Mounting an ISO across a Network

[Jeremy Stromsoe]

I've been studying the different types of freenas services to determine which would be the fastest and easiest method for the following:

I've got .iso files (a LOT of them) which are essentially backed up DVDs on my freenas server. Version is 9.2.1.9, which I'm stuck with because I'm running a 32-bit dinosaur machine (which is working just fine).

I'd like to (preferably with a mapped drive letter) from my Windows 7 machine reach outside my local network and mount an iso (say using Daemon Tools Lite) and thereby "insert" my DVD into my virtual drive and start watching. On my local network, this works like a charm; I've got a nice collection of DVDs saved as .iso files sitting on my /mnt/share storage.

The problem comes when I roam out of the confines of my local network: I'd like to do the same thing over a network, i.e mount a disc image from my Windows 7 PC that resides on the server. I've already got a dynamic dns and port forwarding setup. Originally I attempted to do this with FTP, which after a bit of work I finally mapped a drive to my FTP, lo and behold that was stupid, since FTP is for TRANSFERRING files, and I'd like to ACCESS my files, needless to say you cannot mount an .iso file using a virtual drive when the .iso resides on a mapped drive that is an FTP. At least I can FileZilla files, but try FileZilla'ing a 4.7GB dvd movie... not a good idea. And media players do not "Stream" .iso files.

Question is, what is the most simple way to do this? Any advice?

 

[Ericloewe]

Use a VPN and access your server normally. Simple port forwarding is a security risk, anyway.

 

[depasseg]

Or if the .iso's are movies, convert them and access via Plex.

 

[enemy85]

Consider that for making this work u will need a huge upload bandwidth!

 

[Jeremy Stromsoe]

I just checked with my ISP, who can only guarantee me 0.75MB/sec upload speed based on their best plan. Is that pretty typical? What do you guys run with a VPN service?

 

[pirateghost]

I just checked with my ISP, who can only guarantee me 0.75MB/sec upload speed based on their best plan. Is that pretty typical? What do you guys run with a VPN service?

MegaBytes or megabits?

Big difference.

Either way, save yourself the headache and rip those isos to mkv and load Plex. You won't regret that

 

[enemy85]

I just checked with my ISP, who can only guarantee me 0.75MB/sec upload speed based on their best plan. Is that pretty typical? What do you guys run with a VPN service?

that speed is ok or too bad depending on what you are gonna stream...
considering that 0,75 MB/s are typical of a 8-10Mbit/s connection, i would say that it would be really hard to stream a full hd movie...(depending on the quality they will need at least 15-20Mb/s connection for a real time streaming).
@pirateghost i think the OP would have the same problem with plex...don't u think?

 

[Ericloewe]

If it's 0.75Mb/s, that's pitifully slow. If 0.75MB/s = 6Mb/s, that's about right for a 50Mb/s connection (damn ISPs and their ridiculously asymmetric connections).

 

[pirateghost]

that speed is ok or too bad depending on what you are gonna stream...
considering that 0,75 MB/s are typical of a 8-10Mbit/s connection, i would say that it would be really hard to stream a full hd movie...(depending on the quality they will need at least 15-20Mb/s connection for a real time streaming).
@pirateghost i think the OP would have the same problem with plex...don't u think?

Nope. Plex will transcode for you when you are on a slower network externally

 

[pirateghost]

If it's 0.75Mb/s, that's pitifully slow. If 0.75MB/s = 6Mb/s, that's about right for a 50Mb/s connection (damn ISPs and their ridiculously asymmetric connections).

While it is ridiculously slow, most ISPs won't guarantee anything.

 

[enemy85]

I know that plex will transcode it, but he will watch a low quality video

 

[pirateghost]

I know that plex will transcode it, but he will watch a low quality video

But mounting an ISO across the wan like that would not do any favors for an HD movie either. At least with Plex you can specify your preferred transcode rate.

 

[enemy85]

I agree with you, i just wanted to point out that it would a be kind of useless situation too ;)
At the beginning of my FN experience i was trying to achieve the same goal of the OP, but at the end i understood it was impossible because of the low upload bandwidth... :(
As @Ericloewe said "damn ISPs and their ridiculously asymmetric connections"!

 

[Jeremy Stromsoe]

Guys guys, .75 megabytes per sec. It is about 6mbps. Something like 50mbps down.

 

[Jeremy Stromsoe]

I suppose my point is, VPN is going to take some work to set up. I'd enjoy the challenge, but I don't want to do it and spend the time to watch a choppy movie. I just want to see if anyone out there is accomplishing an image mount over their VPN without issues.

It seems like the easiest thing to do is convert (or maybe re rip) all my DVDs to another format. Space is no object with my server, what formats are you guys using? What are you using for ripping?

Appreciate the help.

 

[pirateghost]

I suppose my point is, VPN is going to take some work to set up. I'd enjoy the challenge, but I don't want to do it and spend the time to watch a choppy movie. I just want to see if anyone out there is accomplishing an image mount over their VPN without issues.

It seems like the easiest thing to do is convert (or maybe re rip) all my DVDs to another format. Space is no object with my server, what formats are you guys using? What are you using for ripping?

Appreciate the help.

I have mounted various isos across my VPN before. It isn't a very efficient way to transfer data at all. I didn't have any issues with actually mounting but the transfer rate is abysmal over small links(think hotel connection or small remote office).

For movies, I have always used handbrake

 

[c32767a]

I suppose my point is, VPN is going to take some work to set up. I'd enjoy the challenge, but I don't want to do it and spend the time to watch a choppy movie. I just want to see if anyone out there is accomplishing an image mount over their VPN without issues.

It seems like the easiest thing to do is convert (or maybe re rip) all my DVDs to another format. Space is no object with my server, what formats are you guys using? What are you using for ripping?

Appreciate the help.

I've done it over VPN connections, but on connections where the upstream bandwidth was measured in 100s of Mb/s. Plus, one of the reason most streaming formats exist is to address issues with low bandwidth and lossy links. Tools that access DVDs for playback don't usually expect the I/O to be blocky and high latency, which is what you'll get with a low bandwidth connection.

I would strongly suggest taking on the challenge of learning plex. It is a great solution to your problem.
You only need 1 copy of your video file. Plex will show you the uncompressed version when you're on the local network and it will transcode it to a low bitrate version for when you're away from your home LAN.

The only caveat is that you're going to need a decent CPU somewhere to do the transcoding, whether that's running plex in a jail on your FreeNAS or on a separate Plex server box.

 

[Jeremy Stromsoe]

Definitely would worry about transcoding; as you can see with my single core P4 processor I'm running a very low horsepower machine to act purely as storage using the freeBSD OS with FN as a minimalist environment for that reason.

Definitely considering all options here before going one way or the other.
Anyone else? So far I've got:

-VPN (requires premium ISP connection with high upload speeds)
-Plex (requires decent processor for transcoding)

PS tried out handbrake, great piece of software.

 

[pirateghost]

Finally got to my computer and can see your signature. You are SEVERELY underpowered for even a basic FreeNAS environment (RAM is 4 times less than the minimum requirement). You will probably start having issues with random reboots and weird WebGUI errors if you keep using that hardware.

 

[Ericloewe]

Finally got to my computer and can see your signature. You are SEVERELY underpowered for even a basic FreeNAS environment (RAM is 4 times less than the minimum requirement). You will probably start having issues with random reboots and weird WebGUI errors if you keep using that hardware.

+1