Maker Pro
Maker Pro

Sending Files Over the Internet

Supercap2F

Mar 22, 2014
550
Joined
Mar 22, 2014
Messages
550
Hey Guys! :)

I have several computers at home and lately I have been doing a lot of work that requires transferring files from one computer to the other. Well what I have done up until now is put the file on a USB stick eject the USB stick and plug into the next computer. But having to do that a lot really gets old and slows down my progress quite a bit. All of the computers that I'm am transferring files from are hooked up to the same internet router, which is a CISCO Linksys E900.

Now my question is would it be possible to transfer the files from one computer to the next over the internet since there all hooked up to the same router? I did some googling around and it appears that I might need a type of FTP software? I really don't want to have to install some more software though...

From my limited experience with internet connections, I think that it might be possible if I set up some sort of a home network?

I really don't know what to google for so I haven't got that far.. I wonder if one of you guys could point me in the right direction?

Thanks for your time and consideration! :)
Dan
 

Gryd3

Jun 25, 2014
4,098
Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
4,098
If all of your computers are connected to the same router in the same building/house you don't need any internet services for this.
You have a few options.
File Sharing. Many machines (Windows, MAC, Linux) offer a built-in way to share files with computers on the same network. NEVER forward this connection over the internet in the router's settings... This is a great solution for in house, as all computers can access the 'shared' file or folder. This required that the computer doing the sharing always stays on. This will be the beginning of your own server ;)
Of course, the limitation here is that these files will only be accessible while you are at the same residence that your 'sharing' computer is. (You can use something like Hamachi to get around this limitation)
Services like DropBox or GoogleDrive. These will copy the file to all computers that have it installed. As soon as you edit a file, it copies the new updated file to the other computers. You do run the risk of having these services make duplicate copies if more than one computer thinks it's version is newer, but this solution will work on any computer connected to the internet.

If you want to get a little more in-depth, you can actually host files with FTP... but you NEED to copy the file first from your FTP server to work on it, then copy it back when you are done. If you forget this, you could accidentally overwrite or loose changes.
Of course there are a few more options.. but I'll wait to go into more detail until you can tell me what looks favorable to you, and what computers you currently have. (Just tell me if it's windows, mac or Linux... I don't care if it's Acer or Alienware) and where the computers are.
 

hevans1944

Hop - AC8NS
Jun 21, 2012
4,878
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
4,878
Since all your computers connect to the Internet via the CISCO Linksys E900 router, you already have a secure de facto local area network (LAN). Now all you need to do is make your files sharable amongst all the computers on the network. Read the Windows or Mac documentation and the Linksys E900 router documentation for how to do this. I have two desktops and a laptop all running Windows 7 Professional and can easily move files from a folder on any of these computers to a folder on another one. Although all the computers are connected to the Internet via the router, the file transfers occur locally. No information exchanged on my LAN is exposed to the Internet. See also @Gyrd3 post above for other options, especially when working away from home without access to your home LAN.
 

Supercap2F

Mar 22, 2014
550
Joined
Mar 22, 2014
Messages
550
Awesome, sounds like it's going to be easier than I thought! :)

The local area/built in file sharing (I assume there the same thing?) route sounds like the best thing for me. That way I don't have to go through any third party service like you said. But I don't really want to have to have a computer on all the time.. Could I just have it so I could send the file from the first computer and then store it to the second computers hard drive? So when I disconnected from the internet it would still be assessable on the second computer?

The computers I have are two Macs (OS version 10.6.8) and two Window 7s. I have to see if I can dig up the documentation on the CISCO Linksys E900.

Thanks for the help Hevans1944 and Gryd3! :)
Dan
 

Gryd3

Jun 25, 2014
4,098
Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
4,098
Awesome, sounds like it's going to be easier than I thought! :)

The local area/built in file sharing (I assume there the same thing?) route sounds like the best thing for me. That way I don't have to go through any third party service like you said. But I don't really want to have to have a computer on all the time.. Could I just have it so I could send the file from the first computer and then store it to the second computers hard drive? So when I disconnected from the internet it would still be assessable on the second computer?

The computers I have are two Macs (OS version 10.6.8) and two Window 7s. I have to see if I can dig up the documentation on the CISCO Linksys E900.

Thanks for the help Hevans1944 and Gryd3! :)
Dan
Don't worry about the CISCO documentation. It's rare for routers to be configured in home and small office networks to filter or disallow any internal traffic.
The fun part for you will be getting the MACs talking to the Windows machines ;) I don't have a lot of experience with MAC so you will need to hang around here more or do some google searching.
I would strongly urge you to set up a Windows computer as a File Sharing computer. (As Linux and MAC can connect to windows shares much easier than windows connecting to MAC or Linux.. :s)

As far as the computer always being on, this is your call. It makes things easier, and you can always have the power settings set to spin down the harddrive and shut down the monitor but remain powered up. This will reduce energy consumption but won't eliminate it. This will also let you get your file without having to wake-up or power on the 'sharing' computer first. Of course, there will be no problem shutting it down, as long as you remember you can't access it's files while it's off.

Oh, and you can certainly send it to any harddrive you want. I'll describe a little more and you can adapt it to what you want / need once you understand how it works.
I have one computer setup to share files (my music mostly), and it's always on.
To share files from windows, you can simply right-click on a file and select 'share with', or go to properties and select the sharing tab. pretty easy here. There are quirks that will get you though ;)
I have right clicked my music folder, so it will automatically share any files and folders inside.
Once complete, I hop on my other windows computer, and simply open a folder or go to 'Computer' or 'My computer' depending on windows version. On the left-hand side there will me an icon labelled 'Network' or 'My network places'. Click on this and wait a few seconds for your computer to search the network for sharing computers and one or more computer icons will show up. The icon will be named the same as the computer doing the sharing, and is set when the computer is first setup. (You can change this later if you wish) Double-click this icon to see what 'files' are being shared, simply double click the file and you should be able to see, and edit all the files in it. You may be prompted for a password, this is the username and password of the main user account on the computer doing the sharing, not the computer you are currently sitting at. If the sharing computer has no password, you will need to change a few options to allow you to share files without a password. If you can view, but can't edit files, hop back on the 'sharing' computer where you right-clicked and shared your folder. Do this again, and you can check 'permissions' to make sure that other people can 'write' or 'save' to your folder.
*Do not share the entire C-Drive or any System folders! (Remember that anyone in the house can potentially access the files you share)
If sharing is currently working, You can either work on your files where they are at, or you can copy/paste them to another folder the exact same way as a jump drive.

Once you have your windows machines talking to each other, attempt the same thing on your MAC. They should be similar steps. Look for a Network, or Network Places and it should find the windows share. Other MAC users may need to help you out here. (I'm windows / Linux based.. no MAC at all for me)
If the MAC cannot connect, there is another setting on the windows machine that would need to be changed. It's tricky to find, but you can give us a shout and we can point out where it's at... it will essentially make windows use a much less-proprietary version if it's file sharing so that Linux and MAC can connect.

So this setup can be done on either windows machine. (Windows recommended)
If you are talking the 'sharing' computer out with you, then you don't need to do anything prior.
If you are taking another machine, you need to make sure the 'sharing' computer it on, then you can access it's files from another machine and pull the files off it it to get ready to leave.
If you want to be able to sit at the 'sharing' computer and push files to the other machines, then you will need to setup your other machines as 'sharing' computers as well. This adds a little to the complexity.
Additionally, there are additional programs to allow you to stay connected to your 'sharing' computer over the internet. These programs are called VPN programs, and will let you share with yourself and remain protected against the bulk of the other internet users.

(I could go into more detail... this is a big subject ;))

I would encourage you to try the windows parts first, and post if you get stuck. Once complete, move to your MACs and you should be done in no-time. :D
(Once you get used to it, you can share files with friends when they bring their computers over so much quicker than with USB drives :p)
 

Gryd3

Jun 25, 2014
4,098
Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
4,098
NS,S! That is the main reason for my unusually terse reply. Glad you jumped in!
Lol, I noticed your first reply was shorter than the very detailed usual 700+ word write-up ;) I wasn't worried though. I enjoy networking and computers!
I know more about that then electronics at the moment.

...what is NS,S ?
 

KrisBlueNZ

Sadly passed away in 2015
Nov 28, 2011
8,393
Joined
Nov 28, 2011
Messages
8,393
...what is NS,S ?
I guess it's "No Sh*t, Sherlock"!

This may not help, but I don't think I saw the option of an upload site mentioned. There's Google Drive and others, which sync automatically to computers, but you can also just upload and download files explicitly to various cloud storage sites and handle updating and version tracking manually. I guess you knew that; just making sure.

Great interesting info on this thread from Hop and Gryd3!
 

Gryd3

Jun 25, 2014
4,098
Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
4,098
This may not help, but I don't think I saw the option of an upload site mentioned. There's Google Drive and others, which sync automatically to computers, but you can also just upload and download files explicitly to various cloud storage sites and handle updating and version tracking manually. I guess you knew that; just making sure.
Services like DropBox or GoogleDrive. These will copy the file to all computers that have it installed. As soon as you edit a file, it copies the new updated file to the other computers. You do run the risk of having these services make duplicate copies if more than one computer thinks it's version is newer, but this solution will work on any computer connected to the internet.
Post #2 ;)

Good call of the storage websites though and versioning though. Drop box will keep a small history of each change made on a file.. so you can always go back and grab the file as it was 2 days ago for example.
 

KrisBlueNZ

Sadly passed away in 2015
Nov 28, 2011
8,393
Joined
Nov 28, 2011
Messages
8,393
Yes I had seen the dropbox etc suggestion; I was just pointing out that you can do it manually if you want to. I repeated the description of the automatic updates just to contrast the manual way with it.
 

Supercap2F

Mar 22, 2014
550
Joined
Mar 22, 2014
Messages
550
Awesome, thanks for explaining that in such great depth Gryd3! :) I need to set up a home network before I can do any of that right?

Let me shed a little more light on the subject though. The two MACs I have are both IMACs (desktops) and the Windows 7s are Laptops. Because of limited space, I can only have one of the Windows in the room with the router at a time (usually). So I don't know if it would be best to set up the Windows as the file shares first.

I'll do some more googling about MACs and I know some people who work with them that I can ask... I'll post back here if I get stuck. :)

Thanks for your time and support Gryd3, Hop, and Kris! :):)
Dan
 

Gryd3

Jun 25, 2014
4,098
Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
4,098
Awesome, thanks for explaining that in such great depth Gryd3! :) I need to set up a home network before I can do any of that right?

Let me shed a little more light on the subject though. The two MACs I have are both IMACs (desktops) and the Windows 7s are Laptops. Because of limited space, I can only have one of the Windows in the room with the router at a time (usually). So I don't know if it would be best to set up the Windows as the file shares first.

I'll do some more googling about MACs and I know some people who work with them that I can ask... I'll post back here if I get stuck. :)

Thanks for your time and support Gryd3, Hop, and Kris! :):)
Dan
Well. You already have a home network setup simply by connecting each computer to the same router.
So the physical networking part is done ;)

Well.. That's a bit of a different setup ;) I usually expect Windows or Linux desktops, but everyone is different. One keyword you could search for here is 'Samba', or 'SMB'. This is the specific protocol windows can use to share files and folders. If you can find a way to 'host files on a mac to windows' this protocol should be mentioned. The setup still remains the same, begin sharing on one machine, and then test to see if you can access it from the others.

Sorry for the lack of specifics. Let us know if you get stuck.
 

shumifan50

Jan 16, 2014
579
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
Messages
579
You already have a home network set up by connecting to the same router

This not quite true if you want to share files. First it is advisable to ensure each computer has a static IP and not a DHCP allocated IP from an IP pool. This ensures addressability does not change. To some extent this can be mitigated by using computer names, but This relies on lookups that have to be kept up to date and often fail (for me anyway), so I prefer to work with IP addresses.

I actually prefer to share files between computers by using a NAS (Network Attached Storage). This avoids duplication and files getting out of step as all computers look at the same file. This also makes taking backups much easier.
 

Gryd3

Jun 25, 2014
4,098
Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
4,098
This not quite true if you want to share files. First it is advisable to ensure each computer has a static IP and not a DHCP allocated IP from an IP pool. This ensures addressability does not change. To some extent this can be mitigated by using computer names, but This relies on lookups that have to be kept up to date and often fail (for me anyway), so I prefer to work with IP addresses.

I actually prefer to share files between computers by using a NAS (Network Attached Storage). This avoids duplication and files getting out of step as all computers look at the same file. This also makes taking backups much easier.
Well. It's 100% true, but has it's limitations.
Static IP addresses are not a requirement, but are a benefit if you have problems with Host-names staying up to date. Host-names are usually more user friendly though.
The File Host can be connected to by using the current IP address, or Host-name. If the IP changes you need to determine what it is, is the Host-name is not properly kept up to date (This is an automated thing) then when you attempt to connect, it will claim the host cannot be found.
You can assign a static IP address 'on' each machine, or you can adjust DHCP settings on most home routers to assign specific IP addresses to certain machines. I suggest setting the router to hand out specific IP addresses to the machines you want to share 'from'. The Host is the only machine that you need to worry about. This will ensure that if you or anyone else ever adjusts router settings or swaps out the router that all machines in the house 'should' still maintain a network connection. Setting a static IP 'on' the machine may not allow it to connect to the router if the IP addressing is not compatible.
As far as NAS is concerned. That's a really great idea, as it's incredibly easy to setup and can remain powered on 24/7. (You can buy small NAS devices that look and function like USB external hard-drives.)
However, using a NAS, or file sharing will present you with the possibility of having duplicate files based on use... if at any time you are required to copy the file to work on it out of the house you can run into this problem. NAS or not. You need to make sure that you remember to copy the file back when you get home, or you can look into 'sync' software to do it automatically for you.
Otherwise, you can always work on files directly on the network without the need to copy+paste them anywhere. If you plan to leave the house, you can use a VPN which will keep you 'logically' connected to your home network even when you are out of the house. (As long as you have internet) A VPN will allow you to access ANY resources in the home from outside the home without making all of your services publicly available to the entire internet.

I've been connecting to my media front-end computer for years using the hostname, while I have been using a static IP address for my media back-end. The only time I have a problem with the hostname is when I first connect my phone to my network and open the Kodi remote app. The host-name does not immediately update, but I simply try again in 5-10 seconds or relaunch the Kodi remote app and it works.
If you have major problems with host-names, perhaps one of the machines on the network is configured incorrectly. Open WireShark and look at your network traffic for WINS related data. This may give you a clue as to what may be going on.
 
Top