NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
File explorer and management for my ReadyNAS
I have been using my ReadyNAS 104 now for a few weeks. Generally very impressed - and for the price it is unbeatable. The only one thing I am surprised at is the file management interface and capabilities. For a unit that is basically managing files, the in-built file management features are rather poor (unless I am missing something).
I would like to understand if there are any add-ons or apps that will help with my requirements and looking for advice. I have briefly looked at Pydio and AjaXplorer, but dont know how easy either is to set-up / use or if they will actually meet my needs, so wanted some guidance before I embark on a solution. I have also tried adding the directories as Windows Explorer Network connections, but this seems flaky and even slower than the UI interface.
The things I have found that are lacking in the GUI interface are:
1) ability to choose to over-write files that already exist in the destination directory, as opposed to creating copies automatically
2) enhanced reporting on directory sizes and number of files (as only directory sizes reported for the Shares
3) changing the view to include a file preview window
4) more information on file properties
5) ability to play well known video file types from a preview window
6) changing the size of the display, so more files can be displayed on a single screen
7) ability to cache changes and the NAS completes them in the background
Any advice gratefully received.
Jon
Got it working!!
Based on your explanation of the issue, I just cleaned out all network mappings with net use * /delete, manually disconnected WinExplorer mappings and deleted all credentials and rebooted.
When re-started, I network mapped in WinExplorer checking the 'use other credentials' - then entering the cloud user credentials from my NAS. Used the NAS name (not the IP address) in the network mapping and checked the keep credentials and re-connect at logon. When creating more drive mappings to the same NAS, I followed the same process, but didn't try and enter new credentials ('cos it errors if I did).
Hey presto, all shares mapped to drives and persist at login.
Thanks greatly for pointing me in the right direction, and helping me to find a little more about net use, Windows credentials manager and to keep persisting ;-)
Jon
6 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
Getting a good user web interface to the NAS is long overdue (and IMO that shouldn't be limited to ReadyCloud). These look like good ideas for the ideas exchange section of the forum, so perhaps post them there. Perhaps post them individually. I'm not so sure about 8, you might want to post the use cases you have in mind for that one (in the idea exchange post).
Netgear views the build-in gui as an administrator tool, not a user tool. Shares do need to be created from the web ui, but subfolders are created from file explorer (or finder). Normal file manipulation (including setting file permisisons) is all done from the client OS. That shouldn't be "flaky" if you have a solid network connection, but browsing large folders will be sluggish - to some degree that's a drawback of the CIFS file sharing protocol, though of course a NAS with a faster CPU would speed it up.
FWIW, Pydio is the newer name for ajaxexplorer, I suspect the older app should simply be deleted from the app store. Plex might be of interest to you for the video features.
Hopefully others will post on their experience with Pydio and other file management tools.
StephenB - thanks alot for replying - you seem a very active contributor and much appreciated.
I will post the ideas in the Exhange forum as you suggested.
When you say you you're not sure about number 8), which one did you mean as I dont think I listed 8 suggestions?
When I say network drive mapping is flaky I mean it's hard to connect - I tried as per knowledge base (ie map network drive from Win explorer) and Windows says cant access. I search under 'network' icon and Winexplorer shows the NAS. I clicik on it and WinExplorer asks for user credentials. I enter the admin ones and it fails to connect (maybe something to do with it entering the PC name as domain, but I dont know). I enter my cloud user credentials and it maps. Then after reboot, sometimes the network map disappears... I have enabled admin and cloud user access on all of the shares and they have SMB set as the protocol... should I be using another network protocol for this sort of stuff?
Thanks again!
Jon
redstamp wrote:
When you say you you're not sure about number 8), which one did you mean as I dont think I listed 8 suggestions?
Sorry, that was a typo. I meant 7 - ability to cache changes and the NAS completes them in the background
Whether that's a good idea or not depends on what the changes are. The backup job facility does give you some ability to run changes in the background, as do automatic snapshots and volume maintenance.
redstamp wrote:
When I say network drive mapping is flaky I mean it's hard to connect - I tried as per knowledge base (ie map network drive from Win explorer) and Windows says cant access. I search under 'network' icon and Winexplorer shows the NAS. I clicik on it and WinExplorer asks for user credentials. I enter the admin ones and it fails to connect (maybe something to do with it entering the PC name as domain, but I dont know). I enter my cloud user credentials and it maps. Then after reboot, sometimes the network map disappears... I have enabled admin and cloud user access on all of the shares and they have SMB set as the protocol... should I be using another network protocol for this sort of stuff?
SMB is the right protocol.
Windows will only let you access the NAS using one credential at a time (that is a windows issue, not in the NAS). There is a trick though - the PC credential management treats the IP address and the NAS name as two different machines, so it is possible to use the cloud credential for the name, and the admin credential for the IP address.
So first try this test. Open CMD on the PC, and enter
net use * /delete
net use t: \\nasipaddress\data /user:admin nasadminpassword
Use the real ip address and real admin password of course. Be careful on the typing, the direction of the slashes and the spaces matter.
The first command terminates any open network connections. If it prompts, then let it proceed. It will also advise you if there is nothing to terminate.
The second maps the NAS data volume to drive letter T. Let us know if it works (or if not how it fails). You have to use admin as the user for this. (If you use flexraid, and named the data volume something else, then use that name of course).
If the test works, then you can open the windows credential manager (it is in the control panel; win 10 will also find it if you enter "credential" in the windows search bar). Delete any credentials for the NAS that are there already, then enter new windows credentials for the NAS (either using "admin" or your cloud account - or both if you like the trick). That should solve your difficulty connecting.
Note that if you do use the NAS IP address, you should go into your router and see if you can reserve it's current IP address (so the router will always assign the same address). Most routers let you do this - many call it "address reservation" others call it "arp binding".
Getting a mapped drive to mount consistently on a reboot can be tricky - what version of windows are you using?
NETGEAR Academy
Boost your skills with the Netgear Academy - Get trained, certified and stay ahead with the latest Netgear technology!
Join Us!
