Viewing And Editing Files

As of 05/08/2025, the files can only be accessed through an open-sourced file management UI called File Browser. In the future, we are hoping to setup a VPN that will allow us to connect directly to the storage devices using SMB (for Windows) and NFS (for Linux).

File Browser

File Browser is a free, open‑source, self‑hosted web application that lets you serve any directory on your own server via a clean browser interface, where users can upload, preview, rename, move, delete, zip/unzip, and otherwise manage files. It supports multi-user access with configurable roles and storage/authentication adapters, allowing you to create your own private “cloud” without needing an external service.

We are hosting an instance of the File Browser on our Services Server. The login screen is accessible to the public at filebrowser.abair.ie.

SMB

SMB (Server Message Block) is a network file-sharing protocol primarily used by Windows systems. In TrueNAS, SMB allows you to create shared folders that Windows, macOS, and even some Linux systems can access seamlessly. It is ideal for environments where Windows clients are common, and it supports advanced features like permissions, Active Directory integration, and snapshots for easy file recovery.

⚠️ Note: SMB connections are currently disabled. Exposing SMB publicly is dangerous because attackers can exploit known vulnerabilities to access your files. Older SMB versions lack strong encryption, making your data easy to intercept. SMB should always be kept behind a local network or VPN instead of the open internet.

If we setup a local NAS server in the ABAIR lab, we could, theoretically, connect to it directly through SMB.

NFS

NFS (Network File System) is a file-sharing protocol widely used in Unix and Linux environments. TrueNAS can provide NFS shares to allow Linux servers, virtual machines, or containers to access storage as if it were a local filesystem. It is lightweight, efficient for high-throughput environments, and commonly used in virtualization, backup, and media workflows.

The File Browser interface is using NFS to mount the drive hosted by the TrueNAS Server onto the Services Server. This way the services account has access to the files mounted on the drive.