Connect to a network drive over the web

[InfiniteLoopy]

Hello,

I have a few questions on web access to a network drive.

I have an Airport Extreme. I guess there’s a significant speed advantage getting an Ethernet-connected drive over a USB2 one connected to the Airport, right?

Would it be possible to access the drive with iOS devices, ideally over the web? Would the File Browser app be good for this? Could this work with a dynamic IP address?

Could the drive be written to from an offsite Mac over the web? I would not want the drive publicly “visible“ on the web, but allow a specific Mac to see and write to it. Again, both internet connections would be with dynamic IPs.

I’ve looked at FileTransporters but don’t like the idea of having to sign up with the manufacturer to manage user accounts/access. I’d rather have something native to the OS. I’m also considering Lacie or Western Digital but they seem to have their own admin panels, where all I really want is a simple way to access files.


Thanks for any advice on drives/setup.

 

[blueroom]

Have you considered DropBox?

 

[InfiniteLoopy]

Hi,

I don't want to host on another server/service. I need to be in control of these files. Therefore, self-hosting is my only option.

 

[blueroom]

Then consider a NAS with WebDAV or an app. Synology is a good choice.

 

[InfiniteLoopy]

Thanks.

What specifically is the Webdav feature?

Would a NAS connected via ethernet be significantly faster than a USB2 external drive connected to the Airport?

 

[Dark Dragoon]

Would a NAS connected via ethernet be significantly faster than a USB2 external drive connected to the Airport?

How fast is your internet connections upload speed?
It might be slow enough that it won't make any difference when accessing from outside your network.

 

[InfiniteLoopy]

How fast is your internet connections upload speed?
It might be slow enough that it won't make any difference when accessing from outside your network.

It's not only for web access but also local access. I'm guessing that for computers on the same network, having a NAS would be much quicker than a USB2 drive connected to the airport. Is that right?

If I understand WebDav correctly, I can connect to a NAS as if it were a local drive. Even over the web, I could assign the NAS a hostname and use a dynamic DNS service to access it regardless of the IP address my ISP has assigned. Is this correct? Is it secure (nobody else can connect to it without password)? Can it be accessed on an iOS device?

 

[satcomer]

Just watch this Synology VPN video to see how to access it from outside using the built in VPN server.