RPi 4 as a server options / advice?

ARM General system
1

Hi. I own a Raspberry Pi 4 and I would like to set up a little server that would let me access some of my files from my PC and my laptop. A PC is no problem, as it is right next to my Pi. A laptop is though, I would like to access it from outside my house and I have no way to set up port forwarding. What could I do to access it?

OS I plan to use on my Pi is EndeavourOS ARM if that matters.

2

Can you explain just a tad more?

You want the server to be able to access files from your remote laptop? For what purpose? Are you just trying to copy them to server or are you streaming some kind of media to the server?

3

Got to this URL and down load this image,

Install on a micro SD of at least 64 GB or preferably 128 GB.
On first boot up a script will auto run and ask for Name, Timezone, passwords, and importantly HostName, etc.

It will also ask if you want to format a USB3 SSD, create mount points for the SSD, and edit /etc/fstab so it will mount at boot up for data storage. Note this uses a micro SD for the OS, and a USB SSD for data storage. It is best to keep them separated.

Also included are EnOS WiKi articles on how to set up your new server to work with Linux clients, and Windows clients. How to use a second USB SSD and use it as data backup using rsync.

Lastly, an WiKi article to install mini-DLNA to stream Music, Pictures, and Videos.

I have this running on a RPi 4b with 4 GB RAM and it has been running great with no problems for literally years.

To meet my security standards, the above setup does not include accessing from outside your house or local WiFi access. But I am sure someone here can help with that.

If you have any questions, I will try my best to answer them.

Pudge

4

Yeah, just copy. I am somewhere, Pi is home and I want to copy some files to and from it.

5

I would want to use just a single microSD card, I don’t exactly have a way to use an additional USB SSD. It will store nothing critical and nothing not stored anywhere else, it’s safe enough for my needs. After all, all I need is ability to copy a few files.

Also, how could I set it up to access it remotely without port forwarding?

6

Does your ISP provide you with a dynamic IP address, or a Static IP address.
Most likely it will be a dynamic IP address.

There are two ways to access your RPi 4. By IP address or by a domain name.
With a dynamic IP address, you could check the IP address when you leave home.
But if the ISP changes your IP address after you leave, then you will not be able to access the RPi 4. Most ISPs don’t change your home IP address often, but it can happen.

So if your IP address is dynamic, the sure way that you would be able to access is with a DNS service such as noip.com but most DNS services charge a monthly fee, and there are free ones available, but free ones come with nagging or make you notify them every month if you want to continue.

So you need to decide how you want to go about this first.

Pudge

7

Even if @Pudge won’t like my recommendation. But instead of running EndeavourOS ARM on it, I would suggest to consider DietPi as an alternative. It’s is based on Debian. But in comparison to RaspberryOS Lite, much lighter and does perform quiete well in headless mode. And they cater essentially a good choice of options in their software stack which would essentially cover all most use-cases.

8

I do have a soft spot for Archlinux ARM, but I have always practiced “your computer…your rules’”. If a better option exists outside of Archlinux ARM, I would like to know about it and check it out. I am more of a tinkerer, than a developer.

Pudge

9

look into tailescale

Dietpi is nice/simple , i use on N2+ ( install,setup then walk away) so it good if new or lazy ..

saying that i have a rpi5 that run Mr Pudge’s set up for a few year now ( zero problem + rock stable )

10

think you would find DietPi interesting ..

I like you have “soft spot for Archlinux ARM”

Edit.. N2/N2+ run nice with DietPi (headless)

11

May be opencloud could be a solution:

I am currently experimenting with it.

12

Looks like I am going to be busy this weekend trying out all these new toys.

Pudge

13

This is a good suggestion. You can use tailscale to have your computers in the same network so that they have static IP addresses. This is what I use across my computers and even my phone.

14

put a pi-hole in mix :wink: you get ad-blocking any where.

“Blocking ads can help stop trackers, speed up browsing, save data, and make websites cleaner and easier to use.”

I use it for long time ..

little off topic ( might interest you/others ) may be take look at

it build/work on aarch64 ( in AUR )

for little more security :wink: ( every little help )

15

This looks promising, I will try it, and use DietPi as it looks better suited for this job

16

Thanks :slight_smile: I was able to set up tailscale and add my devices to network, and now I can access my files on a Pi on my laptop and PC. Maybe one day my Pi will do more. Maybe. But for now file server is enough.