) as you originally instructed.

[LRBP]

Frank1940, is there a way to correct/change the reasons for your concerns with the syslog from the above post?

[Frank1940]

First thing to try is----  reboot the server.

 

When you can use the GUI terminal to run the following command and see who the owner and group are for each directory:

I have marked the owner 'O'  and the group 'G' for you.  (The owner is not as important as the group...)  Note that each of the named directories is also the name of a Share.   The permission for each directory is in the string at the beginning of each line--  drwxrwxrwx

 

Look at the following:

 

The owner of "Administrator"   and the group of "Domain Users' is highly suggestive of an Microsoft's Active Directory configuration.  You can correct this situation by running

         TOOLS    >>>>  New Permissions  

Be use to fully read the instructions as there are directories that you should not run this tool on!

[LRBP]

First of all, thanks for taking the time to help me with this. I ran the command as suggested above and the main difference I noticed was that where your script shows "total 8" mine says "total 0"

After that the lines do look similar with "nobody" in all of the owner spaces (with the exception of the one "root") and "users" on the group spaces (with the exception of the one "root"). Also different from your script I don't have any instances of "user" as owner.

 

I also ran the New Permissions routine. Checked to see if this made the server visible, but I still don't see it from my PC or Mac.

[LRBP]

Frank1940, the following is the latest  Diagnostics file.

It was generated after I had executed your last set of instructions.

Unconfirmed 523985.zip

[Frank1940]

On 3/1/2024 at 4:40 PM, LRBP said:

Also different from your script I don't have any instances of "user" as owner.

'user' is the name (which I choose) for one the Share Access users.  (I know it is not an ideal choice for a name when I am attempting to explain something to a third party...)  As I said, the 'owner' is not important as each Share Access user is a member of the users group and that users group has the same privileges as the 'owner'.  (It can make a difference if the owner is not member of the users group.  But, as I see it, that could only happen if a Docker container or VM were set up incorrectly.)

 

I did not find any errors in this syslog but I am still puzzled by the name.  Did you generate this diagnostics file by going to   Tools   >>>   Diagnostics using the GUI  and did the file download to the download directory/folder of your PC?  Normally, it would be   engtrial-diagnostics-20240304-0751.zip but this a side issue....

 

Let's move on.  Microsoft has set up all recent releases of Windows with restrictions for accessing servers.   (Remember, that MS is far more interest in the security needs of corporate, government, and business users than people with home networks!)  The easiest way is to conform and set things to follow their rules.  Here is a link to the way to do this:

 

       https://forums.unraid.net/topic/110580-security-is-not-a-dirty-word-unraid-windows-10-smb-setup/

 

There are instructions in the first post as well a link to a PDF file.  You said you were using a WiFi connection.  Be sure that you have the Network type (look at the last update in the first post) set to 'Private'.  ('Public' is for those times when you make a connection to a 'hotspot' at McDonald's or an airport.)

[LRBP]

I did everything as per the description in the included thread. The one issue I still had was with including the server in the Neighborhood Network (following the "Unraid & Windows 10 SMB Setup" instructions) because the Windows File Explorer can't find it. Whenever I try to address the server using "// or \\" it does not recognize the address.

[itimpi]

1 hour ago, LRBP said:

Whenever I try to address the server using "// or \\" it does not recognize the address.

Is that using its name or its IP address?

[LRBP]

17 hours ago, itimpi said:

Is that using its name or its IP address?

It has been while trying to use the server's name, not the IP address. The IP address was good to allow me to setup and manage the server, but I haven't been able to make the server visible to my PC or my wife's Mac regardless of which one I use (IP address or server name). This has been the problem since the start. Now, from what I've gathered by Frank1940's reaction to the latest system log, we have corrected a bunch of other issues but the server visibility problem remains.

[itimpi]

Perhaps you should post a screenshot of Settings->SMB?     I thought the values that are set there would be visible in the diagnostics but if they are I could not see them.

[Frank1940]

@LRBP, Also a screen shot of the SHARES tab. You can redact info as you feel necessary as shown below:

 

 

On 3/7/2024 at 4:03 AM, LRBP said:

The one issue I still had was with including the server in the Neighborhood Network (following the "Unraid & Windows 10 SMB Setup" instructions) because the Windows File Explorer can't find it.

 

Are you saying that you are now only having a problem getting Neighbor Network set up and working or or is there a larger SMB issue with accessing your files from your Windows clients?

[Frank1940]

7 hours ago, LRBP said:

It has been while trying to use the server's name, not the IP address. The IP address was good to allow me to setup and manage the server, but I haven't been able to make the server visible to my PC or my wife's Mac regardless of which one I use (IP address or server name). This has been the problem since the start. Now, from what I've gathered by Frank1940's reaction to the latest system log, we have corrected a bunch of other issues but the server visibility problem remains.

 

OK.  Years ago, it was possible to access a Unraid by both the IP address and the server-name.  (This was a backdoor to allow two connections to the same server from the same client.  It was a useful trick in some cases...) 

 

Now for many years, MS has stated that only one connection to a server was to be allowed from any Windows client.  (But the above backdoor still existed!)  A year or two ago, I noticed that I could no longer do this.  I could access the server by either the IP Address or its server-name.  As soon as I had a connection with one or the other, the other one was blocked.  Now, I don't know if MS finally blocked this backdoor or what else might be going on but since I had no real use for it, I didn't pursue the matter. 

 

It does not make any real difference but you might want to go into your router settings and reserve that IP address for your server so the DHCP process will always assign it to your server.  (Most routers have this capability but they implement it in different ways...)

[LRBP]

19 hours ago, itimpi said:

Perhaps you should post a screenshot of Settings->SMB?     I thought the values that are set there would be visible in the diagnostics but if they are I could not see them.

[LRBP]

16 hours ago, Frank1940 said:

@LRBP, Also a screen shot of the SHARES tab. You can redact info as you feel necessary as shown below:

 

 

 

Are you saying that you are now only having a problem getting Neighbor Network set up and working or or is there a larger SMB issue with accessing your files from your Windows clients?

Here it goes: