There is a periodic meeting of linux users in my area where everyone brings laptops and connects to a LAN. Just wondering if I want to share files with them, what are decent options? Is FTP still the best option or has anything more interesting emerged in the past couple decades? Guess I would not want to maintain a webpage so web servers are nixed. It’s mainly so ppl can fetch linux ISO images and perhaps upload what they have as well.

(update) options on the table:

  • ProFTPd
  • OpenSSH SFTP server (built into SSHd)
  • SAMBA
  • webDAV file server - maybe worth a look, if other options don’t pan out; but I imagine it most likely does not support users uploading

I started looking at OpenSSH but it’s very basic. I can specify a chroot dir that everyone lands in, but it’s impossible to give users write permission in that directory. So there must be a subdir with write perms. Seems a bit hokey… forces people to chdir right away. I think ProFTPd won’t have that limitation.

    • evenwicht@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
      1·
      23 hours ago

      I think they could do the job. I’ve never admin’d an NFS so I’m figuring there’s a notable learning curve there. SAMBA, well, maybe. I’ve used it before. I’m leaning toward ProFTPd at the moment but if that gives me any friction I guess I’ll consider SAMBA. Perhaps I’ll go into overachiever mode and have both SAMBA and ProFTPd pointing to the same directory.

  • CyberTailor@lemmy.world
    4·
    12 days ago

    Guess I would not want to maintain a webpage so web servers are nixed

    You could still use WebDAV. It’s simple and works with most file managers.

    • evenwicht@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
      1·
      10 days ago

      Indeed i noticed openssh-sftp-server was automatically installed with Debian 12. Guess I’ll look into that first. Might be interesting if ppl could choose between FTP or mounting with SSHFS.

      (edit) found this guide

      Thanks for mentioning it. It encouraged me to look closer at it and I believe it’s well suited for my needs.

  • Xanza@lemm.eeEnglish
    41·
    12 days ago

    Over WiFi? Pass around physical media. Nothing ruins a LAN party like someone saturating 90% of the connection to transfer ISOs.

    If it’s a dedicated file server, with its own network, then the obvious choice is Samba.

      • Xanza@lemm.eeEnglish
        4·
        12 days ago

        I mean, yeah?

        NFS is great and all, but it’s not compatible with everything out of the box. Generally, samba is compatible with everything. Linux, Windows, Mac, whatever.

        Samba is the obvious choice because it’s compatible with everything out of the box.

    • markstos@lemmy.world
      2·
      12 days ago

      It’s all fun and games until someone brings a USB 2.0 thumb drive.

      The file could transferred over the LAN and the network de-saturated faster the file could be copied off a USB 2 drive.

      • Xanza@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        12 days ago

        I haven’t seen a USB 2.0 drive in 15 or so years. So I’d say you’re pretty safe… And even if that were the case, it’s still preferable vs hogging the connection for a single file.

        USB transfer only affects you with slow speeds until the transfer is done. Network transfer affects the entire party with slow speeds until the transfer is done.

        It’s the obvious choice if you’re having saturation issues, even at 2.0 speeds.

        • evenwicht@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
          1·
          23 hours ago

          The event is ~2—3 hours or so. If someone needs the full Debian (80 gb!), I think over USB 2 it would not transfer in that timeframe. USB 2 sticks may be rare but at this event there are some ppl with old laptops that have no USB 3 sockets. A lot of people plug into ethernet. And the switch looks somewhat more serious than a 4-port SOHO… it has like 20+ ports with fans, so I don’t get the impression ethernet congestion would be an issue.

      • Xanza@lemm.eeEnglish
        2·
        12 days ago

        The kid in me hopes its Slackware, but the loser in me hopes its Arch. 😂😂😂

    • evenwicht@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
      1·
      23 hours ago

      Two possible issues w/that w.r.t my use case:

      • not in official Debian repos – not a show stopper but definately points against it for installation and maintenance burdons across migrations
      • apparently read-only access for users. This is fine in simple cases where I would just be sharing with others, but a complete solution enables users to share with others on the same server by uploading. Otherwise everyone with a file to share must run rejetto hfs.

      Nonetheless, I appreciate the suggestion. It could be handy in some situations.

      • ALERT@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        2·
        23 hours ago

        I didn’t understand the point number two. You can set up whatever access you want for the users. If the option you want does not exist - there is a plugin for it, I’m sure.

  • markstos@lemmy.world
    2·
    12 days ago

    By the life of the party by bringing crossover cable, allowing you run ethernet directly from one laptop to the other for some intimate social networking. Keeps the LAN uncongested for everyone else.

    Nice ethernet hardware will detect if you cable is not a crossover cable in this situation and reverse the pin mappings for you.

    • evenwicht@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
      1·
      23 hours ago

      Fun suggestion… could be useful to have as a side hack if congestion becomes an issue but I doubt it would come to that. They have what seems to be a high-end switch with 20 or so ports and internal fans.