Connect to samba server remotely

Question

I have a Samba server say at "abstergo.m12.in"

I'm fairly new to Samba as I usually use SFTP for file transfers but I wanted something more Windows Native.

I used the samba config from http://www.linux.com/learn/tutorials/305771-quick-and-dirty-samba-setup but changing the directory and the share name.

I'm trying to map the network drive. I try using //abstergo.m12.in/sharename but with no avail.

What I'm asking is how to setup the server (or client) so that I can connect to it remotely.

Edit: For some clarification I'm trying to access it remotely. over the internets.

Solution 1

As @David noted this is not simple to use samba from wan. In local net deamon swat provides the tools to confugure samba server over http://localhost:901 but this is not directly accessible as wan web host. You rather look for webdav WebDav DavenPort or ssh with portforwarding use. Found similiar question on ServerFault

Solution 2

Setup Tinc VPN on both the machine and watch magic happend http://www.tinc-vpn.org/

Tinc will create a virtual private network over wan (the internet) and if you have a fast outbound bandwidth it will stream video/audio just fine, i have tried it a few times and it plays pretty reliably inside tinc tunnel (windows share)

Comments

[David Schwartz]

You kind of have to describe the problem. Just saying it didn't work isn't very helpful. Are you trying to access a Samba server over a WAN? If so, that's a terrible idea. The SMB protocol is only designed for file sharing over a LAN. (It can be used over a VPN, though performance tends to be awful.)

[Quinton M.]

edited the question.

[Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams]

Windows uses backslashes in UNC paths.

[Cry Havok]

Note that many ISPs block the Windows file sharing ports, so you're likely to have problems trying to do it that way.

[David Schwartz]

@qmarchi: Just don't do that. It's the wrong tool for the job. Samba is a LAN thing, not a WAN thing. If you have no choice, you can get it to work over a VPN, but performance will be terrible. Whatever your outer problem is, there are better solutions.