Do I need internet service?


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My plan would be to have a seperate case with only harddrives, and a computer to access (distribute) the files.

So, my second question is, does the computer I'm using to access the server have to have internet access? At the moment I don't even have an internet browser on my music computers.

Thanks Mike

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My plan would be to have a seperate case with only harddrives, and a computer to access (distribute) the files.

That can work, although you will need a monitor and keyboard on it at first to be able to set up the motherboard bios.  Once the BIOS is set up to boot from the flash drive, the monitor and keyboard can be removed.

So, my second question is, does the computer I'm using to access the server have to have internet access? At the moment I don't even have an internet browser on my music computers.

Thanks Mike

The only stock feature I am aware of that uses connectivity to the web is to set the server time from NTP servers.  It is not necessary to enable and use this as you can set the time locally.  (The ability to have a more accurate time set on the server was added to allow automatic incremental backups from software running on other PCs on the same LAN to have a common time reference to use when comparing file modification dates)

 

Other than that, you can download and update the files on the unRAID flash drive from a PC that does have connectivity to the LAN and then move the flash drive back to the unRAID server to boot the updated version.

You can run the unRAID server itself without any internet connectivity at all.

 

note: There are several user-created add-on packages that can use the connectivity to the web, if it is available, to download other software packages, perform torrent download, alert you of server status via e-mail, etc, but they are not part of the standard unRAID software. They are possible because iunRAID is based on Slackware Linux and experienced users have written them to make more use of their server other than for just saving media files.  None of these add-ons are needed to do normal media and file storage.

 

Joe L.

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Joe

Thanks for the reply. I figured I could use another computer to do the updates and things, but I still don't see how I would see the files on the unraid server. As I understand it, you open a web browser and type the ip address or something like HTTP/server.

I didn't get any email notice that there was a reply.

Thanks again

 

My plan would be to have a seperate case with only harddrives, and a computer to access (distribute) the files.

That can work, although you will need a monitor and keyboard on it at first to be able to set up the motherboard bios.  Once the BIOS is set up to boot from the flash drive, the monitor and keyboard can be removed.

So, my second question is, does the computer I'm using to access the server have to have internet access? At the moment I don't even have an internet browser on my music computers.

Thanks Mike

The only stock feature I am aware of that uses connectivity to the web is to set the server time from NTP servers.  It is not necessary to enable and use this as you can set the time locally.  (The ability to have a more accurate time set on the server was added to allow automatic incremental backups from software running on other PCs on the same LAN to have a common time reference to use when comparing file modification dates)

 

Other than that, you can download and update the files on the unRAID flash drive from a PC that does have connectivity to the LAN and then move the flash drive back to the unRAID server to boot the updated version.

You can run the unRAID server itself without any internet connectivity at all.

 

note: There are several user-created add-on packages that can use the connectivity to the web, if it is available, to download other software packages, perform torrent download, alert you of server status via e-mail, etc, but they are not part of the standard unRAID software. They are possible because iunRAID is based on Slackware Linux and experienced users have written them to make more use of their server other than for just saving media files.  None of these add-ons are needed to do normal media and file storage.

 

Joe L.

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Joe

Thanks for the reply. I figured I could use another computer to do the updates and things, but I still don't see how I would see the files on the unraid server. As I understand it, you open a web browser and type the ip address or something like HTTP/server.

I didn't get any email notice that there was a reply.

Thanks again

 

The server will appear as a computer in your network.  It will share files the same way any windows computers on your network share files.  If you use the default name for your server "Tower" then to access your files you would go to Network -> Tower and you will be able to see your folders on the server.

 

Additionally, you can use \\Tower from a windows explorer windows to take you there directly (notice the double backslash, this is how you see the FILES).  If you want to change settings on the server, create shares, add disks, etc... The you would type //Tower into an internet explorer window and be taken to the web interface for configuring unRAID. (notice the two forward slashes).

 

Cheers,

Matt

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The server will appear as a computer in your network.  It will share files the same way any windows computers on your network share files.  If you use the default name for your server "Tower" then to access your files you would go to Network -> Tower and you will be able to see your folders on the server.

 

Additionally, you can use \\Tower from a windows explorer windows to take you there directly (notice the double backslash, this is how you see the FILES).  If you want to change settings on the server, create shares, add disks, etc... The you would type //Tower into an internet explorer window and be taken to the web interface for configuring unRAID. (notice the two forward slashes).

 

Cheers,

Matt

 

Thanks for the reply.

I see, you can access (play, watch, or burn) the files either of two ways. 1) through the windows network, or 2) through a web browser with \\Tower

Also (correct me if I'm wrong), you can change the settings, or hardware either of two ways. 1) through a web browser with //Tower or 2) directly from the unraid computer itself, with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. There for, if I use #1, I need an internet browser installed on the windows computer, right? If that's the case I need to figure out how to configure the browser, so that it never goes on line, nor lets the internet in. Blocked either way. I bet there's a way to do that.

Thanks Mike

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The server will appear as a computer in your network.  It will share files the same way any windows computers on your network share files.  If you use the default name for your server "Tower" then to access your files you would go to Network -> Tower and you will be able to see your folders on the server.

 

Additionally, you can use \\Tower from a windows explorer windows to take you there directly (notice the double backslash, this is how you see the FILES).  If you want to change settings on the server, create shares, add disks, etc... The you would type //Tower into an internet explorer window and be taken to the web interface for configuring unRAID. (notice the two forward slashes).

 

Cheers,

Matt

 

Thanks for the reply.

I see, you can access (play, watch, or burn) the files either of two ways. 1) through the windows network, or 2) through a web browser with \\Tower

Also (correct me if I'm wrong), you can change the settings, or hardware either of two ways. 1) through a web browser with //Tower or 2) directly from the unraid computer itself, with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. There for, if I use #1, I need an internet browser installed on the windows computer, right? If that's the case I need to figure out how to configure the browser, so that it never goes on line, nor lets the internet in. Blocked either way. I bet there's a way to do that.

Thanks Mike

 

Install the browser and configure it with the default page (page that it loads when opened) to //Tower.  The bwoser will not go to the internet, but to the network address of your unraid server. (and not the internet)

 

You may need to turn off other options like browser updates and such so it will not look for the internet for other reasons.

 

Cheers,

Matt

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Install the browser and configure it with the default page (page that it loads when opened) to //Tower.  The bwoser will not go to the internet, but to the network address of your unraid server. (and not the internet)

 

You may need to turn off other options like browser updates and such so it will not look for the internet for other reasons.

 

Cheers,

Matt

 

I like that idea. I'll still have to make sure the rest of the settings are such that I'm isolated from the net all together. I'm sure it's not hard to, I've just never needed it.

Thanks again

Mike

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I don't believe the basic unRAID can be controlled via a telnet window or via a connected keyboard and display. Well, it might be able to be, but it is not documented. The web browser is the way to control it.

 

The file access is via the windows network, not via a web browser.

 

Once you set-up the server you don't really need to access it via a web browser but the web browser is the only way to check the health of the system and should be looked at every now and then.

 

Are these computers connected to the internet? If they don't have a path to the internet then they won't be able to connect even if they try.

 

If they are connected, is this some type of installation put in place to avoid someone else using the internet? If so, the router you use can likely be setup to deny certain services or all internet connections for certain computers.

 

Peter

 

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At the moment I don't have them connected to the router, so they are isolated from the internet.

The reason why is I want the computers free of everything. No spyware, adware, virues's or anything. Just the operating system, and the programs I like to use for editing, listening, burning, you know what I mean. I installed Windows XP, and then deleted everything extra. Just the basic operating system, then I also don't have conflicts. No need to reinstall windows every 4 months.

Thanks Mike

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