You're viewing part of a thread.
Oh no need to sell me on Linux, I'm a fan of Linux Mint and Ubuntu, but my current laptop is an Apple M2 Pro, so if I can keep using that as my daily driver, I think I will. I'm most interested in more of a file sharing server type of service perhaps. Some way I could decouple from Google Drive for file storage is probably a good entry spot I'd think. I have an Ubuntu laptop with a dead battery I've not turned on in years I could repurpose as a server I'd think. It started it's life as an MSI "gaming" Windows laptop, so it should have enough horsepower to be a file server if I knew what software to use and how to safely configure it and what software to use on my other devices to safely access it.
Have you tried just using a fileshare if it's just your other devices? You can VPN into a cheap Edge Router Lite and be able to access it remotely. I think you'll need a Dynamic DNS subscription for most residential locations. Your ISP may let you set a static one. May.
You'd need to secure the VPN, but it is a pretty solid setup. You can even get the Edge Router to act as a firewall or split up the network so you can only VPN into a specific segment of your network. It sounds complicated, but it's not too bad. A whole lot of I can guide you through it if that's what you want.
Tailscale may be easier from a setup perspective. I've never done a deep dive into the company and I'm more of a "do it myself" kinda guy, but I did like it when I tried it out for a while. It was definitely easy and effective. There's also HeadScale and NetMaker, but I don't have personal experience I can speak from on either. I wouldn't mind learning if you want to try it.
Tailscale does sound pretty cool, and could be an option. It sounds super easy to setup which I like. I have Comcast as my service provider, so I'd have to see what they offer DNS and Static IP addresses.
I have not looked at what all my fileshare options are but doing a bit of digging it sounds like maybe I should look at Samba and see if that would work. They don't mention mobile device support, but it is free open source software, which I love. I wonder if having a Samba service just for local network file sharing is a security issue. I would assume it is not, but I could be wrong. I'm willing to bet I'd need to be cautious with the configuration of Samba.
You don't need a Static IP address for Tailscale. Just the Edge Router setup I was mentioning. Dyndns has been my go to for years if you do need one.
Samba is a great option. I've heard people say it's a pain to configure it for Max or Linux machines, but I think I had to click 6-7 things and it just worked. Lol.
Thanks, I'll give Samba a try as that seems to be a free option for me to dabble with. If it seems to work well, maybe I'll explore this further. Samba seems like a good starting point though. I appreciate all the help with this! I may ask for more guidance later depending on how things go
Happy to help, man.