Newcomers Experience with Network file Sharing

Garuda Community
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Garuda LInux is the best! I'm also a toddler when it comes to Linux.

That being said, I would like to share my stumblings and trials with everyone just for the fun of it. Hopefully you all can laugh along with me or at me. My first big test was samba shares and network sharing.

So I have my new shiny Linux setup so lets move some files. Nooope, first we must be confused and scratch our heads.

The confusion for me was in so many applications to pick, I see Avahi, I see KRDC and KRFB and then somewhere in the dolphin file folder there is network, and shared folders SMB. Holy options batman!!!

For a newbie this is ridiculously confusing and intimidating. I just wanted to mount a hard drive from my other computer and copy a file. And I didn't realize for like 3 days that there are like 5 applications that can do that in different ways. I kept screen sharing when I wanted to mount a drive. I couldn't find the drive I mounted because I couldn't see it on the desktop. I was going in circles.

I didn't have VNC turned on the other computer. Then I realized I didn't have my workgroup setup, and I didn't have samba shares on my other computer setup.

And then after forum reading and research and all of this I finally connected and copied my first file. Hooray! Phew this was a lot of work just to share a file over the network.

So from a newcomers perspective. It would have been nice to have a box pop up with the garuda assistant that said. Hey, all these programs here help you to share files from one computer to the other. Please pick one. And then something that said, hey also go into your other computers settings and make sure you have sharing setup if you want to be able to share files.

This is such basic knowledge to you Linux gods. But to us mere mortals it is not known. :slight_smile:

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Most of what is already on the Internet, we have spared to publish here again partly because our server space is too small, partly for convenience and then because out there always immediately scream all that the distribution is too bloated. :wink:

I could swear you'd agree with me in a few weeks.
I wouldn't bet on it, I'm not a gambler. :smiley:

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I understand. There is a balance. I am sure my views will change as I get more comfortable.

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If as as you say in your other posts you've left the Windows world behind then you wasted your time setting up Samba. That's for Windows machines. If you're no longer using Windows the read up on the Archwiki regarding NFS.

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For just moving some files around I tend to use SSH - even Windows can do that. Then you can bump them from Linux to Windows to Android and even IOS I expect.... easiest answer I know of!

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Kdeconnect is also super easy.

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Indeed - this isn’t Windows or macOS where there is a single option. Linux is all about choice, and being able to using the best option to solve your particular use-case is a big part of the reason people use Linux.

The “downside” of that is you have to get to know how your computer works. :wink:

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I'm so used to using Samba I didn't think of anything else. I will have to explore NFS and others. Thanks guys.

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