Accessing NAS / SMB remotely (Lacie Classic HD)

[Tooster]

Hi,

I would like to setup my Lacie Classic HD to be able to access it from outside the LAN. at the moment it uses DHCP on the wireless network ( to which it's connected with a usb wifi adapter) and i'm guessing i have a dynamic IP from my ISP. i downloaded an app from the lacie site that shows me almost all of the network specs there are for the drive. in those specs i see:
Model , MAC Address, interface config, ip address (192.168.1.108 won't change a lot since it's constantly on), subnet mask, gateway address, but then also DNS Address and WINS (but there is no WINS address).

I remember DNS being a good thing ... i setup my a security cam once and DNS made it possible to watch from everywhere with dynamic IP, however there was a paid service for the DNS part of it. (I'm a noob to DNS)

when i acces the disk over LAN it uses SMB.
I have a linksys E1000 router.

is it possible to access from outside the LAN?
if so, what are the necessary steps to take?
I don't mind the NAS being on all the time but i can't have a computer on all the time.
i've been reading about ssh, ftp, VPN, mapping the drive etc...
i don't care too much about security, i'd rather have user friendly then oversecure.
i just want the disk to show up on my desktop like it does now when i'm at home, but i want this everywhere (certainly at college).

Thnx for the help!

EDIT:

when i entered the ip address in Opera i got this:

<lacie_conf type="LaCinema" version="1.0">
<sharesList>
<share name="LaCie" status="enabled" external="yes">
<path>
LaCie
</path>
<protocols samba="yes"/>
</share>
</sharesList>
</lacie_conf>

i thought this might be interresting, no?

<protocols samba="yes"/>

 

[Matthew Yohe]

On your E1000, you need to forward whatever ports the LaCie needs for the protocol you're connecting on requires (something along the lines of tcp 135, 139, 445), to your LaCie's IP address. Note, while it won't change often, you might want to statically assign that IP on the drive if possible, or if your linksys allows for it, always assign the same DHCP IP address to that drive.

Next, since your ISP is giving you a dynamic IP as well, you will probably need to use something like DynDNS, and run that on a computer in your house. It will basically let you create something like: myAwesomeHarddrive.dyndns.org and it will always know what IP address to go to (your home) because your computer will occasionally update it on their servers.

Then that's really it.

 

[blueroom]

Might be easier to use something designed to do this. I use a Synology DS110j and I can WebDAV to it. It also supports dyndns, timemachine, etc...

 

[Tooster]

It will basically let you create something like: myAwesomeHarddrive.dyndns.org and it will always know what IP address to go to (your home) because your computer will occasionally update it on their servers.

so for this to work there has to always be a computer on. or could i use the dns address on the NAS? (or am i enterpreting this "dns address" wrongly)

Might be easier to use something designed to do this. I use a Synology DS110j and I can WebDAV to it. It also supports dyndns, timemachine, etc...

well i just bought this drive, so that's not really an option. in the network help app that came with it, when i right click the drive i see alot of protocols including WebDav and ftp, but they are greyed out... probably just the app that has the option to change it and not the disk that can do this right...

 

[Matthew Yohe]

so for this to work there has to always be a computer on. or could i use the dns address on the NAS? (or am i enterpreting this "dns address" wrongly)

No, it just has to be on frequently enough to update dyndns with your current IP Address. However, if you don't leave it on often, then there is a chance (small) that your ISP could switch up your dynamic address on you. It really depends on that.