This app can make a computer's local disks available over the network. The NetDisk protocol maps the physical disk, which sets it apart from file-oriented protocols such as SMB, NAS, network shares and network drives. This allows disk access at block level (sectors). Operations that start at this level, and therefore cannot be carried out via SMB due to the need to access the disk at block level, can therefore be carried out over the network.
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| NetDisk Server app main screen |
In order to use the NetDisks on another system (client), they must be mounted there using the NetDisk Applet.
Important: Please ensure that you only exit the app once all clients have been unmounted. Otherwise, there is a risk of file system errors and data loss, similar to when a locally connected disk is removed while it is still in use.
When starting the app for the first time, you can specify a name for the NetDisk server which will be displayed on the client end. A default name is given based upon available information, such as the computer name or system hardware name, yet it can be changed as needed.
In the upper frame, you will find information about the NetDisk server itself. The frame title shows the name of the local system on which the NetDisk server is running. The network addresses at which this NetDisk server can be reached from other systems (clients) are displayed within the frame. The name of the associated network adapter is also displayed for each network address, if available.
The lower frame shows the local disks that are currently available and it allows you to manage and control the sharing of the disks.
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Connection status: Shows whether clients have
established a connection to the disk and the clients' identity.
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only access: only allow read access to the respective disk for
clients.
| Read
and write share: allow clients to have full read and write
access.
Name: the name provided by the disk, usually its manufacturer and type
Capacity: disk storage capacity
Type: connection type or storage standard of the disk
Serial number: the serial number provided by the disk to better differentiate between disks of the same type
Client: once a client has connected to a disk, it will be shown in this column
By selecting one of the two checkboxes in the columns (read only) and (read and write), the disk
will become available and visible to clients. The respective connection
status is reflected in column (connection status). The double-arrow icon shows the
status for that disk.
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No sharing: the disk is currently not being
shared
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Ready for sharing: the disk is being shared but it has
not been mounted by a client
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Connected: the volume is mounted by at least one
client. The respective client is shown in the column “Client”.
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Ready to be unmounted: disk sharing is about to stop,
but will remain connected until the currently active clients have logged
off. New client connections will not be accepted.
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Disk not ready: the selected disk cannot be shared. The
cause of this will be shared in the tooltip.
By closing the app you will simultaneously shut down the NetDisk server. For this reason, any external connections to the disks must first be unmounted from all clients.
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| Shutdown dialog |
A hard termination of client connections by the server can result in damage to the file system or even data loss in the worst case. A special exit dialog therefore not only gives a warning when disks are still connected to clients, but it also gives you the option to wait until all disks are released and to then automatically exit the app. Should you choose to do this, simply leave the dialog open.