FreeNAS On network i don't control, is it worth the trouble?

[asajinx]

So i live in University housing and the internet access as you might imagine is completely controlled by the University IT department. This means i have no control over getting my possible NAS a static IP and therefore accessing it directly over LAN. I've been thinking long and hard about what to do regarding my file storage needs. I really want to go the FreeNAS route and get a server i can use ZFS on; however, i want opinions on whether its worth the trouble to set up freeNAS on a network i can't control. Of course i've thought about other options such as DynamicDNS and accessing the box over WAN but this is ultimately slower than just buying a 4-6 Bay Direct Attached Storage device. The reason i haven't bought the DAS is because ultimately i want a server i can use for other purposes such as transcoding as well- something a DAS can't really do. Any suggestions/opinions would be appreciated..

 

[cyberjock]

Are you wanting to share your NAS with all of your friends in other rooms or you plan to keep it to you(and any potential roomates). If you want it over the entire University LAN, you clearly know what you have to do. But, if you want to share it with your friends, just setup a second LAN on a different subnet. You'll need 2 NICs and stuff for your desktops, but you'd have internet when you want it, and your NAS when you want it.

 

[asajinx]

Are you wanting to share your NAS with all of your friends in other rooms or you plan to keep it to you(and any potential roomates). If you want it over the entire University LAN, you clearly know what you have to do. But, if you want to share it with your friends, just setup a second LAN on a different subnet. You'll need 2 NICs and stuff for your desktops, but you'd have internet when you want it, and your NAS when you want it.

Thanks for the quick reply. I don't plan on sharing anything with anyone.. its mostly just for myself to set up a network mountable drive.
So just to clarify... my dilemma is the potential "slowness" of running the freeNAS over WAN rather than LAN. If i set up the whole dynamicDNS situation, wouldn't i be bottlenecked by my internet connection? I want to put the gigabit port to use.

On the other hand, you gave me the idea of setting up a local subnet that isn't connected to the internet but that i can connect my Macbook to. My question then is, is there anyway that a macbook can support two ethernet connections at the same time? (One for internet access and one for LAN access to the NAS) I've never done anything like this on OSX so i'm a bit lost regarding the matter.

 

[cyberjock]

If you can do 2 LAN ports on your Macbook, you can certainly have 2 connections at the same time. I'm not a Mac user, so I have no clue if this is possible at all. The key is that you'd have 2 NICs. One connected to your university network and one connected to your FreeNAS box.

I'm not sure of your network topology when you ask about potential slowness running FreeNAS over the WAN. Do you mean connected in your room but connected to the University network? If its in your room and it's all Gb, you should get great speeds. On the other hand, if you are going to be expected to put it in a room with a bunch of other people's servers, then it may be a problem. That would be something to ask your school admins about.

 

[asajinx]

If you can do 2 LAN ports on your Macbook, you can certainly have 2 connections at the same time. I'm not a Mac user, so I have no clue if this is possible at all. The key is that you'd have 2 NICs. One connected to your university network and one connected to your FreeNAS box.

I'm not sure of your network topology when you ask about potential slowness running FreeNAS over the WAN. Do you mean connected in your room but connected to the University network? If its in your room and it's all Gb, you should get great speeds. On the other hand, if you are going to be expected to put it in a room with a bunch of other people's servers, then it may be a problem. That would be something to ask your school admins about.

Thanks for all the info. I appreciate it. I think i'm going to go with the 2 LAN port option because i found a USB Gigabit network adapter on amazon that would fit the bill. My last question is, is it possible to directly connect to the FreeNAS box via ethernet? I always thought there had to be a device in the middle (router typically) that acted as the controller?

 

[cyberjock]

USB Gigabit network adapter? Got a link?

 

[solarisguy]

If either your FreeNAS box or the USB network adapter has Auto MID-X capability (one of them having it is enough), then a regular network cable is OK (that is a Category 5 cable or better: Cat 5e and Cat 6). If neither FreeNAS box network interface nor the adapter has Auto MID-X, then a crossover cable is required.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_Dependent_Interface#Auto_MDI-X

Now, since it is Gigabit Ethernet, both your Macbook and FreeNAS box interfaces should have Auto MID-X capability built-in by design, but who knows...

ALSO, you need to manually assign IP addresses to both ends.

P.S. I hope you got a USB 3.0 adapter, and not a USB 2.0 adapter, so for example you are getting something like
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BE67N3Q/?tag=ozlp-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ECQZM1A/?tag=ozlp-20
and not
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VSTDFG/?tag=ozlp-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007U5MGDC/?tag=ozlp-20

 

[gpsguy]

If you have gigabit ethernet capability on both devices, then you can use a straight through network cable between the two. If not, then you'd need a crossover cable.

My last question is, is it possible to directly connect to the FreeNAS box via ethernet?

 

[asajinx]

If either your FreeNAS box or the USB network adapter has Auto MID-X capability (one of them having it is enough), then a regular network cable is OK (that is a Category 5 cable or better: Cat 5e and Cat 6). If neither FreeNAS box network interface nor the adapter has Auto MID-X, then a crossover cable is required.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_Dependent_Interface#Auto_MDI-X

Now, since it is Gigabit Ethernet, both your Macbook and FreeNAS box interfaces should have Auto MID-X capability built-in by design, but who knows...

ALSO, you need to manually assign IP addresses to both ends.

P.S. I hope you got a USB 3.0 adapter, and not a USB 2.0 adapter, so for example you are getting something like
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BE67N3Q/?tag=ozlp-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ECQZM1A/?tag=ozlp-20
and not
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VSTDFG/?tag=ozlp-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007U5MGDC/?tag=ozlp-20

thanks for the detailed info! This is exactly what i was looking for

 

[duk242]

Depending on what MacBook you've got, look at getting a Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter, they run faster than the USB ones do (I can get near gigabit speeds on mine).

 

[joelmusicman]

Call me crazy, but why not just get a router, plug your FreeNAS into it, connect your Macbook via WIFI and have your own little network?

 

[asajinx]

Depending on what MacBook you've got, look at getting a Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter, they run faster than the USB ones do (I can get near gigabit speeds on mine).

Unfortunately the one i'm using is pre-thunderbolt era.. great idea though.

Call me crazy, but why not just get a router, plug your FreeNAS into it, connect your Macbook via WIFI and have your own little network?

I've thought about this as well... how would i connect to two wireless networks at the same time?

 

[cyberjock]

I've thought about this as well... how would i connect to two wireless networks at the same time?

Easy, connect them via a wire and then set them up appropriately per the manual for said wireless hotspots.