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    NFS client

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • B
      Balanga
      last edited by

      Can I install an NFS client on pfSense?  Or is there one already installed?

      I'd like to copy over a number of files from my tfpt server running on FreeNAS and can't find a straightforward way of doing it…. Having an NFS mount would simplify things.

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      • M
        muswellhillbilly
        last edited by

        You can upload files using the file uploader built into the GUI. If  you like you can run an ftp session from the command-line on your PFS. In my own opinion, running an NFS service on a firewall is a huge mistake. Firewalls are meant to be firewalls, not file servers. The potential for creating vast, gaping holes in your firewall security are too numerous to mention.

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        • G
          Gloom
          last edited by

          To copy a file from nas4free to pfsense while logged into pfsense

          scp /path/to/file username@nas4free:/path/to/destination

          To copy a file from pfsense to nas4free while logged into nas4free:

          scp username@pfsense:/path/to/file /path/to/destination

          Enable ssh access to the pfsense box if not already done. Run a few tests manually to make sure it's doing what you want and stick it in a cron job. Probably more secure to set it up on the nas4free box. Obviously replace nas4free and pfsense in the above for your system names or use their IP addresses. For additional security add a rule to restrict ssh access on both the firewall and the nas and for the seriously paranoid use certs rather than a username/password combination.

          Never underestimate the power of human stupidity

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          • B
            Balanga
            last edited by

            @muswellhillbilly:

            You can upload files using the file uploader built into the GUI. If  you like you can run an ftp session from the command-line on your PFS. In my own opinion, running an NFS service on a firewall is a huge mistake. Firewalls are meant to be firewalls, not file servers. The potential for creating vast, gaping holes in your firewall security are too numerous to mention.

            Whist uploading the occasional file through the GUI is useful sometimes, I would prefer the flexibility of mounting an external filesystem on an adhoc basis. I appreciate that there could be security concerns but probably not more so than enabling ssh… Besides I'm only learning about pfSense in a home environment.

            In any case I'm not trying to install server software on pfSense, all I want is an NFS client and I can't figure out if FreeBSD provides such a PKG....

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            • G
              Gloom
              last edited by

              No offense but if you think enabling NFS on a firewall is as secure as working with ssh then you don't understand the underlying principals of the different software but it's your box.

              FreeBSD does not have a separate package for NFS clients/servers it's built into the base OS and is enabled in the rc.conf file. That said as PFSense has removed a lot of the stuff that shouldn't be on a firewall so I have no idea if it can be enabled.

              nfsshell in the freebsd ports will probably give you what you want as it's a userland implementation of a basic nfs client normally used for testing.

              Never underestimate the power of human stupidity

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              • johnpozJ
                johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                last edited by

                couldn't you just add sshfs and then mount what you want that way?  I know there is a fusefs-sshfs package..

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                • B
                  Balanga
                  last edited by

                  @Gloom:

                  No offense but if you think enabling NFS on a firewall is as secure as working with ssh then you don't understand the underlying principals of the different software but it's your box.

                  No offense taken…

                  I'm no CCNA :) but I like to learn

                  nfsshell in the freebsd ports will probably give you what you want as it's a userland implementation of a basic nfs client normally used for testing.

                  Thanks. I've never heard of it previously but will check it out.

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                  • B
                    Balanga
                    last edited by

                    @johnpoz:

                    couldn't you just add sshfs and then mount what you want that way?  I know there is a fusefs-sshfs package..

                    Never heard of sshfs but will investigate

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